Automation with my Dick Tracy wristwatch/cell phone

[Tuicemen]

The SMScotrolCentre app uses SMS to talk to software on another monitoring phone so you'll need unlimited text from your carrier.
Email, music, gallery & maybe sound recorder I don't see being useful for it.
Voice search enables VR on phones so this would allow  for a VR app. so it would be useful
Since voice needs the internet a data plan would be required from ones carrier though if one never left home that wouldn't be the case.
Play Store is required for most app installs though you may be able to allow direct installs with a settings change.

With no sim card it is true a battery test would be flawed as phones continually look for a cell tower signal and not finding one will drain the battery over night. I'm not sure this is the case without a sim present.
Looking over the manual it appears to me you could create an app with B4A and directly test it on the watch.
I'd look at the Voice libraries and build something with them as the screen is far to small for much else.

[dhouston]

Consumer Cellular's Shared Connections...

These are also sometimes called Family Plans. You can share the minutes, text messages, and web data on your plan with friends, familyâ€"anyone you chooseâ€"for only $10/month per additional line. And calls between phones on the same Consumer Cellular account are free!

would reduce the costs between geezer and keeper.

However, at this point I doubt the battery life is anyway near adequate. Yesterday it died after about 7 hours. I suspect that with a SIM card and normal activities, it would need to be about 3x its apparent capacity.

They also sent me the SMScontrol keeper APP. I think I'll see if it will work with BlueStacks.

[dhouston]

To test battery capacity, rather than putting the watch on my wrist, I removed it from its charging cradle at 8AM and placed it on my desk. At every hour, I checked the time. Somewhere between 10 & 11 hours, the battery was drained. This was w/o a SIM card.

There's no use in any further testing. It's a great concept but an extremely poor implementation.

[HA Dave]

.......... It's a great concept but an extremely poor implementation.

That is the bad part about "cutting edge". Once marketing demands and time effectively work-out all the bugs.... it's no longer cutting edge it's mainstream.

Like so many of the new "flavors" of Home Automation products on the market now.... many are unknown commodities. X10 on the other hand has been in use for decades and it's performance is well known.   

[dhouston]

I agree - the technology is not yet here - that's probably why Apple Watch and Android Wear merely pair with normal cellphones rather than being cellphones themselves.

[dhouston]

The geezer keeper features are what attracted me to this watch as it seemed ideal for my brother-in-law. Given that I was misled on key features I will NOT believe anything the manufacturer now says and am turning my attention elsewhere.

A web search using 3G GSM Smartwatch turns up numerous watches without the geezer keeper features but with underlying features that might be used in a somewhat similar manner with custom APPs.

They might also be attractive to those who might want to try them as HA Assistants. The usually have WiFi, BT, SMS, etc. that might be used to interface with HA, again with custom APPs. They can also sync with standard smartphones though I'm not sure I see the need (but then I have no smartphone).

Most promise several hours talk time and 2-3 days standby time. Some offer wireless charging.

I'm not sure my ongoing health issues will let me develop the necessary APPs but I hope to to explore the possibility if I can find a watch with a changeable band that is IP67 waterproof.

[HA Dave]

The geezer keeper features are what attracted me to this watch as it seemed ideal for my brother-in-law.

My Mother-in-law was moved into a nursing home due to her diminishing capacity several year ago. At first she would try to escape. Other patients-residents there would do the same.... or just wander off.

They used a (battery powered) RFID system. And there was a device actually attached to the patients-residents [in question].

[dhouston]

Consumer Cellular has this...
https://www.consumercellular.com/Products/639/Details
The fall detector and GPS might help with my brother-in-law.

[bkenobi]

That's what my dad had (or a very similar variant).  It works just like the commercial ("I've fallen and I can't get up").  It doesn't work like a phone, but it does help with serious medical issues.  I don't know for sure if his had the cellular connection (for the price, it should have).  I know it worked around the house very well (he bumped it a few times and the person responded quickly).

[dhouston]

I think I found a watch/phone that will work for my brother-in-law. It's only 2G but that's probably adequate for this application. It has...

Fall detector
SOS button
2 pre-programmed numbers
Auto-answer
Geofence
GPS tracking
Simple band closure that he can likely manage

He has a cellphone (when he hasn't lost or fallen atop it) so there's no real need to replace/duplicate its features.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZGPAX-X83-Elder-GPS-Tracking-Smart-Watch-Phone-SOS-Anti-falling-Intercom-C8E1/201635491813?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D41375%26meid%3D7dd90efb6c3243e5995ac083d71d7c43%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D142240200818

[bkenobi]

Supports SOS emergency phone, voice intercom, remote monitoring, electric fence, anti-lost alarm, tracking online, telemonitoring, etc.

I like that feature.  In case they get away you can nuke them until they turn around!   

[dhouston]

His wife may be hoping that's not a mistranslation.