---
layout: post
title:  "LaMetric Time - a cool digital clock and more"
date:   Oct 20, 2015
author:
  display_name: 'sipp11'
categories: Kickstarter review
kickstarter:
  url: http://kck.st/1lAYFew
  widget: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smartatoms/lametric-customizable-smart-ticker-for-life-and-bu/widget/card.html?v=2
tags: clock, led

imgfolder: http://media.mycapsules.com/2015/10-lametric
images:
  - id: 100
    path: banner.jpg
    thumb: banner.jpg
    title: LaMetric Time Banner
  - id: 101
    path: lametric-10.jpg
    thumb: lametric-10-sm.jpg
    title: LaMetric Time #10
image_set:
  - name: set1
    images:
      - id: 1
        path: lametric-1.jpg
        thumb: lametric-1-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #1
      - id: 2
        path: lametric-2.jpg
        thumb: lametric-2-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #2
      - id: 3
        path: lametric-3.jpg
        thumb: lametric-3-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #3
      - id: 4
        path: lametric-4.jpg
        thumb: lametric-4-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #4
      - id: 5
        path: lametric-5.jpg
        thumb: lametric-5-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time Power Brick
      - id: 6
        path: lametric-6.jpg
        thumb: lametric-6-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #6
      - id: 7
        path: lametric-7.jpg
        thumb: lametric-7-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #7
      - id: 8
        path: lametric-8.jpg
        thumb: lametric-8-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #8
      - id: 9
        path: lametric-9.jpg
        thumb: lametric-9-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #9
  - name: set2
    images:
      - id: 11
        path: lametric-11.jpg
        thumb: lametric-11-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #11
      - id: 12
        path: lametric-12.jpg
        thumb: lametric-12-sm.jpg
        title: LaMetric Time #12

---
{% include lightbox_item.html image=100 %}

It's a desk clock with something extra cool. This was one of the top items on my Kickstarter wish list of 2014.

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### Impression

{% include lightbox_itemset.html set="set1" %}

First of all, I didn't particularly fond of USB (power) port on the back since it would be in a way if you wanted to have LaMetric on the wall (No mount hole either.) It should have had a USB port inside the container. Although, the material and build quality was nice, the most interesting thing on LaMetric, __LEDs, wasn't that sharp -- yeah it's blurry__. IMHO, it had to be some sort of material selection problem while manufacturing. It looked out-of-focus. Not that it was a deal breaker or anything, but I was sure that this cosmetic issue alone might put me off buying on in store where I could see before buy.

{% include lightbox_item.html image=101 %}

Besides drawbacks above, I was satisfied with this thing. Easy peacy setup on both Android & iOS. Putting the LaMetric a bit further away from your eyes, then that blur screen issue was sorta negligible. At this point, there weren't that many app selections; hopefully, it would get better as time went by. Apps from LaMetric like GMail notifier, Facebook Like count, Stopwatch, Timer, count down worked as expected. Not that many options/tweaks so far.

{% include lightbox_itemset.html set="set2" %}

All information shown here was fetched via 802.11n WiFi. There were times I thought they should just put a temperate sensor (<$2 normally) instead of getting that infomation from elsewhere.

#### Delay

Estimated delivery: Jan 2015; Actual delivery: Oct 2015. It was a long wait.

### Price

$119 at Kickstarter (Early Birds) + $25 shipping to Thailand

It was expensive, but its uniqueness really shined. If it was $89 or lower, I would have bought 3 of them and put them together. That was how much I liked it so far.

### Verdict

If they could fix the blurry LEDs to have a sharper look as all (rendered) advertising images, I bet this would be a thing people craving for. Until then, it would still be just a niche market for fun :)

Well, I didn't even critic its software side. IMHO, with what they already had, it was good enough. (although it could be much much better w/ variety of apps.)