Epson - ProSense 17 GPS Running Watch - Black

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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Good First GPS Running Watch for the AVID Runner

  • Top 500 Contributor
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  The Epson ProSense 17 is everything you would expect from a low tier GPS watch. My first few attempts to pair the watch to my Android smartphone was very frustrating. Even though my phone's Bluetooth settings would tell me that I was paired, the app would not recognize this and I would get an error code. Once I finally got connected it wasn't long before I lost connection and I wasn't able to update the firmware so that my watch functioned as needed. After about an hour I was finally able to update the firmware and use the watch with my smartphone. The good news is that you can sync your workouts with popular workout apps such as Runkeeper and MapMyRun which I really appreciated. The GPS is also really accurate and your route data can be transferred to those other popular apps. The only real issue I have with the GPS is that it is not accessible while indoors which I tried many times to update the time on the watch. Other than that I've never had a problem starting a workout with GPS enabled(Note: Starting a workout is really simple. Click the bottom right button on the watch until it displays the desired workout and then press start. The GPS will activate and the watch will vibrate when it has found your location. Simply hit start again and you're off and running!). Features on the watch are either great to have or just plain useless. The ability to set automatic lap notifications through vibrations or goal markers by time and distance is awesome and exactly what you'd want in a running watch. Also, you can set up the watch face to tell you the desired information during a walk or run whether that be your total time, distance, or even heart rate if you have a chest strap connected. You get all the info needed during your run which I found extremely helpful. I was able to track my cadence to keep it consistent and view pace in real time. For all the aspects of an average runner this watch is great. The added features such as smartphone notifications or music control is just terrible. Like I mentioned before the Bluetooth connectivity is awful and it disconnects from your phone even if you're a few feet away. Notifications on the watch when they do go through only shows the classification of the notification so if you get an email it’ll say email or text if you get a message but it does not display any readable text from the message you receive. You still need to look at your phone to read and reply to messages so this function is a little pointless. When the Bluetooth works the watch is great for transferring and updating data to your phone but just terrible when it isn't working which is most of the time(Hopefully this is improved with firmware updates in the future. Update: I wrote this review before a newer firmware update was pushed. Downloaded new update and Bluetooth connectivity has been greatly improved to the point where I can now leave the room with my smartphone and come back inside later on with the watch pairing by itself and notification alerts functioning properly. Still having trouble connecting to Bluetooth after the watch is powered off and then on again but this new update is certainly much better). Overall I like the watch. I use it mostly for tracking my runs even though I am recovering from a recent sprained ankle and occasionally for tracking my steps during the day and sleep at night. It tells me how many calories I've burned throughout the day and I'm able to store that data via Google fit. There is also a place to set up an alarm so your watch vibrates when you want it to alert you on a certain time which I find really useful at work but it is not enough to wake me up so I only use the alarm feature when I know I’ll be awake. The battery life is not great but enough for the amount of time I use the watch. It's water resistant so I can take it swimming or run in the rain without worrying about damaging it. For someone looking for an inexpensive GPS running watch that you're able to read real time running stats with and transfer the data to your favorite workout app then this watch is for you. If you expect so much more such as a heart rate sensor and reading text notifications or viewing your current location on your wrist then you should pass on this watch and do further research on a different one. It's right for me and I have already purchased one as a gift for my brother who is a daily runner.

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  Posted 8 years ago by EXWOLF

• Rated 2 out of 5 stars

  Starter Tracker Watch

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  • Top 50 Contributor

  The setup of the Epson ProSense 17 watch is not difficult but if could be a little bit friendlier. I find it hard to remember the last time I opened a tech product with a rechargeable battery that didn’t come pre-charged. You have to wait for the watch to charge out of the box, so don’t expect to open it and test it out right away. Upon opening it, you will find a clip that can easily be connected to the watch to charge. It is not a universal connection, so you must buy their proprietary cable if you ever lose it. The key feature of this calorie/exercise tracker is that is includes its own built in gps and is very precise. It has many options and features that health enthusiasts will appreciate and can take advantage of, such as the watch vibrating after a mile has been completed. However, the display of the watch is not in color. It only offers a green background with black letters. The performance of this watch good. A device like this one, though, can only be as good as the app that complements it. Upon setting it up, I did struggle to get it to sync up with the appropriate time on my cellphone. I had chosen the correct time zone and even the app showed the correct time, but the watch wasn’t syncing up and was 6 hours and a few minutes behind. I solved the problem by updating it via GPS straight from the watch, without using the app. When using it to work out, though, it was very accurate. I went running around the park wearing it on my non-dominant hand (left) while wearing a different brand on the right hand. Both measured the # of steps accurately and chimed at the mile marks at about the same time. The Epson ProSense 17 marginally meets my expectations. Its major competitor offers detachable faceplates; this one doesn’t. You are committed to the strap and color, so take that into consideration when making your purchase. The watch does look unisex, but the strap is rather narrow so it might look awkward on bigger wrists. Other fitness trackers update wirelessly, so you can update your watch on the go. For this one, you have to update the watch while having it connected to the charging cable. Also, options are good, but too many options get convoluted quickly. This watch itself has 5 buttons and those are used to start/stop things or navigate through menus. The menus could be reworked to be more user friendly. The screen itself isn’t a touch screen, so the buttons are your only option to navigate it’s many options. The price for the Epson ProSense 17 in terms of value is on par with other competitors. I highly recommend this product for people who are on a strict budget for a fitness watch tracker or for people who don’t plan on engaging with an active community. The app of the watch allows you to link with other existing communities and you can choose from some of the more popular communities like Map My Ride, but that makes everyone more divided instead of having a dedicated community from within the app itself. It’s a great starter watch for those new to a fitness tracker.

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  Posted 8 years ago by Trobadour

• Rated 3 out of 5 stars

  Nice watch, but beware the app

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  This watch tracks quite a lot, but as a complete package (because of the app), it's a bit of a disappointment. For running/walking the watch is great; it tracks distance, time, speed, calories, etc, it's light-weight, the band is open which easily helps get rid of sweat, and the GPS accuracy is great (although acquisition takes a bit of time to complete at times). I am a bit put off by the charging cord which is a large clip instead of the basic universal USB that I expected. I'm not sure why Epson went with this type of connection, unless they wanted to make the watch as water proof/resistant as possible. However, if they were going for water-proof angle for swimming, then I would assume you could add swimming to the activity modes tracked by the watch. This is where my biggest complaint comes in; the android app is all but useless. Supposedly you can set the watch settings via the app and even add activities that aren't present by default. I'm not sure if this watch model supports swimming or biking because each time I have tried to add activities, the app freezes. I have a Samsung S8, so any app that completely freezes is a huge disappointment for me. Yes, the web-based application allows you to track your sessions using all kinds of breakdowns, but if the watch is supposed to allow 'fine tuning' via the app, then the app should work. I have tried to find fixes for the app online, but it seems as if the app either works for people or it doesn't. I write software, that doesn't make sense to me. Overall, I would recommend the watch for running/walking, but again, the app appears to be hit or miss. I'm giving the watch 4 stars, but the app gets 1... I'll round the overall to 3 stars in the hopes Epson fixes the app.

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  Posted 8 years ago by Chuck