Blue's Clues Learning Watch (it's kinda ridiculous)

Would I dare wear this thing in public?

The story behind this watch is that the special person this was given to didn't like it. I was then asked if I wanted it since I like watches. I said sure, why not. And of course I had to make a video above it, seen above.

Yes, this is a real watch. Expensive? Not at all. And surprisingly functional.

I'm going to mention a few things not covered in the video above.

Let's talk about the manual. It is informative, but done somewhat backwards. What I mean by that is that I'm 100% certain none of the parents who buy this thing will know you can turn off "Try-Me" mode. The reason for this is because you have to dig into the manual just to find where that information is stated.

Why does this matter? No parent would think for one second that this thing can function as an actual watch. They'd just assume the Try-Me mode is the regular mode when in fact it isn't. Getting the watch out of Try-Me mode should be on the very first page. Instead, it's on page six.

When the watch is put to regular operating mode, then it can actually do watch things. It tells the time. It has a countdown timer. It has an hourly signal feature. It has an alarm. And it has other stuff.

Will the intended user (kids age 3 to 6) ever use these features? No. And this means none of the features will ever be used by anybody who ever gets this...

...which is kind of a shame, because I can tell whoever designed this thing really tried, succeeded, but also failed at the same time.

Where the wins happened: Correct volume (not too loud), button action is just right, display very legible, strap very comfortable and doesn't irritate the skin, very nice menu animations that are done right.

Where the fails happened: Everywhere else.

This watch is way too big for a 3-year-old. I have a 6.5" wrist and it fits me, a grown man. It shouldn't. This thing is gigantic. 42mm diameter and 30mm thickness with cover closed? This thing is a brick!

The menu system is cute and friendly, but way too complicated not only for kids but most adults. I'm positive that moms are never going to spend the time figuring out how to use this thing. It should be no more difficult to figure out than a Casio F-91W. That, or the menus need to be redesigned so that reading the manual is absolutely not required to figure it out.

I'll put it to you this way: This watch stumped me, and I know watches. When I first received it, I knew it had a watch function because of the right side clock button but could not figure out how to get it out of Try-Me mode. Only after getting the manual did I figure that out, which is why I put it in the video. Nobody would know how to do it otherwise.

No water resistance? For a kids watch? It says right in the manual that the watch can't handle being submerged in water at all. If you're going to make a product for child, it had better be able to handle water. This watch can't.

This needs to be repurposed as an adult watch

Even with all its flaws, I like this watch even though I'd never wear it in public.

If this were redesigned and repurposed, it would be a winner.

For example, if the case was black, buttons in gray, cover removed, external speaker removed, slimmed to a maximum 15mm height, had a straight strap (same material) that was slightly longer, front sticker removed, front OK button removed, games removed and had 30m water resistance...

...this would make for an excellent adult fashion watch. Quartz watches with matrix displays are cool, and I wish there were more of them around.

As a kid's watch, yeah I suppose it works only because kids don't care about watch functions at all. But all that function going to waste is such a shame.

Again, if it were redesigned and repurposed as a fashion watch, then it would be great.

Published 2020 Dec 29