The Krüger&Matz Smartwatch Classic is based on MediaTek’s Aster chipset and unlike high-end smartwatches, it’s not an Android Wear device. The watch runs Linux LinkItem and can work with iOS 7 and Android 4.3+ devices.

Krüger&Matz is not a big tech brand – it’s a Polish company specialised in consumer electronics, ranging from tablets and smartphones to car audio. Obviously it is new to the smartwatch game, but it looks like a decent effort.

The watch measures 45x40x11mm, which means it’s a bit on the thick side. The watch sports a metal housing, weighs 50g and has IP67 certification. It uses 20mm straps and features a 315mAh battery. Since it’s based on a tiny chip and doesn’t have to run an elaborate OS, the watch can manage 4-5 days of standby, or up to three days of heavy use. It has a 1.6-inch 240x240 display and connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0 LE. The Aster MT2502A is an ARM7 EJ-S part clocked at 260MHz. The upside is that the chip has a tiny footprint and delivers good battery life.

Obviously, the platform is limited in terms of hardware and software, but the watch has a pedometer, smartphone locator feature, allows you to check notifications, reply to texts, use it as a remote for your phone or even as a Bluetooth headset, as it has a microphone and speaker.

Of course, the Krüger&Matz watch can’t take on proper Android Wear watches in terms of functionality, but it offers superior battery life and with an MSRP of €79 it’s sort of hard to complain. Basically it shows that even affordable smartwatches can offer useful features and good battery life. Is there a market for €50-€100 smartwatches that don't run Android Wear and don't need a charge every night? Possibly, provided big brands start pushing them.

You can check out a full review over at Spiderweb.