ME- After months of rumors and speculation, Samsung has finally announced its Galaxy Gear smart watch.
Unlike most of the devices we'll see at IFA — tablets, smartphones, TVs — the Galaxy Gear is different because it could pave the wave for an entirely new product category.
But Samsung's task is far from easy. It competes with dozens of sports and fitness watches out there (some of them very advanced, such as those from Suunto or Garmin). Also, the shadow of Apple's not-yet-materialized iWatch looms over its head.
And, finally, because it's a wearable device, the Galaxy Gear has to look good.
Look and Feel
The Galaxy Gear is bigger than most watches and somewhat clunky — especially on smaller wrists. It also feels like a tiny, flat smartphone slapped onto a wristband — a curved screen would've improved it a lot.
The 320 x 320 pixel, 1.63-inch AMOLED touchscreen doesn't sound stellar on paper, and it shows in real life, too — menus look crisp, but images, especially colored ones, don't look particularly stand out.
The camera, located on the wristband, is a clever trick, though we'd need more time with the Gear to assess if it's truly an ergonomically sound solution. We have no qualms with the home button's location on the right side of the device — it feels like a better choice than placing it on the Gear's face.
All in all, the device doesn't look bad — and the color choice can greatly improve its looks, depending on your preference — but the overall impression is that it's a first-generation device, aching to be refined down the road.
Features, Apps and Performance
As far as the Gear's functionality goes, let's set one thing straight: It's not a replacement for your cellphone. It's a companion that connects to the phone via Bluetooth, extending its functionality and, ideally, making it less necessary to reach into your pocket for your phone.
For starters, Samsung included some nifty features. The Memographer, which takes photos and videos directly from your wrist, as well as the Pedometer, which tracks your physical activities, are nice enough to make us want to spend more time with the Gear.
The myriad of apps from Samsung's 70 partners, including RunKeeper, Tripit, Evernote, Vivino, eBay and Path — all available at launch — will make the Gear even more interesting. The variety of choice is what truly makes Gear a smart watch, but the usefulness of many of those apps remains to be seen.
The performance of the device, however, is somewhat lacking.
The performance of the device, however, is somewhat lacking.Perhaps we're just spoiled by super-fast smartphones (the Gear has 512MB of RAM and an 800MHz processor), but we'd like to see snappier reactions to our taps.
Also See ---SAMSUNG GALAXY Note 3
It's not terribly slow, mind you — it's just not as fast as we'd expected it to be.
Unfortunately, we did not have nearly enough time to check the duration of the Gear's 315mAh battery or the device's voice functions. We'll have to leave those and many other details — apps, especially — for a full review.
The Gear is priced at $299. It's too early to tell, but for that amount of money, the Gear feels just a little bit unpolished.
No comments:
Post a Comment