Unveiled at IFA 2013 September 4 with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Android-powered smartwatch is intended to be the prime example of what a smartwatch should look like & be able to do. It's not about high specifications or high definition or high anything really; so let's see what it's all about:
Hardware & Design
Gear has a metal body made from stainless steel and adjustable buckle set on a flexible rubbery and subtly ridged strap. It comes in 6 colors black, gray, orange, lime green, and beige all with a silver face and buckle; and a sixth version with a beige strap and champagne-toned gold metal accoutrements, the swatch weights only 74g, It's a lot less chunky than I expected.
Under the hood there's an 800MHz processor and 512MB of RAM powering the smartwatch, the touch interface is sleekly responsive, and the 1.63-inch, 320x320-pixel super AMOLED screen enormously bright and clear. White text and simple icons, each app sitting in its own clear square that you can swipe between left and right to find the one you want.
To charge the 315 mAh Battery that comes inside the Gear there's a row of copper charging dots on the inside. You have to clip it into an odd-shaped dock, which is shaped a bit like a tiny photo frame that hinges open for the watch to sit inside & become a sort of stand (Above).The dock has a standard Micro-USB socket but the watch itself doesn't. That means carrying the dock around or risking the battery dying & leaving you with no way to charge the thing, that being said; it does hold up for an entire day while being connected to a smartphone, And with Bluetooth off it could go on for 2 days.
Camera
On the side of the strap there is a small 1.9 MP camera, The camera options are basic: You can switch between auto & macro focus, You can change the image resolution to a (1:1) 1392x1392 or a (4:3) 1280x960 pixels. Videos is limited to 10 seconds only, with sound & can be a (16:9) 720p,(1:1) 640x640, (4:3) 640x480, or a (1:1) 480x480 pixels.
To take a picture, swipe up from the home screen & tap on the screen. The camera took a moment to respond after swiping the screen, so it could struggle with fast-moving action, here are some samples: (Click to view in full size)
Software
You control the watch by swiping left & right through a selection of screens. You can change the order they appear, but out of the box when you start scrolling to the right you go from the home screen to notifications, then voice memos, then S Voice commands, then your photo gallery, the music player, a pedometer, settings, & an apps shortcut. Scroll to the left & you see your contacts followed by a phone call log. The screens scroll continually, so when you get all the way to the end you come back round to the home screen & continue on out the other side.
The home screen can be customized with a variety of watch faces, or to display extra information. It can show your next calendar appointment, or the temperature & a little icon saying whether it's sunny or cloudy, which you can tap to see a forecast for the next few days, You can choose the home screen display you want either in the settings menu, or in the Gear Manager app on your phone.
Notifications show you what new messages & alerts you have. Tap on them & your phone will show you the message. You can record voice memos up to 5 minutes long, or command the watch by scrolling to the S Voice app, tapping it & voicing your desires; you might intone "Check the weather," for example.
Tap on the photo gallery & you get thumbnails of your photos & videos in a 2x2 grid where you can transfer to the phone one picture or video at a time or delete the selected item, But you can't view how much storage you have remaining for more media.
Tap the music player & you get a basic set of controls (play, pause, skipping backward & forward) which control the music playing on your phone. No more getting your phone out of your pocket to skip a track, find out what a particular song is, or tie yourself in knots trying to pause proceedings when someone unexpectedly engages you in conversation.
Swipe up from the home screen & you launch the camera. Swipe down from the home screen & you get your dialer keypad, where you can enter a phone number & make a call.
At any point, swiping in from the top of the screen takes you back 1 step & to return to the home screen, there's a single physical home button on the side of the watch to the top right of the screen.
Apps
Tap on the Apps screen & you're taken to a submenu of apps installed on the Gear. Samsung says at launch there'll be around 70 apps optimised for the Gear's small screen, most of which are basic apps like a calendar. There are some big names though, including Evernote and Pinterest, which can record & share your quick snaps; eBay and Path to keep an eye on your auctions & social networks; and RunKeeper & MyFitnessPal to follow your latest physical jerks.
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| Arabic version of the Gear app store (Click to enlarge) |
- RadiON
- Path
- Evernote
- Vivino
- Easily Do
- Life 360
- My fitness pal
- Glympse
- Highlight
- RunTastic
- Run Keeper
- Snap Chat
- Line
- ChatON
- Banjo
- Cam Dictionary
- MiniGallery
- 10 other apps that are basically different themes for the home screen watch.
Always Connected
The Galaxy Gear uses low-power Bluetooth to communicate with your smartphone - and by smartphone I mean "only the Galaxy Note 3," at least for now, The smartwatch is only compatible with Android-powered Samsung devices with Android 4.3 only. but sources at Samsung say the update is coming soon for the S3, Note 2 and the S3.
When you pair the Galaxy Gear smartwatch with the Note 3, the watch connects to the phone to let you control music or view notifications without having to taking the phone out of your pocket. And it works the other way, too: the Gear Manager companion app installed on your phone lets you adjust the settings of your watch.
Other options include the Find My Device feature: lose track of your phone, and you can use your watch to signal the errant blower, which will make a racket until you locate it. And vice versa: lose your watch, and use the companion app on your phone to set the watch ringing so you can return it to its rightful place on your wrist.
The Verdict
The Galaxy Gear is a game changer, It's not exactly something you won't be able to live without but once you get used to it, man it's hard to to go back, Honestly my Swatch is just not going to cut it anymore! Still, it's just the beginning and there's more from where that came from. the Galaxy Gear is in someways limited but it makes your life easier, The price tag could be an obstacle for some people which swings between $300 in the States to $425 in Jordan, It's battery will last for a full day, it runs smoothly and there are no downsides other than the limited storage, having to carry the charging dock in case of an overnight stay and since it's connected to the phone via Bluetooth you'll have to keep your phone within 10 meters from the watch to use "Find my device" feature.
Are you planning on getting the Galaxy Gear? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!
Arabic Video Review
Everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy Gear [Review]
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