News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy Gear

Samsung have confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch will soon be compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III smartphones. The news comes courtesy of Lee Young-hee, Executive Vice President for Marketing of Samsung who stated that the S4 would be compatible by end of October 2013. The Note II and Galaxy S III on the other hand will be compatible by end of December. This compatibility hinges on the smartphones getting their Android 4.3 updates which will then enable the Bluetooth 4.0 LE support required by the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch to work. As mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy Gear has an RRP of RM999 in Malaysia although it can be acquired for free as a combo deal with certain local telcos. In related news, Samsung will be working on apps or a user experience to make the Gear smartwatch pop more as they acknowledge that the smartwatch "lacks something special".

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has finally been offered by 4 of the major telcos in Malaysia. Retailing at an RRP of RM2399, each of these telcos in Malaysia is offering the LTE-enabled 32GB version. It is also available at lower prices in our sister site of Mobile Mega Mall.com with discounts up to RM300. Of the 4 major telcos the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is offered for free as a combo with DiGi, Celcom and Maxis while U Mobile has the smartwatch available for separate purchase at it's Berjaya Times Square branch. If you haven't tried it out yet, do check out our Samsung Galaxy Note 3 plan comparison tool for a more comprehensive listing of all the available plans for the phablet. In any case, you can see all the tables in this article, containing the details of each plan.

Finally, Maxis has come out with it's Samsung Galaxy Note 3 offerings and no surprise here but they also have a FREE Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch thrown in. Prices of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 start from RM1199 and as usual, you have to sign up for a 24 month contract but with Maxis you can choose between a SurfMore75 or TalkMore78+1GB or TalkMore78+3GB postpaid plan bundle. Check out the table and links in the article for the full details.

While Celcom has already come out with it's Samsung Galaxy Note 3 bundles, those were for 24-month contracts. Looking to add a few more options for their bundles, Celcom have recently added on 12 and 18 month contracts starting from RM1888 and RM1748 respectively. Users still sign up using the Celcom First Prime, Celcom First Premier and Celcom First Elite plans but add on 1GB or 3GB of mobile internet. Other advantages of the lower contract period include a lower advance payment. Check out the details and links in the article.

U Mobile has announced it's Samsung Galaxy Note 3 package deals from as low as RM999, which is a massive reduction from the retail price of RM2399. Users interested in the deal have to sign up for a U Mobile Ultimate Device plan under a 24 month contract with loyal customers being offered the highest tier of Ultimate Device 158 and the aforementioned lowest price of RM999. All of the Ultimate Device postpaid plans will require an upfront payment which will be credited back over the 24 period. For more details check out the table and other links in this article.

Celcom has also come out with their deals on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch combo. This time the Note 3 is being offered from RM1538 with the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch only available for free for the first 100 who confirm a booking of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with Celcom. To get the deal, you have to sign up for a 24-months contract with the Celcom First plans and an mPro 88 data plan. Check out the full details in the article.

Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 pre-orders are opening up and DiGi is currently offering the smartphone from RM1319 with a free Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch for DG SmartPlan 148 subscribers. The Note 3 is still available by itself for other Smart Plan postpaid subscribers but all of them are under a 24 month contract. According to earlier reports, DiGi may only have limited stock of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch so if you want the RM999 smartwatch free, now is the time. For more details check out the table and other details in this article.

Before the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch was revealed, the hype machine put out all sorts of rumours that it would be the wearable tech device to beat, especially since Apple's iWatch isn't due until mid 2014. However, when it was revealed it didn't really get the sort of dominating presence Samsung were hoping for especially since the smartwatch can't last more than a day on a single charge. While in terms of features it does lead the pack, the fact that it currently only works with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has made things worse for the smartwatch. Rumours have it that the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch is currently under development and should be revealed during CES 2014 in January. These rumours claim that the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch may come with a GPS, better battery life and be able to connect to all Android smartphones. No Malaysia pricing or release dates just yet but we're guessing that the price won't be far off from the original Gear which retailed at $299 (RM981).

Updated (20-9-2013):-

Samsung Malaysia have just released the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch at a local launch event held today in Malaysia. It marks the availability of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch in Malaysia from 25 September 2013 at RM999. The smartwatch comes with a number of features and tech specs which include an 800 MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 1.9MP backside-illuminated camera, 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display with 320 x 320 resolution, accelerometer, gyroscope, pedometer, microphone, speakers and 315 mAh battery for up to 25 hours of use on a single charge. The Galaxy Gear is also IP55 rated so it can stand a little dust and water.

Please check out the Samsung Galxy Note 3 Malaysia release date and info.

This year's IFA 2013 has certainly been one of the largest IFA trade shows in recent years. Before this it was just the odd Samsung Galaxy Note announcement or something like that, but this year the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 came along with a whole lot of other gadgets and tech gear. Check out the 8 smartphones, tablets and cameras that we thought made the biggest splash here.