News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy Gear

They may be just accessories for now, but smartwatches mark the trend for the next step of mobile computing devices in the form of wearable computers. While development on smartwatches have been on for the past couple of years, most of it has involved independent developers like the creators of the Pebble smartwatch which crowdfunded it's development. Quite recently, better known tech companies have taken a crack at it with the Sony SmartWatch 2, the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Qualcomm Toq. Which one reigns supreme and which one would we buy? Read on and find out. 

When it was first introduced, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch was said to only be able to work with Samsung Galaxy smartphones and even then, it would only work with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at the time. While it still only works with the Note 3 a recent announcement reveals that the smartwatch may soon be compatible with any smartphone provided that it supports Bluetooth LE and has Android 4.3 (which still means no go for you iOS users hoping for some cross compatibility). According to the announcement, firmware upgrades are being sent out and the Gear may soon be compatible with the Samsung Galaxy SIII, Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note II. Ryan Bidan, Samsung Director of Product Marketing said:

"[I]t is just the timetable of bringing that software to other devices. It is nothing other than engineering work to do it.... Part of that functionality is tied to some updates in Android 4.3. So we are working to bring 4.3 to all those devices as well and so that is definitely one of the factors influencing adoption.
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We were working to make sure that we had the right engineering to do it on the Galaxy Note 3. So, here we are at the launch of the Galaxy Note 3 and here is Galaxy Gear. There is more to come, for sure."

The newly announced Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch have a number of features which are both innovative and complex, so Samsung have gone and made a very instructional video on all of these new features. The video explains how you can use the Air Command function and all the other shortcut features like Action Memo and S Finder. It also shows how to use the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch in a more personal way and explores all the little details in a friendly instructional manner. While it doesn't show a real-life setting, it does get everything explained nicely so do check out the video in this article.

As expected, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch was officially announced along with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Featuring a metallic chrome bezel it certainly looks better than the earlier leaked "prototypes" and comes in black, grey, red, yellow and white plastic watch straps. It confirms many tech spec rumours which include a camera, microphones and speaker built into the strap along with a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED screen that has a 320 x 320 pixel resolution. Tech specs for the Samsung Galaxy Gear include an 800 MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB storage and a 1.9MB camera capable of taking 720p video. According to Samsung, while it only packs in a 315 mAh battery it should last "about a day" although they are unclear if this is 24 hours or an 8 hour working day.

While smartwatches have been released before (Pebble smartwatch, Sony SmartWatch 2) and there are more coming like the upcoming Agent Smartwatch or the better known Samsung Galaxy Gear, there are just as many reasons to wait first before going out and buying a smartwatch. We list 4 of these reasons in this article so if you're thinking about getting a smartwatch now, this is the article to read as we explore why you should or should not get a smartwatch. 

With just a couple of days away from it's supposed unveiling before the IFA 2013, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch has had quite a lot of leaks come up. This includes screenshots of the smartphone app which will be used to interface with the smartwatch, which confirms that the Gear will be called the Gear and support NFC and Bluetooth connectivity. The app screenshots also reveal that the Gear will go by the model number of SM-V700. Other features include the rumour that the Gear can only last for 10 hours on a single charge, which as opposed to other smartwatches which say that they can last from 3 days to a week on a single charge may be the dealbreaker for some people. Confirming earlier statements that the Gear will not be using the flexible screen type as shown in the earlier patent drawings are leaked images of the Gear smartwatch live. Coming courtesy of VentureBeat, the images show off a 3-inch screen that would probably be an OLED type screen and colours which include dark gray and black with built-in speakers in the strap. A 4MP camera is also visible. Hopefully, everything turns out fine for the Gear as we hope it will spur other manufacturers onwards to better smartwatches but if this news is any indication, it may not be the perfect smartwatch we're all looking for.

While we've been speculating a lot about the Samsung Galaxy Gear, Samsung's upcoming smartwatch, a Samsung VP recently confirmed that it would be coming on 4 September 2013. This comes courtesy of Lee Young-hee, Samsung Mobile VP who confirmed that it would make an appearance, perhaps at the Samsung Unpacked 2 event on the same date. If or when that happens, it would likely be revealed alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 which is rumoured to be revealed at the same event. He also confirmed that it won't have a flexible screen, going on to say that the Samsung Galaxy Gear will be a:

"wearable concept device" and is "confident that the Gear will add meaningful momentum to the mobile industry"

With just about two more weeks before the Samsung Unpacked 2 event (where the Samsung Galaxy Gear is probably going to be announced), and we have some more rumours coming out about the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch. This time around the rumours indicate that we may now get the smartwatch in black, grey, orange, white and now white gold which is probably going to be released after the other 4 colours. The leak comes courtesy of SamMobile who are usually quite accurate about most things Samsung related but as always do take it with a pinch of salt. In all likelihood, the Samsung Galaxy Gear may come in a lot more colours than just 5 but this is the colour list we have for now. As a refresher, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is expected to be revealed on 4 September at the IFA 2013 with sales release dates expected in September to October of 2013. Again no news on pricing or availability in Malaysia just yet, but we'll keep you updated.

All eyes are on Samsung to deliver a better smartwatch than the ones already in the market, especially as Apple is having problems with the iWatch. Quite a lot of rumoured tech specs have been circulating recently for the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch which includes:

• 1.5GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos 5412 processor / 1.5Ghz dual-core Exynos 4212 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 1.67-inch AMOLED display (320 x 320 pixels) / 2.5-inch OLED display (320 x 320 pixels) / 3.5-inch display
• 2MP Camera
• Supports Bluetooth 4.0 LE + NFC + speaker + mic
• Android 4.1 / Android 4.2

According to some tipsters, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is apparently real and coming soon under the model name of SM-V700. The smartwatch will use an OLED flexible display and have two capacitive touch buttons for the menu and the back button along with a physical power button. There may also be a USB port for charging and a standard 3.5mm jack for microphone, speakers or headphones. These same tipseters say that it will likely be revealed at the upcoming Samsung Unpacked 2 event on 4 September right before the IFA 2013 as an additional accessory to the Samsung Galaxy Note III phablet (which sounds quite similar to how Sony revealed their recent SmartWatch 2). No other details just yet, but the tipsters are quite well known for being accurate so we'll just wait and see what happens.