Samsung Unveils Galaxy Gear Smartwatch 244
MojoKid writes "The smartwatch race heated up today, as Samsung showed its Galaxy Gear smartwatch at the Samsung Unpacked event in Berlin. Samsung's take on such a device has been eagerly anticipated. Samsung announced the Galaxy Gear as a companion to the new Galaxy Note 3 (or any Galaxy device). The Gear lets users make and receive calls hands-free with the built-in speaker, and it notifies you of any incoming texts, emails, and alerts and gives you a preview of whatever is coming through. A Smart Relay feature will display the full content on your Galaxy device. The Galaxy Gear sports an 800MHz processor and 1.63-inch display (320x320) AMOLED display with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a speaker, and two microphones with noise cancellation. There's a 1.9MP camera with a BSI sensor and autofocus, and it connects via Bluetooth 4.0 + BLE. Sensors include an accelerometer and a gyroscope. Samsung plans to launch the smartwatch in October for $300."
Lame (Score:1, Funny)
No 4G. Less space than an iPhone 5. Lame
Re:Expensive (Score:2, Funny)
I won't be ditching my Casio for that thing, but I reckon the battery life will be low because of the screen. Besides, the battery is not that large to begin with, if the user doesn't make calls the Bluetooth v4 connection won't drain the battery very much, see the "Bluetooth Smart" part: https://developer.bluetooth.org/TechnologyOverview/Pages/v4.aspx [bluetooth.org]
Citizen has been selling Bluetooth 4 enabled watches for some time, their watches use the bluetooth connection the get the current time from the internet a couple of times a day and run from a tiny solar cell: http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-ir/2012/10/12/citizen-eco-drive-unveils-proximity/ [citizenwatch.com]
A timepiece that tells time? That's crazy talk!
Re: Expensive (Score:4, Funny)
Let's see ...
- cost too much for what it does.
- early release just to get to market.
- no apps available at launch.
- needs to use your phone in order to communicate with the rest of the world.
Are we talking about a Samsung Galaxy Gear or a Blackberry Playbook?
Re:Expensive (Score:2, Funny)
I (finally) got my Pebble watch the other day. t's not perfect, but it's pretty damn good, and has a week long battery life. It can also be read outside, which adds a lot of value. Between the notifications, weather, and ability to run things on the phone using Task, etc, it's pretty damn good for ~150$.
To counter this big push into wrist computing Microsoft buys declining mobile phone maker Nokia - Well played, Mr. Ballmer!
Honestly, I laughed out loud when the fellow from the Motley Fool said the acquisition was the biggest deal of 1999. About how I felt regarding the acquisition - about 14 years late and out of sync with what is going on in the markets right now.
Re:Casio (Score:4, Funny)
Nowhere near as cool as the 15 Swatches I wore on both arms every day!
before you were mugged?
No, after he mugged 15 people wearing swatches.
Re:Expensive (Score:2, Funny)
Hey, not all of us are as creepy as our politicians.. Actually Arizona could be two states, Maricopa County (Phoenix), and Everything Else. The other large population center (Tucson) leans heavily towards the left, as does a decent swath of Northern Arizona. Phoenix is the problem. As a person who lives there, I'd be happy if it was erased from the map. People aren't meant to live here.