Today Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch as the newest member of the Galaxy family. The Galaxy Gear took the stage alongside the newest Galaxy Note and a new Galaxy Tab 10.1 at Samsung's unpacked event at IFA 2013. The Galaxy Gear is quite an attractive device with a polished chrome finish and a tapered bezel. It has a 1.63 inch Super AMOLED display with a 320 by 320 pixel display, which is where most of the action takes place.
Samsung is marketing the Galaxy Gear as "the perfect companion to your Note 3", but it will also be compatible with the new Galaxy Note 10.1 and with the Samsung Galaxy S4 courtesy of a software update. Samsung also promises to bring support for other Galaxy series devices down the line.
The Gear will show you incoming messages, such as calls, texts, emails and alerts, delivers a preview of those messages, and then allow you to dig deeper or get rid of the message. But, the real power comes from Samsung's Smart Relay feature.
Samsung Smart Relay will take what is displayed on the screen of you Galaxy Gear and automatically transfer it to your Galaxy device. So for example if you are notified on a new email on your smartwatch, it will immediately open on your phone or tablet when you pick it up and unlock it.
Galaxy Gear also features Samsung's S Voice. allowing you to easily initiate different functions and with voice commands. In fact you can carry our an entire call on your Galaxy Gear, without even reaching out for your phone, which can be cool (or creepy to someone who sees you holding your hand up to your ear without a phone).
Keep in mind that the Galaxy Gear is primarily a watch, much like a smartphone is primarily a phone. So it hasn't forgotten its core function - telling time. However it doesn't shy away from other tasks like controlling your music, action as a personal health tracker and more.
Samsung has also included a 1.9 megapixel camera on the Gear with auto-focus and Smart Shot options. The camera is conveniently located on the outside part of the wrist strap making it easy to take a quick picture. Just a simple swipe will open the camera, and a tap takes a picture. Photos can then be shared through social networks or messaging. You will also be able to take short 720p video.
Samsung has also included a 1.9 megapixel camera on the Gear with auto-focus and Smart Shot options. The camera is conveniently located on the outside part of the wrist strap making it easy to take a quick picture. Just a simple swipe will open the camera, and a tap takes a picture. Photos can then be shared through social networks or messaging. You will also be able to take short 720p video.
The Galaxy Gear is not limited to Samsung's apps as the company plans to offer a Gear app store, where developers can bring their own apps to the smartwatch. Samsung says there will be about 70 apps at launch. Some of the featured apps are:
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You have 4GB of internal storage to store your apps on the device which powered by an 800MHz single core processor with 512MB of RAM. Samsung promises that the Galaxy Gear will offer users over a day (25+ hours) of battery life with its 315 mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartphone is expected to launch later this month in most regions and in early October in the U.S. and Japan. The device has been priced at $299 in the U.S.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartphone is expected to launch later this month in most regions and in early October in the U.S. and Japan. The device has been priced at $299 in the U.S.