Samsung Gear 2 Smartwatch - Silver/Black (US Warranty)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I've only received mine on April 23rd, so I will continue to update this review as I spend more time and familiarize myself more with it. Let's get down to the nitty gritty:



Pros:



* Lovely screen. 320 x 320 resolution on a 1.63 inch display means 277 PPI, the highest resolution on a smartwatch so far. sAMOLED technology means it's very bright with great saturation and contrast.

* Very fast and smooth. A dual-core 1GHz Samsung Exynos 3250 processor and 512MB of RAM means you can scroll and run apps without any lag. It has the fastest processor of any smartwatch so far.

* Good fit. The face is not too big or clunky, so even with my tiny wrists it goes on and stays on fine. It only weighs 68g(2.4oz), so you will not notice it much. By comparison, the Neo weighs 55g, the original Pebble 38g, the Pebble Steel 56g, and the Sony SmartWatch 2 is a whopping 122.5g. As for the dimensions of the watch face: Sony - 42 x 41 x 9mm, Pebble Steel - 46 x 34 x 10.5mm, Pebble - 52 x 36 x 11.5mm, Gear 2 Neo - 43 x 37 x 9.5mm, Gear 2 - 47 x 37 x 9.5mm.

* Good functionality. The main thing is you can use the watch for actual phone calls, not just a reminder to pick up your phone. Meaning there is a speaker and microphone on the watch for you to be Dick Tracy. I was going to buy the Sony Smartwatch 2, but found out it can't make/receive calls.

-The watch has a heart rate monitor and pedometer built in, so you can use the S Health app on your phone to record and keep track of your heart rate, or how many steps you've taken that day or segment.

-Another functionality that I like is I can control both my TV and cable box in one. I can control the power of both, change the volume of the TV, and change the channel of the cable box. I can also change the source input, and get info on the programming from the cable box. It has an IR blaster, and uses its own WatchON app. Pretty nifty.

-There is also an email for you to check and delete your emails(but can't compose or reply), check and send text messages, check notifications from many apps on your phone, check the weather, has the Feedly app for health/fitness people.

* 4GB of memory(2.9GB free) means you can store music and media to play. So not only can you stream the music from your phone, but you can also store them directly and play your videos and movies straight from the watch!

* Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity to your Samsung phone, and also to your Bluetooth headset. It connected to my Note 3 right away and without any hiccups. And you can still connect and use your Bluetooth headset to make private calls if you don't want to use the watch's speaker.

* Gorilla Glass 3 screen means it more scratch-resistant than other smartwatches. But why even risk it, just get a pack of screen protectors for $6.

* Interchangeable straps - you can change the strap with any 22mm watch strap in the world. Awesome!

* Apps from Banjo, BMW, CNN , Conde Nast, Expedia, eBay, Evernote, Feedly, Garmin, Glympse, GM , iControl, Line, Path, Paypal, Runtastic, Volkswagen, Weather Channel and Under Armour will come to the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. Apps on the original Galaxy Gear will probably be ported over to the new version. Source: Pocket-Lint.com

* IP67 dust and water-resistant. Don't take the ratings word for word though. In real-life, this ratings means: 1- you can wear it in the rain. 2- you can wear it while rinsing your hands. 3- You can wear it while exercising and have your sweat all over it. Basically, water can splash on it. But DON'T submerge it in water and expect it to 100%. This rating is about water pressure - it is SUPPOSED to last up to 3 feet in water. But if you submerge it and enough water pressure gets to it, it will malfunction. IT IS NOT WATERPROOF.



Cons:



* Call quality could be better. It isn't as good as on a phone, because it has to project the sound externally, the same as when you route your phone call to the external speaker. The volume could be louder, so using it outdoors or in a noisy environment is not ideal. It is mainly for when you are at home or in your car.

* 2MP camera. Common, really? This is no more than a gimmick. First of all, it is really awkward to position it to take the photos in the first place. You can't hold it like you can a regular camera, or even your phone. You have to do it Dick Tracy style, which is not as cool as it sounds. It's really hard to see what you are shooting and to frame your shot right. And then when you see your photos..the quality is barely passable. Let's just say if you want to take photos, just use your phone. You might think it's really cool that's it's always there and you can just take a photo quicker and better than pulling out your phone. Maybe you're right, for when you see a UFO and you just have to shoot it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, USE YOUR PHONE.

* I am a heavy gadget user. Although Samsung says the watch can last up to 6 days, for me constantly checking my notifications, using the WatchON app, fooling around with the watch, from 10am to 2am it went from 100% to 30%. Your battery usage will vary, and when I just use it to check my notifications when they pop up, make an occasional call with the watch itself, use it sometimes for the fitness and music apps, then it really does last about 3 days. I just wish it can really last a week as I know it might be a problem later, especially on my travels. Which brings me up to the next con:

* The charger cradle is tiny and proprietary. It attaches to the back of the watch for when you want to charge it, and the included micro-USB charger connects to the cradle. It is a small piece of plastic which I fear will be far too easy to lose.

* Finally, it can only connect to your Samsung phones(because of Tizen, and its proprietary connection method). The Pebble and Sony Smart Watch can connect to any Anroid, and the Pebble can connect to the iPhone too.



Conclusion:



This might be the biggest issue for me with this Galaxy Gear 2 line. So this is what happened: Samsung wanted to have a smartwatch before the end of 2013 to get a leg up on the competition. The success of the Pebble smartwatch told Samsung that it needs to be an innovator, not a follower. The launch date of the Note 3 was the perfect opportunity. However, at that time, the Android Wear platform/coding had not existed yet, so Samsung had to take the regular Android coding - which is NOT made for a smartwatch platform - and make all the changes on their own to fit with the original Galaxy Gear smartwatch. They quickly came to realized that is was a much harder task than they had thought, so what happened with the original Galaxy Gear was a rush job that although had a lot of potential, turn out to be something everyone hated. The most egregious shortcoming was that it would only last up to 3-4 hours, which is totally unacceptable. So in reality, version 2 was what the original Gear was supposed to be had Samsung not overestimated their skills, or had more time to develop the original Gear. But since they realized regular Android would not make a good platform for watches(the battery length issue), they switched to their very own Tizen platform instead, as during this development the Android Wear platform was not yet ready, and Samsung did not want to wait(they will have at least HTC, LG, and Motorola to contend with). Now, the biggest issue with Tizen is that it is an unproven platform, and that it is not Android. Several smartphones were supposed to have already been perfected in the Tizen platform, and so far only one has came out, and was quickly buried. So, there are simply not enough developers out there to progress this platform outside of Samsung. So for all we know, this could be another Nokia Symbian OS situation(Maemo and Meego, anyone?) where this Tizen platform is already obsolescent, and might be obsolete once Android Wear comes out and everyone else jumps on board and leaves Tizen in the dust. So although there is huge potential for this watch, we simply just don't know, and to support $200-300 to a soon-to-be defunct possibility is a lot for many consumers to bear.



So should you buy this Galaxy Gear 2 line? I say if you don't already have one, and are itching to have such a cool gadget to complement your phone(like me), then I would recommend the Neo version over this more expensive brother. The ONLY 2 differences are that the Neo lacks the camera, and has a rubber band, instead of a metal one. But the $100 difference is more than enough to justify these 2 omissions. The 8-13MP camera in your phone will take much much better photos, trust me. And although the metal band does look cooler and more luxurious and sophisticated, the money you would save can go towards buying new bands, as they are interchangeable with any 22mm strap out there.



Otherwise, if you are on the fence, I would say stifle your itches and urges, and wait for the LG and HTC watches that will be out in about 2 months from now. If I have learned one thing from their phones, LG and HTC will make beautiful and very functional smartwatches.