With the Samsung Galaxy Gear has finally presents the SmartWatch, after half the tech world thirsts for months. I could test it already and have to tell you, unfortunately: In terms of the expectations that thing is a huge disappointment. The hochgehypte clock is the next big SmartWatch flop.
[Updated on 05.09.2013, 12:42 PM Clock: Now also was quoted a price. The gear will cost 299 euros, 25 September starts the sale. You can find more information.
I knew it when I saw the thing for the first time. Samsung had an extra can a PR manager and the designer of the clock flying from Korea to Berlin to present the jewel appropriate. She was so beside the PowerPoint screen, smiled shyly and moved up the left sleeve, where the gear appeared. I had already suspected it, because the bump was just obvious under the fabric. It has a certain tragedy, that of all the people who were involved in the development, an example to show why the Gear is flop: For normal people it is simply too big and clunky.
Also the design I find totally failed because it underlines the swanky size again. A solid metal frame that is fixed with visible screws on the housing that surrounds the huge for a clock display (1.63 inches, AMOLED, 320 x 320 pixels), it is held by a thick plastic band which in turn using a metal clip on wrist is strapped. In six different color combinations, it will give the Gear (from black to "wild orange").
The Begleituhr
Samsung advertises the gear as a "perfect companion device for the Galaxy Note 3", and just so you have to understand it as well. Without a smartphone that acts as a control center, the clock is completely useless. The data exchange via Bluetooth, the initiation is via NFC what works! Easy and hassle free. Then you have the app "Gear Manager" access to a wealth of watch designs, or specially adapted apps, such Runtastic. About the built-in motion sensor, the clock counts namely the steps at the request jogging, just to name an example of application. As of September, there are about 70 Gear apps as Samsung.
In the bracelet Samsung has integrated a 1.9-megapixel camera, which always should be used when you want to do a quick photo without spending an extra to pull the smartphone out of your pocket. The geknipsten in James Bond proud little picture will automatically be synchronized with your phone as soon as one finishes the camera app on the clock. A look at the photos that are stored on the phone in a gallery created automatically, confirmed what was already clear in principle before: The quality is bad, hard to use the thumbnails to anything actually.
The late bloomer
The interaction with the smartphone is the defining element. The Galaxy Gear offers some access to Samsung's smartphone voice control S Voice, also you will be notified on the clock display when an email eintrudelt or a pending appointment. You can also make phone calls, which I have not tried using the integrated Lautsprecher-/Mikrofon-Kombination.
For this I have tried many other things and it has struck me that the proprietary system (it is a heavily modified version of Android) reacts only with a lag input. Starting the photo app took two seconds and felt it always takes when switching between individual menu entries blink of an eye.The clock is controlled by the way from menu to menu, by wiping horizontally across the screen, a wipe from top to bottom, however always leads back to the next higher menu level. If you got lost somewhere, just press the only physical button on the top right.
I can not make any sense to me on the inertia of the system. The resolution is low, only a few pixels have to be controlled, the processor seems equipped with a clock speed of 800 MHz and 512 MB RAM enough for this humble task.
Success with Trial & Error
The fact that the battery barely holds according to Samsung a day and that you have to connect the device to charge into a special charging cage (which is basically an adapter for the pogo pins are), is just the last nail in the coffin the Galaxy Gear. Whether Samsung believes in itself a success? I have my doubts. But in the device segment operate the Koreans for years with the same nonchalance that also characterizes Google: Trial & Error is raised to an art form, products are simply dumped on the market and then looked to see what happens. This strategy is due to innovations such as the Galaxy Note, which is well known, introduced the phablet era.
Specifications| GALAXY GEAR | |
|---|---|
| Processor | 800 MHz |
| Memory | 512 MB of RAM |
| Display | 1.63-inch Super AMOLED (320 x 320) |
| Camera | 1.9 MP |
| Video | Codecs: H.264, MP4, HD (720p) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.0, BLE |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope |
| Memory | 4 GB internal |
| Battery | 315 mAh |
| Dimensions | 36.8 x 56.6 x 11.1 mm |
| Weight | 73.8 g |
| Availability | September 2013 |
The Galaxy Gear is the next big flop SmartWatch and I wonder how many will follow until the world finally realizes that this product concept is currently doomed to failure. No man needs a clock as an extended smartphone display, to simply lack of value. In five years, maybe when flexible displays are marketable and affordable, then, yes, maybe. But now? Now I'm waiting really just the fact that Apple is launching a similar clock and thus gets a bloody nose. Pebble, I'm Watch , Sony SmartWatch, Galaxy Gear: the cemetery of the smartwatch, it fills up slowly.
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