Gadgetory

the wrist is and has been a convenient location for technology more specifically glanceable data timekeeping in and of itself was at one time a fairly high-tech endeavor today ambitious parties are aiming to carry forth that tradition replacing old tech with new stuff and timekeepers with communicators going forward it's obvious the risk could play a bigger role from both a computing and communication standpoint companies are barreling headfirst into this emerging SmartWatch category in hopes of capturing both market and mine share Samsung's Galaxy gear is one of the most ambitious approaches thus far reviews porting shortly after its launch and many declared the gear DOA citing a general lack of usefulness I decided to live with the device over a longer period of time before weighing in with my thoughts in fact I've been using both the Galaxy gear and Galaxy Note 3 since launch and these have been my exclusive devices this review comes from a more long-term user a convert an individual willing to give up his primary mobile device for an extended period in exchange for a new experience most of all I'm a fan of technology the future and the devices that will get us there that being said a review would be pointless without a healthy dose of skepticism first off I'd like to talk about the gear as a watch I actually quite like it it features a robust metallic face a securely locking clasp a wonderfully sharp high contrast display it seems like the perfect watch right unfortunately that's where the positive watch specific attributes end a key component in watch functionality over time is battery life of course and the gear simply can't match its traditional digital counterparts in this area that minor drawback though comes with good reason the gear is hard to define as a watch it's actually quite a bit more to be honest since installing the device on my wrist checking for time has probably only occupied 10 percent of my overall usage I'm not sure if this says more about the watch or me and my habits when it comes to being on time anyways the gear like many other Bluetooth devices will require a fairly regular charging regimen in my experience under normal operation a needed and continues to require daily charging so much like my smartphone this baby hits the wall socket at night and sleeps on my ever crowded gadget ridden nightstand but the gear isn't a smartphone in fact it requires one in order to do much of anything what's more it will only work with select devices like the note 3 S 4 and a couple of other Samsung products this is probably my largest single criticism I really wish the gear was more open possibly sporting a companion app in the Play Store to access functionality configuration etc from any Android device I'm not a fan of these proprietary approaches for fear that they'll slow down adoption and subsequently development for these new innovative platforms onto something I've really enjoyed about the gear incredibly convenient voice memos the gear features a built-in microphone and speaker capable of phonecall communication I found much more use for the mic as a memo taker than call taker the wrist is the perfect location for something like this I've got the voice memo shortcut right on the gears homepage one tap and I'm into the interface recording my thoughts the audio is immediately synced to my note 3 for organization or consumption at a later date this is not a feature I've ever been compelled to use previously on other devices but for some reason giving this particular piece of real estate it seems to make more sense to me now anyway addicted to this particular feature find my device is also useful no matter where you've plopped down your phone when you're about to walk out the door you simply hit the find my device button your phone starts to buzz and ring your golden simple stuff super useful hot features don't end there the gear brings security enhancements and convenience to your standard smartphone experience there's nothing I despise more than typing a numerical passcode into a device a hundred times a day the iPhone 5s addresses this issue using their brand new fingerprint scanner but in my experience this can still be a nuisance at times the Galaxy gear and Note 3 combo takes a different approach using proximity since the gear is a wearable chances are it's on your body have your watch in the same vicinity as your device and the gear will authenticate granting you access with a simple swipe take the gear away and the phone reverts back to its boring passcode locking out thieves or anyone who isn't you it's an elegant and fast solution and it's being rock-solid throughout my entire experience another simple thing yet incredibly useful not so useful as being the camera there are few if any circumstances where I'd opt to use it over my much higher quality phone camera that's sitting in my pocket anyways it's there I'm sure someone will find a use for it it's definitely not a killer feature from my perspective though a twelve-year-old version of myself would probably think it's cool as hell I've answered a couple of phone calls on the gear seeing as how it's got that built-in mic / speaker combo it behaves essentially like a speakerphone it's ideal as a backup when you might not have immediate access to your device if you've left it upstairs or in a backpack or it's deep in your pocket and you're driving that being said I don't see this feature replacing the call functionality of your handset as most prefer taking their calls in private there are a number of apps available notably some watch face variations and social network integration the third-party app ecosystem is obviously in its infancy as a result this aspect of the gear isn't very compelling at least for now for me app installation portions of the configuration etc are all accessed via the phone instead of the watch this doesn't really bother me as I'd imagine the configuration process to be much more painful on the gears significantly smaller display ultimately the goal of the gear and pretty much every other SmartWatch on the market or in development is to bring phone notifications to your wrist this works as expected bringing text messages and emails from your device to this new high profile location one glaring issue is the fact that not all apps that notify one's handset are capable of being pushed out to the watch for example Gmail likely the mo most widely adopted email client it'll push a notification to the watch but in a rudimentary form lacking any insight into the actual message this is hardly the glanceable computing future I'd hoped for though I'm sure enhancing the risk-based gmail experience is likely a priority for both Samsung and Google I'm anxious for that to get hashed out did I mention that the gear vibrates this might seem like a minuscule addition to some but to me it's a killer given my work environment I've often got my phone on silent or sitting on my desk even with the vibration enabled on my main device I occasionally miss calls I'm not sure if this happens to others but for me sometimes the vibe function on the phone is simply not powerful enough to jar me away from what I'm already doing something vibrating on your wrist by comparison is impossible to avoid I've yet to miss a single call while wearing the gear the gear features a basic media controller for content playing on your smart phone as well as a stripped-down fitness tracker in the form of a pedometer I'm not hating on either of these functions I just get a feeling that more could be done here there is already a sense of it in the gear specific app store though I'd love to see even more development in this particular arena like any new platform adoption will likely dictate the direction myself I enjoy being on the forefront but this comes at a cost it means I sometimes end up using half-baked devices that are more of a nuisance than anything else in my opinion the Galaxy gear is no such device it houses select features that have become part of my communication routine in my case it has definitely proven useful and relatively hassle-free a tough accomplishment for one of the first mass-market devices in this category the $2.99 price point will likely hurt immediate adoption that's understandable but I refuse to write off the device because of it I think the gear is a very cool step in a very cool package could it do more of course the same could be said of so many categories ripe for disruption bottom line if you've got a compatible device the gear will enhance its functionality what that's worth to you in dollar figures is dependent on many factors being at the forefront has always commanded a premium and only you can decide if it's worth the cost of admission for me it has been come on my way