First images of the Galaxy Gear show off Samsung's "unique" design sense
What are said to be the first images of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch have come out; and, they triggered the absolutely wrong reaction in us. The first thought we had after seeing the images was, "That better be a prototype." But, it looks to be real, and that is incredibly disappointing, because the absolute best compliment we can give the device is that it looks like something a hipster would wear, and even that feels like we're insulting hipsters, which is not the intention.
The images come from VentureBeat which show an internal promotional marketing video created by a 3rd party for the watch. The display is said to be "about 3 inches diagonally", which matches the rumors we had heard about a 2.5-inch 320x320 display. While the display is square, the device has bezels on the top and bottom to make it look similar to a tiny Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The person who leaked the info is a woman and says that the device is clearly designed for men. It is chunky, and far too big for a woman's wrist. And frankly, we just think the design is silly. We can understand the idea that Samsung wanted to make it look like a Galaxy smartphone, but that's a brainstorming idea, not something that makes the final product.
The individual who leaked the images says that the idea is for the Gear to be a smartwatch and health tracker, which will link up with Samsung's S Health. It has a built-in heart rate monitor, and will combine that with pedometer data and calorie intake to track your health. The calorie data would come from the 4MP camera which could be used to take pics of your food for nutrition tracking.
Additionally, the device will have many of the features that we have expected from leaks, including options to see your call log, and initiate calls through your Samsung device. (Side note: much of the functionality is referred to as linking to your "Samsung device". It's unclear if that means the watch will only work with Samsung devices, or if that is simply marketing speak to mention one's own products.) It will use Samsung's S Voice for voice commands; and, it will have preloaded apps for health tracking and social media. The interface is said to have swipe gestures to easily access apps, the camera, and the photo gallery.
And, once again the dreaded battery life info is listed at just "10+ hours", which is extremely disappointing for a smartwatch, and would confirm one of the fears we had about smartwatches being released right now. We like the idea of the watch being a health tracker as well, but we can't help but think that the constant heart rate and pedometer monitoring are big drains on the device's battery.
We'll be getting the full story in just 3 days, when Samsung officially announces the Gear at IFA in Berlin.
source: VentureBeat
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