After debuting its promos for its smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, in between today's round of NFL games, Samsung may have proven that its ability to grab our attention through its catchy advertising concept is unparalleled (well at least for this product), but still here we are shouting expletives in our minds on why in the world Samsung even came up with a not-so-good product after its successful slew of Galaxy S and Galaxy Note installments and modified versions.
The Galaxy Gear promo may have made a big impression, especially that it has featured a timeline of famous movie and TV productions that in one way or another have introduced to us the concept of having a smartwatch - although of course, we didn't refer to them as such back then. In the two promotional clips, we can the most iconic wrist-worn communication devices from the Jetsons era to Predator, and we know for sure that all of these watches, if real, would have been the biggest techie devices in their respective time period.
"It's finally real," says Samsung its promotional clips, but dare we say that this real thing could simply be a hole in the pocket. To cut to the chase, we all know that the Galaxy Gear is supposed to be the companion of our new life companion, Galaxy Note 3, after the other one - Galaxy Note 2 - has become so 2012. As a companion to the stylus-centric phablet, we sure do hope that it lives up to its name and simply deliver the goods that will co-exist, collaborate, and if not enhance Galaxy Note 3's offerings.
For $299, the Galaxy Gear may sound reasonably priced given its functionality and features, but a closer look on its limitations and downsides would tell anyone out there - even the suck-up Samsung fans - that it's just not worth it. The first thing on the list of its limitations is its incompatibility with other Samsung devices except for the Galaxy Note 3 and the Note 10.1 2014 Edition. Although very reasonable, it's sad to say that one must have either of these also expensive devices to make everything work. Yes! Galaxy Gear is quite dependent on these devices for its functionality, so buying only the smartwatch would mean purchasing only a watch minus the "smart" aspect to it.
The build of the Galaxy Gear is nowhere close to an everyday-wear wristwatch. Although its design may have been regarded as an elegant metal for women, holding the real thing, let alone wearing it would give the impression that it's an oversized watch for men. But, of course, the strap colors will make up for this one, given that Samsung has released four variations including Rose Gold and Oatmeal Beige to cater to its female loyalists.
The chuncky steel clasp, exposed screws, and the seamless metal frame make it a unified whole in terms of minimalist design, but its adjustable strap which is not that flexible due to its integrated 1.9 megapixel camera, gives it another downside in terms of everyday use. Additionally, the power button on its right is quite conspicuous and well-formed that moving one's wrist in a backward-forward motion would lead to clinking sounds. Not only that, the straps are not at all interchangeable or replaceable, defeating the purpose of making a long-term companion for the said life companion since damaging the strap would also mean losing the wearability of the entire smartwatch.
Ergonomic issues are also a big deal with this device. For one thing, the rather large steel construction frame and the strap-mounted camera will make one feel awkward most of the time despite the tolerable weight it has. Moving one's wrist comfortably in all sorts of direction is not at all possible with this device except if one is too thin enough to make the Galaxy Gear appear like a bangle.
However, amidst all these issues, Samsung has managed to incorporate two stand-out features to its newly-released smartwatch. The first one is of course its camera that is surprisingly quite effortless to use. One can go on an espionage adventure and take pictures unnoticeably with its swift and reliable shooting mechanism. Not only that, Galaxy Gear's camera takes photos brilliantly, and one does not even need to retake photos out of poor focusing or exposure. The 1392x1392 default resolution of its images is more than enough to satisfy one's craving for quality Instagram posts. A sound recorder for a photo and a 15-second video clip recorder are also incorporated in the camera, making it, per se, the catch in this device. All images and clips are either stored on the 4GB built-in memory of the smartwatch or sent to the Galaxy Note 3 and or Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition via Bluetooth.
Finally, perhaps another undeniable upside to the Galaxy Gear is the call quality it is capable of making. It's pretty similar to any smartphone speakerphone that one could not even tell that a user is dialing using a smartwatch and not just some kind of smartphone. We are even surprised that there isn't actually a need to have the watch up to the face to make call quality clearer than it already is. It picks up speech even when the user's hand is on top of a desk. The only problem with this set-up though is the lack of privacy and the inability of the device to cancel out public noise when communication is done in a crowded area.
Apart from these two, Samsung Galaxy Gear is just an extra baggage to the already expensive, newly-released Galaxy Note devices. Its limited functionality and apps, its inefficient 24-hour battery life, its not-so-ergonomic design, and its not-so-reasonable $299 tag simply make the entire package unfit to even live up to its title.
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