Summary: Samsung will be revealing its Galaxy Gear
smartwatch this week at IFA, and some photos of a Samsung watch appeared this
weekend. Surely these can't be real, though, or Samsung has gone off the deep
end.
Samsung has already confirmed that it will be revealing
its smartwatch at the upcoming Samsung Unpacked event in a couple of days.
Rumors are that it will be called the Samsung Galaxy Gear, and this weekend, we
saw some ridiculous photos of a likely prototype over at VentureBeat.
Some think this is the real deal, but I have to believe that Samsung has more
sense than to release a device that looks more like a Galaxy Note or Galaxy Mega
watch. Om Malik posted that these
are images of a prototype, but also wrote that the lame 10-hour battery life
may be real.
The photos show a very large watch with four front visible screws, a display
that's 3 inches diagonal in size, and a 4-megapixel camera. It may also only
connect to a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet, have S Voice for voice control, and
include Samsung health apps.
It also may only have a 10-hour battery life with active use, which is
ridiculous and in my opinion makes the watch basically useless. Who in the world
wants a watch they have to charge daily and that may not even go a full day with
heavy usage?
I used Microsoft SPOT watches back in 2004 — I still have a couple in my
collection — and liked the idea of having a watch you could just glance at and
get the essentials. I was a Kickstarter backer of the Pebble
smartwatch, and find that watch to be excellent when partnered with my
Android smartphones. I wear it daily, and think it is nearly perfect for a
smartwatch. I also backed the Agent
smartwatch, since it offers connectivity to Windows Phone as well as Android
and iOS, with functions such as wireless charging and more.
As you can see, I am a perfect candidate for the upcoming Galaxy Gear watch
and rumored iWatch. Samsung's watch must look better than what the current
photos show. It also shouldn't try to include the entire kitchen sink in a watch
that must be partnered with a smartphone anyway. I would love the healthy
tracking functionality seen in the FuelBand,
Fitbit, or Up included in a watch to eliminate one extra device I carry, but
not if that means I have to charge my watch daily.
Standard watches seem to be getting more popular, even with everyone having a
phone with a clock already in their pocket. A smartwatch offers more than just
the time. For example, I love that my Pebble vibrates, shows me who is calling,
and lets me keep my phone in my pocket, on my desk, or in my bag without having
to pick it up if I don't want to take the call.
The ability to glance at the watch and see key information coming into your
phone is actually quite useful. However, I don't think you need such a watch
with a camera or the ability to play Angry Birds. These watches need to last a
long time, my Pebble goes at least a week between charges, and provide just the
essentials. Why would you want to take a crappy photo with your watch when your
phone with a great camera is in your pocket?
It will be interesting to see what Samsung actually launches, but if it is
like its Galaxy smartphones, it will have way too much software and Samsung
functions that people use for a week until the novelty wears off. I am looking
forward to what Apple may launch, too, but until then, my Pebble meets all of my smartwatch needs and
gets better weekly, with developers offering lots of cool watch faces and
functions.
Source: zdnet.com
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