Samsung Galaxy Gear: The smartwatch is here and waiting time is over

Considered a companion device that bridges the gap between a mobile and a fashion accessory.
The long awaited Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch has finally been unveiled in Berlin.
The device has all the features previously expected, including a 1.63 inch screen, a 1.9 megapixel camera, microphones, speakers and an 800MHz processor.
Not the most powerful gadget going, but what did we expect from what is – at the end of the day - a watch?
The ‘watch’ - which looks like it could have come out of James Bond’s armory – can be paired to a smartphone and picks up notifications such as calls, texts, emails and social media alerts.
To accept a call, all the user has to do is raise their wrist to their ear and chat through the microphone and speaker in the strap.
From what we have seen this looks a bit silly to say the least. If we were to walk down the street with our arm glued to the side of our head talking supposedly to our elbow, we wouldn’t hold it against anyone if they gave us a funny look!
On its own it is pretty useless, hence it has been called a companion device meaning that rather than being a standalone tech innovation, it actually acts to improve the functionality of another device.
Similar watches have risen, and sunk back into the depths of ‘is-this-worth-it’ with Apple stalling the production of its iWatch due to apparent engineering problems – or was it that it just had better things to think about?
JK Shin, president of IT and mobile division at Samsung, said: “Samsung Galaxy Gear benefits consumers by integrating smart device technology even deeper in their everyday lives, and bridges the gap between the mobile device and fashion worlds to create truly wearable technology.”
Earlier this year the Androidly smartwatch was released by a bunch of techie teens, however it appears to have petered out and all but vanished. Possibly due to the lack of a big name being involved in its production.
Whether the smartwatch catches on or not, only time will tell, literally.
Samsung has taken the first step, and seem to be acting as the guinea pig for other manufacturers to see if a branded device will set the clock ticking for the competition, or if time will literally stand still in the new smart device market.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...is-over/022298