Samsung unveiled their Galaxy Gear smartwatch today at a media event in Berlin, and it is doing little to help redefine the category. Instead, what we are seeing is another attempt at creating a companion device to the smartphone, in this case limited to Samsung’s Galaxy Note series (for the time being).
Samsung is banking on their popular brand being enough to push the watch, which doesn’t do a whole lot more than previous smartwatch endeavors from competitors. The device is a low-powered peripheral with a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display and support for a decent selection of third-party apps. Perhaps most intriguing is the inclusion of a 1.9MP camera.
The watch seems most suited for the stuff that has long been standard for smartwatches: notifications, fitness tracking, reminders and notes. The sort of stuff that is admittedly an obvious use for devices of this class. But with a price tag that could near $300, it all seems a bit limited. And it isn’t the prettiest piece of wrist wear we’ve ever seen, either.
If anything, the Galaxy Gear leaves the door wide open for Apple to release a truly innovative smartwatch design. Something that does a bit more than what is expected. Something that looks good doing it. Apple shouldn’t be feeling too much heat to rush an iWatch to market if the Galaxy Gear is their biggest competition for the moment.
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TAGS: Samsung Galaxy Gear
