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As some may know I have been currently using a Galaxy Gear Fit that I've been very content with. Over the last few days as I've been not quite as content, have been finding "being able to (fill in the blank) would be really nice" so I started looking at reviews, specs, prices, accessory availability, etc.
I had decided to go to Best Buy today to kook at Android Wear and get a good hands on with several offerings they have in stock, thinking of getting away from Samsung for the next step up. My criteria was more customizable, good battery life (that's relative of course) and comfortable to wear to go along with health tracking ability when synced to the phone. AW didn't really "fit" me,I guess I'm too old fashioned and can't really get into the tile like way the ui does. They didn't have a Gear 2 Neo in stock to compare it to so I walked down to my local AT&T store to kook at one there. They had a demo that was a working model but none in stock SO they guy asks if I'd be interested in a Gear S. At first I was like "that dude is friggin huge, no way". He says "I'll match our price of the Neo" which got me intrigued enough to try one on. The thing is actually more comfortable than the Fit though it's a gazillion times larger . I've got an ~8" wrist that is proportional to my forearms and ~16" biceps so the huge thing doesn't look huge on me like it would my wife or any "normal" sized man. Anyway, I decided to give it a go when the rep asks me if I have any work discounts registered with them,I said no so he asks where I work. My work got me a 20% on the watch as well as my monthly bill each month so even had I not bought the S my bill would be lower from now on because he asked. Kinda cool, btw the watch was $160 after match then discount on the match plus my bill is going down $6 a month so the net increase in my bill by adding another data device is $4. That's a few diet Cokes a month I'll gladly give up if need be . I only drink a few a month anyway so it'll be no biggie.
Back to the watch.
The band is a rubbery type like the Fit but secures a WHOLE lot better. The watch fits into the 1 piece with a cutout for the device just like the Fit so it'll be easy to change once I decide to get another to change up color or something. The feel is like many bands on athletic watches, hrms, fitness devices.
The screen is huge (relative) , the phablet of smart watches, and like any Samsung device is going to impress with the clarity, crispness and color accuracy (some say too accurate to the point of over saturation). The shell is much like, if you can imagine, a Note3 but curved glass instead of flat. About the same bezel and chrome accents.
If you use a Samsung phone or tablet you'll already know exactly where the home/wake button is and what it looks like. No surprise there.
The screen clock can be set so that when it dims before sleep it's an ambient clock , much like a screen saver clock that moves every few seconds or shut off and go to sleep .
It has the same health trackers as the Fit but adds a UV check as well as track hiking addition to walking, cycling and running. One REALLY REALLY cool perk I didn't think I'd find in anything I was interested in is a stand alone GPS. No more being tethered to my Bluetooth range for tracking but I can still sync with my phone to get a map view, on S Health, of my journey after I'm done and back in Bluetooth range.
It uses Tizen instead of Android Wear but unlike the Fit actually has a plethora of apps on the Samsung app store. Not much on the Play Store but since I have a Samsung phone and Samsung watch I'd rather they put their exclusive stuff there . That's another rant about fragmentation that'll wait for another thread though. I found a new launcher right away,a few apps I added for notes, calculator, etc and I didn't even scratch the surface of what's there. No there aren't a ballillion apps like Play and iTunes but there were a lot and not most of them were watch faces or clones of the others. Opera Mini browser was a very pleasant surprise for my checks of Facebook every now and then. Another really cool thing I found was the onboard keyboard is the same one on our Samsung phones, including the Flow option powered by Swift Key.
The only caveat I wasn't really happy with at first was only the stock messaging app has the ability to respond other than canned replies. No biggie going back to stock on the phone messaging app in order to make full use of the watch. If I initiate a text from the watch it uses the number registered to the SIM card but replies from texts that originated on my phone use my phone number. I'm going to look around and see if I'm misunderstanding but my understanding was if the watches data network is off but it's connected via Bluetooth to my phone any texts initiated from the watch use the phones number but I might be totally wrong there.
Phone calls can be made either from the watch, same number usage I described above but calls made from the call log use the phone as long as the data(3g/2g) is off and the devices are connected via Bluetooth. The speaker is loud and sounds like any phone speaker, nothing audiophile quality but more than adequate for both phone calls and music by the campfire.
I can set the music player controls to either the phone (Power Amp worked well) or onboard music player. The onboard has the ability to change the sound effects (bass, treble, eq, etc) but must be changed in the Gear Controller app on the phone (wt_?!?) Adding music to the watch is also done on the GC app and syncs to the watch.
As far as the ui if you loathe Touch Wiz this one will drive you nuts. It looks exactly like the ui on the Verizon Note2.
I'll comment back in a few days on battery life as well as any of the many things I'm sure I've forgotten. I got this and a new Bassmaster magazine today so my brain is fried from all the reading.
Support Our Troops!!!
<><
Noteate
I had decided to go to Best Buy today to kook at Android Wear and get a good hands on with several offerings they have in stock, thinking of getting away from Samsung for the next step up. My criteria was more customizable, good battery life (that's relative of course) and comfortable to wear to go along with health tracking ability when synced to the phone. AW didn't really "fit" me,I guess I'm too old fashioned and can't really get into the tile like way the ui does. They didn't have a Gear 2 Neo in stock to compare it to so I walked down to my local AT&T store to kook at one there. They had a demo that was a working model but none in stock SO they guy asks if I'd be interested in a Gear S. At first I was like "that dude is friggin huge, no way". He says "I'll match our price of the Neo" which got me intrigued enough to try one on. The thing is actually more comfortable than the Fit though it's a gazillion times larger . I've got an ~8" wrist that is proportional to my forearms and ~16" biceps so the huge thing doesn't look huge on me like it would my wife or any "normal" sized man. Anyway, I decided to give it a go when the rep asks me if I have any work discounts registered with them,I said no so he asks where I work. My work got me a 20% on the watch as well as my monthly bill each month so even had I not bought the S my bill would be lower from now on because he asked. Kinda cool, btw the watch was $160 after match then discount on the match plus my bill is going down $6 a month so the net increase in my bill by adding another data device is $4. That's a few diet Cokes a month I'll gladly give up if need be . I only drink a few a month anyway so it'll be no biggie.
Back to the watch.
The band is a rubbery type like the Fit but secures a WHOLE lot better. The watch fits into the 1 piece with a cutout for the device just like the Fit so it'll be easy to change once I decide to get another to change up color or something. The feel is like many bands on athletic watches, hrms, fitness devices.
The screen is huge (relative) , the phablet of smart watches, and like any Samsung device is going to impress with the clarity, crispness and color accuracy (some say too accurate to the point of over saturation). The shell is much like, if you can imagine, a Note3 but curved glass instead of flat. About the same bezel and chrome accents.
If you use a Samsung phone or tablet you'll already know exactly where the home/wake button is and what it looks like. No surprise there.
The screen clock can be set so that when it dims before sleep it's an ambient clock , much like a screen saver clock that moves every few seconds or shut off and go to sleep .
It has the same health trackers as the Fit but adds a UV check as well as track hiking addition to walking, cycling and running. One REALLY REALLY cool perk I didn't think I'd find in anything I was interested in is a stand alone GPS. No more being tethered to my Bluetooth range for tracking but I can still sync with my phone to get a map view, on S Health, of my journey after I'm done and back in Bluetooth range.
It uses Tizen instead of Android Wear but unlike the Fit actually has a plethora of apps on the Samsung app store. Not much on the Play Store but since I have a Samsung phone and Samsung watch I'd rather they put their exclusive stuff there . That's another rant about fragmentation that'll wait for another thread though. I found a new launcher right away,a few apps I added for notes, calculator, etc and I didn't even scratch the surface of what's there. No there aren't a ballillion apps like Play and iTunes but there were a lot and not most of them were watch faces or clones of the others. Opera Mini browser was a very pleasant surprise for my checks of Facebook every now and then. Another really cool thing I found was the onboard keyboard is the same one on our Samsung phones, including the Flow option powered by Swift Key.
The only caveat I wasn't really happy with at first was only the stock messaging app has the ability to respond other than canned replies. No biggie going back to stock on the phone messaging app in order to make full use of the watch. If I initiate a text from the watch it uses the number registered to the SIM card but replies from texts that originated on my phone use my phone number. I'm going to look around and see if I'm misunderstanding but my understanding was if the watches data network is off but it's connected via Bluetooth to my phone any texts initiated from the watch use the phones number but I might be totally wrong there.
Phone calls can be made either from the watch, same number usage I described above but calls made from the call log use the phone as long as the data(3g/2g) is off and the devices are connected via Bluetooth. The speaker is loud and sounds like any phone speaker, nothing audiophile quality but more than adequate for both phone calls and music by the campfire.
I can set the music player controls to either the phone (Power Amp worked well) or onboard music player. The onboard has the ability to change the sound effects (bass, treble, eq, etc) but must be changed in the Gear Controller app on the phone (wt_?!?) Adding music to the watch is also done on the GC app and syncs to the watch.
As far as the ui if you loathe Touch Wiz this one will drive you nuts. It looks exactly like the ui on the Verizon Note2.
I'll comment back in a few days on battery life as well as any of the many things I'm sure I've forgotten. I got this and a new Bassmaster magazine today so my brain is fried from all the reading.
Support Our Troops!!!
<><
Noteate
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