Samsung Galaxy Gear Hardware Specs and Software Features Leaked; Coming in 5 Colors

[dgstorm]

The mobile data industry seems poised to shift toward a potential new product, the wearable smart device. We've had rumors about such devices from a number of different manufacturers for quite some time. We've even had actual devices hit the streets to limited success due to their limited functionality. If the latest rumor is accurate, Samsung will be making a big new push into this potentially emerging market in a very short time. Could the new Galaxy Gear smartwatch from Samsung be the first solid step forward for this technology?

Here are the rumored leaked specs of the device for you guys to determine if you think it will be a success or a flop:

• 2.5-inch 320 x 320 OLED display, one capable of showing a full range of colors
• Dual-core processor, specifically from the Exynos 4 family (previously rumored to be a Samsung dual-core Exynos 4212 processor clocked at 1.5GHz - including the Mali-400 GPU inside)
• A camera built into the wrist strap
• Speakers tiny enough that they can fit into the strap’s clasp
• NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• Probably Android 4.2 at first
• Tightly integrated with Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones - examples: notifications on your smart watch can instantly transfer to the phone, the same can be done with email

According to the source of this intel, the Galaxy Gear will use its own third-party app store from Samsung and skip Google Play entirely. It obviously remains to be seen if the device will actually do enough to be worth owning. The device is likely to be officially announced at Samsung's September 4th pre-IFA press event. What do you think of this burgeoning new trend?

Update: We have a new report from this morning that the Galaxy Gear smartwatch will be coming in five different colors: white, orange, grey, black, and “white gold”. The source of this intel also reiterated that the reveal date will be September 4th.

Source: Phandroid

 

[johnomaz]

The nerd in me is craving this toy but I'm not sure why. I mean, do I need an independent service plan for it or will it share the data plan from my phone somehow that doesn't piss off the carriers. Will the data it display actually come from my phone and simply transfer to the device via bluetooth. How big is it. I don't want a big heavy thing on my wrist and nor do I want it to heat up either when doing stuff. Society has navigated away from watches over the past decade because of cell phones. I'd probably still be wearing my watch except the crappy jewelry store I went to have a new battery put in didn't properly water seal it again and it got wet inside. I don't want to pay a few hundred bucks to have it fixed from Citizen.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

PRetty cool. The success or failure of this thing will be determined by how much cross-manufacturer integration there is. Can my Motorola phone connect via bluetooth and use the watch? Etc.

 

[Vepaot]

The real question now is, do we buy a smart watch or do we buy Google Glass?

The answer lies in whether or not you want to be Dick Tracy, or Vegeta.

 

[jspradling7]

The nerd in me is craving this toy but I'm not sure why. I mean, do I need an independent service plan for it or will it share the data plan from my phone somehow that doesn't piss off the carriers. Will the data it display actually come from my phone and simply transfer to the device via bluetooth. How big is it. I don't want a big heavy thing on my wrist and nor do I want it to heat up either when doing stuff. Society has navigated away from watches over the past decade because of cell phones. I'd probably still be wearing my watch except the crappy jewelry store I went to have a new battery put in didn't properly water seal it again and it got wet inside. I don't want to pay a few hundred bucks to have it fixed from Citizen.

Watches have become more jewelry than tool lately it seems. I don't wear my watches anymore unless I dress up for dinner or party. I beat up watches too much at work to even consider getting one of these for work and It's sure not going to replace my TAG for dress. Bullies at school will be stealing them from little kids too.

 

[Asgard]

I have a pebble watch, and even though a lot of people agree that it's a cool thing, 95% of my friends don't even use watches anymore. I use it because I've been wearing watches since I was 14 but I don't see it catching up

Yet again, it might catch up with new generations.

 

[dgstorm]

The real question now is, do we buy a smart watch or do we buy Google Glass?

The answer lies in whether or not you want to be Dick Tracy, or Vegeta.

 

[acousticshade]

Put an accurate heart monitor in the strap with Bluetooth connectivity to your phone & the jogging/biking crowd will eat these up. Otherwise I don't see the need to have a watch, phone, tablet and laptop all telling me I have 8 unread e-mails.

 

[BOBD1950]

Enough is enough. Really. Its lame.

 

[kodiak799]

Put an accurate heart monitor in the strap with Bluetooth connectivity to your phone & the jogging/biking crowd will eat these up. Otherwise I don't see the need to have a watch, phone, tablet and laptop all telling me I have 8 unread e-mails.

Do you really even need connectivity to your phone? If I'm jogging I'd prefer this so I can leave the phone at home (phones are kind of a bulky/inconvient thing to carry around working out). That means we are talking just a step up from other sports watches (with gps) out there....A few fitness apps and storage for music and it's a winner (if priced right).

I suspect this flops because it won't have storage (I'm guessing, given current trends) and active people don't have the data to spare listening to internet radio and streaming music while they work out. Probably also fairly steep to add this device to a data plan