ET Review: Samsung Galaxy Gear

Price: Rs 22,990

Specifications

800mhz Exynos processor, 512MB RAM, 1.63-inch OLED touchscreen (320 x 320 pixels), 1.9MP camera, water/dust resistant, built in speaker/mic, 73.8g

Positives: Bright, responsive and legible OLED screen, clear voice calls.

Negatives: Occasionally disconnects from phone, strap not interchangeable, only works with a few Samsung Galaxy devices

NEW DELHI: It’s long been a geek’s dream to have a multi-functional wrist watch. Samsung pulled out all the stops with the Galaxy Gear and it is leaps ahead of the competition. But it’s also expensive and only works with a few high-end Galaxy devices. This limits the market but it also gives Samsung a greater degree of control.

The Gear instantly gets noticed and appreciated. Flick your wrist as if you want to see the time and the screen lights up instantly. Unlike some other smartwatches, the screen goes off for the sake of better battery life. There’s only one power button on the side — a short press can wake or sleep it while a long press can completely power off the device or restart it. Everything else is done with gestures.

For instance, a swipe downwards activates the camera and a single tap clicks the photo. You also swipe down to go back and left or right to access all the apps like image gallery, pedometer, multimedia controller (play/pause, next/previous and volume on the phone), stopwatch, timer, contacts and phone dialler. Contrary to what most people think, receiving or making a call is surprisingly easy. The speaker/mic is built into the clasp on the strap — you only need to hold it near your ear to talk. You also get access to S Voice and finally, the watch also shows you notifications (you can read texts or reply with pre-sets).

The box includes a wall charger and charging dock. The dock has the USB port and connects to the internal battery using surface mounted contacts.

We wish it had more watch face options — these can be added later with updates. The wrist camera opens some new possibilities since it’s ready to click with a simple swipe. But don’t expect very high quality. It is neither as fast or as good as the camera on your phone but is a fun feature nonetheless. Battery life was a full 2 days. Overall, the Gear is a great accessory and a hint at what’s to come.