Database Develop

Going Back

I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand it's your opinion, but in my opinion it's a watch (there's thousands of watches for more money than ours) that works in futuristic ways that will only get better with time and upgrades. I'm not slamming you taking it back by any means, but this is a pretty new concept and to me, it blows my mind what we can do from a simple watch now. If I can talk into my wrist like James Bond and take pictures without anyone knowing (obviously for the creepiest of reasons) on top of the fact that it is a cool looking watch, I will deal with the few bugs that will get worked out soon enough. But just my opinion!
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app

Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya!
You are welcome back in a month when the custom ROMs, apps that handle more notifications and other cool stuff are out.
I've experienced none of the issues you are having, and think the watch has a fabulous design.

That's fine... ...

I was lucky enough to get in on the 30% off deal, and at that price, totally worth the money. At the normal price of 299, I can understand why it might be hard to justify owning the Gear and expecting zero bugs out of the box. That being said, any decent traditional watch will cost at least 300 minimum - and in most cases, all it does is show time & date.
As for the charging cradle, don't understand why it's an issue... it was either a cradle or sticking an ugly USB port on the device. I think they made the right choice, although wireless charging would've been cool, lol. The only problem I can see is, when traveling, you have to remember to take the cradle, then there's the risk of losing it. Anyone who travels regularly, I'd recommend buying a spare cradle if and when they're available.
And not sure about the Sony v2 watch, but I had the v1 for about a week (terrible) and recall that it had a PITA proprietary connector and charging cable. I'd take the cradle over that any day.
Lastly, even traditional watches can be a hassle to keep powered. Some have to be wound on a daily basis, solars need to be kept exposed to light, kinetic motion ones need to be kept moving frequently, etc. Watches with button cell batteries are probably the easiest to deal with, but when the battery dies, can be a major hassle to hunt down the correct battery and sometimes require a repairman to to open the watch and replace it.
My point is, the cradle is not a big deal, lol. Don't let that deter anyone from getting this otherwise awesome watch.

Hi,had mine a few weeks now absolutely love it.You do seem to echo some of the reviews did you read them before you purchased yours
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

To each his own.
At the end of the day, I love my gear. No way I am taking this thing back.
Is this perfect, no, but either is anything else on the market.
Im excited to see the development of this watch, both now and in the future. Im glad to be apart of it.
JG
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I love this thing, and even with the current state of software it is more than useable for me. My only issue is the lack of water proofing, but I have been careful so far.

i finally managed to find a demo unit in bahrain, loved it! although a tad expensive, 120 BD, for sure this will be cheaper in saudi

It's not consumer ready, by any stretch of the imagination, but for the hackers / enthusiasts amongst us it's far and away the best out there.
I think in that respect, Samsung hit it out of the park and deserve accolades from all of us. It's very exciting to play with it and see and investigate the potential.
Apple will probably wait until they have something that is consumer ready. They don't really care about hackers/enthusiasts.

I think most people buying this watch knew it was not ready for prime time. However most of the issues can and will be improved with software updates and programmers from this forum. People expecting perfection out of the box are dissapointed... Especially if they paid the 300 when you could have got it for 209. I love my watch for 209 and can't wait for the gn2 to update so I can get full use. Even with my current limited use, it's still a cool techy watch. It will only improve going forward.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

I would disagree,I don't understand why you think it's not consumer ready.Maybe it's because I am older and don't want facebook or other social media.I can remember the first iphone pixilated screen,a worse camera than the gear has now but I don't remember people saying it wasn't consumer ready.The gear I have does everything I expect it to do very well,it's very well made,and I can call my wife on my watch hands free driving how can you think that's not ready.Its bloody fantastic i can do a phone call on my watch.Thinking about it did the first iphone even have a camera not sure.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

iankellogg said:
I love this thing, and even with the current state of software it is more than useable for me. My only issue is the lack of water proofing, but I have been careful so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using xda app-developers app

Present software is the least of my concerns as that be fixed with updates etc.
There are several rather serious practical issues with the present rendition.
That lovely ;large crystal (watch jargon for watch glass) is going to scratch like hell.
The camera has a hole at the back and many owners are reporting the camera lens misting up through condensation.
The strap has the most notorious type of clasp used in the watch trade.
Water resistance is a pre requisite for any wrist worn device. The IP55 is simply totally inadequate for a wrist watch.
Those terminals on the back are not going to take kind to water nor perspiration.
The watch band itself is made from a material that may not wear well, only time will tell with that BUT either way a replacement will make it a return to a Samsung agent and that's not going to be cheap.
I do agree its very much a BETA device. Not sure how I feel about that. I would imagine those that are paying 350.00€ may not be well pleased?
It appears an awful lot of owners are returning the gear for one reason or another. I collect watches so will keep it, not to mention I paid very little for it.
The software will improve and those who expect a brand new device to have tons of apps etc are being unrealistic. The true concerns lie in the hardware and unfortunately there is zero we can do about that.
Water and perspiration are going to be the big issues and already are.
The concept is great and the next gear will, no doubt, have addressed all or most of these points.
Regards

I think lack of water proofing is a big downside. However, I'd expect that to be addressed in v2
I'm impartial to the watchband. I'd rather the traditional hole style, but can't complain with current setup (other than the speaker part being bulky when resting arm on table etc.
Now that we have root and side loading, there is lot of potential in this 'first generation' device (first gen is something to keep in mind when using/buying)
I don't have notifications/svoice working as still on 4.2.2 (ebay notifications work fine, just no detail)
Bluetooth seems fine, but would like it to autoconnect (no user interaction required) like my pebble does
When used in conjunction with supported devices, I disagree with it being called a beta device. It does everything it says it does with no issues. The only real thing lacking is developer support; something which will come soon enough
I'm impressed with quality of camera/mic/speaker for what it is
Wish it was easier to find a charging cradle. Sucks having to remember to bring my only one
Wish it was easier to make screen turn on. I find that 'moving up' hardly works, wrist twist doesn't work and I just end up having to use my other hand to press the button - hopefully new firmware will change this (screen always on, just dull; more movement triggers; etc)

My gear is 3 weeks old ,I have played 5 rounds of golf,chopped wood,sleep in it every night (my precious).Played golf in the rain,the screen is every bit as good as new not even a tiny mark
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

Love mine to bits
No way is it going back. Bring on the software improvements.

Ryland Johnson said:
Present software is the least of my concerns as that be fixed with updates etc.
There are several rather serious practical issues with the present rendition.
That lovely ;large crystal (watch jargon for watch glass) is going to scratch like hell.
The camera has a hole at the back and many owners are reporting the camera lens misting up through condensation.
The strap has the most notorious type of clasp used in the watch trade.
Water resistance is a pre requisite for any wrist worn device. The IP55 is simply totally inadequate for a wrist watch.
Those terminals on the back are not going to take kind to water nor perspiration.
The watch band itself is made from a material that may not wear well, only time will tell with that BUT either way a replacement will make it a return to a Samsung agent and that's not going to be cheap.
I do agree its very much a BETA device. Not sure how I feel about that. I would imagine those that are paying 350.00€ may not be well pleased?
It appears an awful lot of owners are returning the gear for one reason or another. I collect watches so will keep it, not to mention I paid very little for it.
The software will improve and those who expect a brand new device to have tons of apps etc are being unrealistic. The true concerns lie in the hardware and unfortunately there is zero we can do about that.
Water and perspiration are going to be the big issues and already are.
The concept is great and the next gear will, no doubt, have addressed all or most of these points.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good gosh give it a rest about the crystal. It's a screen, big deal. All you do is post he same negative things over and over.

mhoepfin said:
Good gosh give it a rest about the crystal. It's a screen, big deal. All you do is post he same negative things over and over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strongly suggest you take an English course in comprehension. I was writing on the gear section when there where only two threads. I was the first customer to receive the gear in this country. I am not negative regarding the Gear. I write balanced posts. I have even written IN THIS THREAD that to expect software to be 100% is unrealistic.
Now, as you are so bothered about my quest to find out what the crystal is made from there is one simple way to shut me up....Simply give me the answer. Done and dusted.:good:
The screen, as you call it, IS important to those who work in areas where the 'screen' may come into contact with other objects and either scratch or break.
Have you anything constructive to write? No? Then please allow a forum to be used as it should be with questions, debate and answers.
---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------
mintie said:
Love mine to bits
No way is it going back. Bring on the software improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software will come. New device so time is the only factor regarding software. :good:
Regards

I have to concur I am nervous as hell about the screen.

My 0,02$ about Gear

My first smartwatch ever was the original Sony Smartwatch 1. First of it's kind widely available, it was a pretty good product (if you compare the features to it's price). I bought Galaxy Gear few weeks ago shortly after startup for it's original price of 300 euros. I had it for few days and decided to return it, as this is a beta product with no support at all (at that time). So I returned the Gear and got Smartwatch 2 from Sony.. and that watch is really cool. It's waterproof to some point, it's very VERY light, super comfortable and you can even change the wrist stripe if you don't like the original one. It costs 150 EUR for silicon version, and 200 EUR for metal version here in Netherlands. So it's up to 50% cheaper than the Gear. Out of the box, you only have to install few applications to get messages, and notification to work. Installation is super easy and it works with nearly all devices running android 4.0 or higher. It's a nice device, but lack any kind of customization - and so far there haven't been any tools to change anything in the watch at all. Lately I got a chance to get a Gear for less than 200 EUR so I decided to give it another try, and here it is..
1. After using Smartwatch 2 for a while Gear feels more solid, but it's way more bulky. It doesn't rest nicely on my wrist, and I'm not a huge guy. I could survive uncomfortable top, but the metal bottom (where speaker and mic are located) is catastrophic. I can't stand having the watch on my wrist if I'm working on my desk, as it's touching the desk all the time and leaves scratches. Very annoying.
2. Installation. I had to change my custom ROM to original TouchWiz on my S3 to get Gear to work. Maybe it can work on custom - but there would be more troubles with it than stock so.. To get the full functionality, and don't run into endless troubles, you have to be stock, where SW2 works on custom roms without a single issue.
3. Out of the box experience.. it's a tragedy. The 'main menu' is really slow to operate, and even switching between apps can take few precious seconds. Notifications do not work properly. I have to use 3rd party app to get more notifications. No SMS forwarding to your watch. No replying to messages. No Gmail support. No keyboard. Simply nothing! Out of the box this is just a bluetooth headset with a clock. I don't know anyone who is really using S Voice on a daily basis. Samsung promised us making calls straight from our wrists, and Samsung did deliver that but..
4. Speaker quality - if you are using more than 50% of volume level, you can clearly hear a lot of buzzing. Sound is far from being clear. Not a huge issue though, it's a watch after all.
5. Hardware. Builtin camera that takes decent pictures and videos (as for a watch). Big plus! Loudspeaker so you don't have to hold your wrist to your ear - nice, although sometimes I would prefer to be the only one who can hear the other side (and look like an idiot, I don't care). AMOLED display with 320x320 resolution. Looks really sharp and vivid. Love it! Smartwatch is running a real Android 4.2.2, and that's great. You can root it, sideload apps and so.. but...
6. Usability - but it's pretty useless. There is no bluetooth tethering so you can't use any internet on your wrist (smartwatch 2 has a working internet browser!). You can install app like Tablet Talk to have messaging ability but it's really cumbersome, doesn't display your contact list, only the numbers are visible and generally, you can clearly see that it just wasn't designed for a wrist. I guess runninng Tablet Talk on Gear AND phone uses more battery which results in shorter battery life...
7. Typing. I can easily imagine typing short sentences/messages using Swype-like keyboard, or T9 styled. Display is big enough to send few words within seconds. Unfortunately that is not possible at the moment.
8. Future? There is definitely a future in smartwatches. This device is great, but Samsung tottaly ****ed up the software side. Nothing is working as it should, and if it does - it's cumbersome, and far from being user friendly. You can't get apps from Play Store, you have to use Samsung App Store which is really poor. There are very few apps that are actually somewhat usefull, but they do suck. I tried app like speedometer, that takes ages to start and catch a signal, and if it finally does - it's really ugly. SW2 to compare was displaying current GPS speed within seconds. When I was done with it, all I had to is just go back to home screen, or turn on the clock face, then GPS was stopped. On Gear? You have to open notifications, click on Speedometer, and FORCE STOP it in order to be closed. WHAAAAT?
I love the idea, I like the features (AMOLED, speaker, mic, touchscreen) but there way more wrong things with it than positive.. Media Controller doesn't always work properly, so you can't really shuffle songs etc. There is no SDK available to the publicity, so there won't be any dedicated apps from community anytime soon. Samsung didn't say anything that they will release it anyway so... if you buy the Gear, don't buy it cause it's gonna be "great in the future once XDA devs hack it". It didn't happen, noone knows if it's going to happen and what will come out of it...
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...

I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)

skyline23 said:
I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.

hurdlejade said:
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.
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Click to collapse
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.

mhoepfin said:
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
out of the box, SW2 beats Gear in every aspect, if you forget the camera/mic/speaker. S Voice? i guess it's only widely used in USA. i see a lot of people on the internet asking how to actually turn this thing off. it's one of the first things i did when i installed official 4.3 rom.
this is not a hate post. i just tried both products, they are both far from being perfect, and although gear seems to be superior, it lacks the software. and we shouldn't wait months for basic functionality that hardware is fully capable of.

It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

ardsar said:
It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
may i know why is it better? besides the camera/speaker/mic/svoice thingy.

It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

ardsar said:
It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just wanted to find out why you prefer gear over SW2, that's it.
i do realise that the internet browser on SW2 works more or less on screenshots.. but it works! and there is no possibility to do so on Gear, although it's capable of real rendering.

Owning 2 Galaxy Gear I guess you can tell I like it. With more and more things being added to the ability of the Gear such as ATN and launchers, etc it is growing leaps and bound sans Samsung. There are 2 versions of Sony out there and this has been out weeks. I say write this after February when it has been thru a few updates. I don't need my watch to do everything the phones does or i wouldn't have bought a 5.7 inch phone. The great things is competition is great and I'm sure Apple is gearing up for theirs and then someone will come and beat theirs and so on and so on. Consumerism at it's best.

Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.

There are already enough of these threads here...
The watch des exactly what it says. It is a companion to phone, not a replacement (Why does a watch actually need software?)
it also has mic/speaker/cam which all work surprising well. Didn't take long to adjust to bulky speaker when resting palm on flat surface (mind I wear it a little loose)
There are several default notifications that are sent that everyone has - sms, email, etc. Granted they could do with more detail (html emails, all text in notification), however that will have to come when apps start supporting it - 4.3 helps a lot here
it is waterproof enough - that whole thing seems to be a scare campaign. All the watches available can survive water, just not to the extent of swimming/diving
Gear looks the best out of the watches available and once you use it for a few weeks, then the chance of wanting to return is much lower. I'd say my Pebble does more currently (especially tasker integration!), however, I've not touched it since getting gear a month ago
It only supports 4.3 and Touchwiz, but if you look at the percentage of s3, note2, s4, note3, and future phones, there is no need to support others. Will people complain when apple come out with a watch and it only supports two devices like pretty much everything else they do? (latest and previous model)
Samsung really need to get a move on with releasing sdk though
Plus it is first gen, so it can't have everything. Just be thankful you aren't with Apple and have to wait years for stuff everyone already has
Still going to try out Neptune Pine when it is released, but it is a replacement not companion

blazespinnaker said:
Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room

Awesome
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

hurdlejade said:
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snipped For Space!
At 73, I cannot play the waiting game. With smartwatches, women, and fastazz motorcycles..
I want and need it NOW!!
About you comments, they seemed to be like the case of one man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter..
BTW, can you answer and call from the SW2?? :fingers-crossed:

I also have a Sony Smartwatch 2. It's a great watch and the SDK support is superb. I recently bought the Gear and my first impression was
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
2. Much better resolution and much clearer display
3. Touch response is so much better than the SW2
4. Awful charging method..
5. Miss the always on mode that the Sony has. The magical movement thing to wake up the Gear does work in say 75% of the time for me. The other 25% makes it a bad experience as a watch. Maybe I still have to get the hang of it and learn to make the movement work.. or maybe I have to adapt myself. Have the watch for 2 days now, I'm still learning and not ready to give an overall conclusion.
6 Apps.... yep the Sony has a lot more apps and yes there's a browser out there. But it also has a lot of weird amateuristic apps in the Play store (not made by Sony). I somehow am appreciating Samsung's approach now after a couple of days of using the Gear. They've teamed up with some good third party developers (a few not so good also) and seem to be very careful about what they release on the market right now. Seems like a good thing to me. I bet you can trash a potential goood product that still has to prove itself as a thing that could work by opening it for badly written and designed apps. Good thing to go easy on this. Nevertheless as a developer I love to jump on the bandwagon... But I understand that somehow one needs to direct the experience of a new product. Too many apps that do just half of what you can do can ruin the experience totally. (That said, they might have released the watch too early. On the other side, by releasing it early they now can work on a lot of feedback. It's a decision they've made and it is a decision that comes with a trade off (bad reviews), but in the end it might be the best decision. Nobody knows and nobody will know)

mike208 said:
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room
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Click to collapse
Are you kidding me! It's AWESOME ... well I have long thin fingers though. I use gameboid.
They could probably optimize the control setup on gameboid for the watch a bit more.
Sideloading is easy to do, don't need to root. I highly recommend it.
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
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Click to collapse
Agreed. People have commented that the watch looks great. Sony with it's geeky logo and buttons... come ON.
That being said, there are pros/cons to them all. I'd *love* the battery life of the pebble on the Gear, but I can't go without having Android on my watch. That's just a non starter (for me), but I'm a developer so my opinion is entirely unreflective of the market at large .. but I love it, so who cares.
The one huge problem with the gear, in my opinion, is the lack of compatibility. That's what is really pissing 99% of the world out there that doesn't have a Note 3, frankly. This bundling nonsense is so deeply arrogant. It's monopolistic and completely unnecessary.
It's what makes you root against a company and pray they fail as an enterprise. It's the same sort of arrogance that makes me despise Apple and why I take every opportunity I can to root against them even though my career is tied up with their technology.

I agree with you on the speaker buckle being annoying, but otherwise, it's not THAT bad.

Picked up my Samsung Gear 2 Neo today

Works great with my Note 3 using BajaRom. I work for Samsung. Best Buy has had a delay in their deliveries but they are fairly easy to get in many ATT stores. I really like it. Really good deal at $199. Of the 3 watches i feel that this gives the most features at the best price point. I'm not posting screenshots as they are everywhere by now. A few quick things to note. I haven't tried the sleep tracker or pedometer yet but the heart rate monitor has been spot on for me. I loaded about 50 songs on it. Bluetooth music streaming sounds awesome on this. Not sure why but i expected less but was super happy with the sound quality and volume. Speaker during calls is louder than i anticipated. Not tested battery life much yet. Very light and comfortable. There are quite a few settings that can be changed via gear manager. I'm sure some work better than others but essentially notifications can be set for all installed applications on your phone. Watch On remote is limited obviously but works great on my Mitsubishi TV with Dish Network. I also noticed that you can allow unknown apps so side loading apps will not be an issue. I will update how the sleep tracking and pedometer goes after tonight and tomorrow. Overall in a non biased way i really am impressed with the job they did and the future of smart watches in general.

Please keep us updated on the pedometer aspect. I'm looking for a replacement for my fitbit force. And I like seeing what I walk everyday.
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app

bckrupps said:
I loaded about 50 songs on it.
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Who still loads songs onto devices? Get Spotify, Pandora, or some streaming service.

Novakingwai said:
Who still loads songs onto devices? Get Spotify, Pandora, or some streaming service.
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Click to collapse
The idea for it is that you leave your phone in the locker, and use BT headphones so you not carrying your phone around the gym/work out.
Shame its still not 100% waterproof and still unable to swap out bands. If only those two last items were met, I would of bought one.
Instead I will stick with my pebble.

I purchased the neo and then returned it for the gear 2. There is a rubber coating on the outside of the neo and even with the slightest scratch it will scrape off and the scratches are way more obvious. The button on my neo was the first thing to show a scratch within the first couple of days so I spent a little more and I don't regret it at all. The neo is perfect for a females hand also due to its weight, so if you like a heavier watch but not as heavy as the original then stick with the Gear 2. Love it except for all the initial bugs with the software.
---------- Post added at 11:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------
Trigster said:
The idea for it is that you leave your phone in the locker, and use BT headphones so you not carrying your phone around the gym/work out.
Shame its still not 100% waterproof and still unable to swap out bands. If only those two last items were met, I would of bought one.
Instead I will stick with my pebble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The mp3 player on the watch is sick. I never listen to mp3s anymore but the option of not having to have your phone at times is excellent. Just to clarify YES you can swap out different bands. also its not waterproof but its water resistant. No bathing or swimming with it but who does that?

.
wroder84 said:
The mp3 player on the watch is sick. I never listen to mp3s anymore but the option of not having to have your phone at times is excellent. Just to clarify YES you can swap out different bands. also its not waterproof but its water resistant. No bathing or swimming with it but who does that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dropped my Neo into a bowl of water over 10mins it still works and also I've showered with it on. But I didn't try to scrub it or put soap on it. One down fall is that the water on the screen will make the device to have a mind of its own kept acting like I was pressing random buttons.
Also does anyone know how to install non Samsung apps into the device and how to get Flesky sms to my Neo? I've seen for the original gear but not the gear 2.

Trigster said:
The idea for it is that you leave your phone in the locker, and use BT headphones so you not carrying your phone around the gym/work out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still, 50 songs will be repeated really fast. I don't know what's wrong with just getting a armband for your phone.

Novakingwai said:
Still, 50 songs will be repeated really fast. I don't know what's wrong with just getting a armband for your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has about 2.3gb of storage available. I have added 128 songs so far. Another guy at work has 361 so far so you can load way more than 50 with lots of room to spare lol. I used the sleep tracker last night and it works great. i will try the pedometer out tomorrow weather permitting. we have a track by my house exactly a mile long so we will see how accurate it is.

ktnguyen93 said:
I dropped my Neo into a bowl of water over 10mins it still works and also I've showered with it on. But I didn't try to scrub it or put soap on it. One down fall is that the water on the screen will make the device to have a mind of its own kept acting like I was pressing random buttons.
Also does anyone know how to install non Samsung apps into the device and how to get Flesky sms to my Neo? I've seen for the original gear but not the gear 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at this point because it runs Tizen there isn't much available yet but you will be able to side load stuff when it comes out as there is an option to allow unknown sources.

bckrupps said:
It has about 2.3gb of storage available. I have added 128 songs so far. Another guy at work has 361 so far so you can load way more than 50 with lots of room to spare lol. I used the sleep tracker last night and it works great. i will try the pedometer out tomorrow weather permitting. we have a track by my house exactly a mile long so we will see how accurate it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.3GB is not a lot when you have songs in a high quality. even more so when you start installing apps and other stuff on it.

Borderpatrol1987 said:
2.3GB is not a lot when you have songs in a high quality. even more so when you start installing apps and other stuff on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. These smart watches seem like a cool idea, but at $200 for 4GB or less of memory and only about 100 apps available, they seem like only a must-have for the extreme geek.

Borderpatrol1987 said:
2.3GB is not a lot when you have songs in a high quality. even more so when you start installing apps and other stuff on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like more than enough to serve the purpose. Its a watch with some nice features. You can transfer songs on the fly with your phone. Im not sure why anyone would need more as its used to stream some songs during a workout and its kinda small to have a 1tb hard drive built in. I cant imagine needing much storage for apps as they will be smaller and basic apps to accomadate a watch

Trigster said:
The idea for it is that you leave your phone in the locker, and use BT headphones so you not carrying your phone around the gym/work out.
Shame its still not 100% waterproof and still unable to swap out bands. If only those two last items were met, I would of bought one.
Instead I will stick with my pebble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's ip rating is good underwater for 30 minutes up to 1 meter in fresh water
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using xda app-developers app

Hello, .
Got my Neo yesterday, I can trully say that it is much better than I expect, looks and feel really good. The main purpose to buy it was the heart rate sensor, I am fade up with my polar RS800CX, it consumes too much baterries and the chest trap is a pain in the ... to wear.
So, this morning I went for a 150 minutes walk with my wife, she was wearing a fitbit one. In the end both devices had the same distance (+- 300 meters) and a diference of 400 steps, We were walking side by side with a sincronized step, The good thing was that I had my heart rate checked all the way, the bad is that some of the readings were sometimes wrong, some picks at 155bpm (too high) and an average of 122 bpm, which is a bit too much. But i´ll try some more on that to be certain.
the other bad thing for me is that I am not abble to sync with s-health, only Fitness with gear app, available on Samsung store, but everything is new I hope that in the near future things will improve.
Regards.
PS: forgot to mention that my phone is a Note 3

Got my Neo as well. love it so far but disappointed about the lack of apps!!! need more watch faces at the very least!!!!
Got it synced with my Note 2, no problems.

Long shot but it would be great if the Slacker folks did a Gear 2 app and let you download music to it.

I would be more then happy to get android wear on it and to play with more options
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using xda app-developers app

Aduarte said:
Hello, .
So, this morning I went for a 150 minutes walk with my wife, she was wearing a fitbit one. In the end both devices had the same distance (+- 300 meters) and a diference of 400 steps, We were walking side by side with a sincronized step,
PS: forgot to mention that my phone is a Note 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pedometer on mine appears excellent, after wearing it at the same time as my fitbit force today. At the end of today it tells me 13355 steps, compared to 13669 on my fitbit and 12823 on my Note 3. Overall very happy with this.

Aduarte said:
Hello, .
Got my Neo yesterday, I can trully say that it is much better than I expect, looks and feel really good. //cut//. . . The good thing was that I had my heart rate checked all the way, the bad is that some of the readings were sometimes wrong, some picks at 155bpm (too high) and an average of 122 bpm, which is a bit too much. But i´ll try some more on that to be certain. the other bad thing for me is that I am not abble to sync with s-health, only Fitness with gear app, available on Samsung store, but everything is new I hope that in the near future things will improve. Regards. PS: forgot to mention that my phone is a Note 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I, too, got my Neo yesterday -and did pretty much what you did! The pace count seems ok. . .Actually I kind of thought my phone (S4 running GoldenEye or Shostock roms 4.4.2) might be more accurate! The heartrate monitor works great -except if you are in motion. While at rest on the Gym machines this morning I compared readouts from the workout machine monitors and the phone -pretty much exactly the same. However, while trying to measure while doing the elliptical or biking machine --the machine was able to deliver a pulse, but the neo either failed or gave a very low reading (my pulse was not 59 while biking the hill climb routine!)
I spent about an hour on the S Health sync thing yesterday -very annoying. The "old" S Health (2.5 I think) did not sync, the Fitness gear app DID sync. I got the Galaxy S5 S Health (ver 3.0) and loaded it on the phone and it DID/Yes sync. However, I can't find a way to get my old S Health data on the new S Health app. The ver 2.5 would present a back up restore menu when in the account window. The new 3.0 versions don't seem to have a restore option anywhere --at least I could not find it. I kind of hate to lose my old data --it's not that important, but it helps for reference and comparison.
EDIT: SLEEP.APK OK I had to manually update the Neo's rom via Kies3 (after DL/Installing Kies3, plugged in the Neo and Kies discovered a software update. I went from Neo Rom NCD to ND8.) After the update, I had the Sleep app in apps!

markbc01 said:
I, too, got my Neo yesterday -and did pretty much what you did! The pace count seems ok. . .Actually I kind of thought my phone (S4 running GoldenEye or Shostock roms 4.4.2) might be more accurate! The heartrate monitor works great -except if you are in motion. While at rest on the Gym machines this morning I compared readouts from the workout machine monitors and the phone -pretty much exactly the same. However, while trying to measure while doing the elliptical or biking machine --the machine was able to deliver a pulse, but the neo either failed or gave a very low reading (my pulse was not 59 while biking the hill climb routine!)
I spent about an hour on the S Health sync thing yesterday -very annoying. The "old" S Health (2.5 I think) did not sync, the Fitness gear app DID sync. I got the Galaxy S5 S Health (ver 3.0) and loaded it on the phone and it DID/Yes sync. However, I can't find a way to get my old S Health data on the new S Health app. The ver 2.5 would present a back up restore menu when in the account window. The new 3.0 versions don't seem to have a restore option anywhere --at least I could not find it. I kind of hate to lose my old data --it's not that important, but it helps for reference and comparison.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello,
I am having the same problem with shealth, version 2.5 is not compatible, version 3.1 works great until i reset my phone, then I loose all data, it happened 3 times. So far the only one working is Fitness with Gear, but it is very poor, no weight management, no food, no maps of the exercice, it is really poor. So, I am expecting a new version of shealth for note 3.
About the heart rate, I noticed that during the exercice the precision is not always good, but at the end the average is ok. Let see further with some more experience. meanwhile I will hold the polar retirement.
Come on Samsung, We are expecting an update, our phones are not so old.
Regards

Off-topic, other device, comparisons to other devices, and upgrading discussion

Please use this thread to discuss devices other than and any comparisons with other devices on or about Gear Live in this thread and any other off-topic issues that are not needing a new thread.
Post with respect, this is a helpful community, hope we all learn from this stuff in here.

What made everyone choose this over the LG G watch?

i went for gear live because it has amoled display and the silver thing on the two side makes the watch look a bit premium
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

big_b0sss said:
i went for gear live because it has amoled display and the silver thing on the two side makes the watch look a bit premium
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget it's also $30 less as by the end of the year we ALL know we will be owning superior devices anyways.

enko420 said:
Don't forget it's also $30 less as by the end of the year we ALL know we will be owning superior devices anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i actually paid £10 more as its priced higher than lg g watch in uk

I absolutely cannot believe they did not include a speaker! I just returned the gear neo 2 because it was running Tizen and not Google wear. making phone calls on it without pulling my phone out of my pocket was the absolute greatest feature.I ordered the gear live because it was running Google wear, thinking of the future. Now I find out it does not have a speaker so I can not make phone calls from the watch. I'm going to return the gear live and go back to the gear neo 2. Wrong decision Samsung.

chumboy said:
I absolutely cannot believe they did not include a speaker! I just returned the gear neo 2 because it was running Tizen and not Google wear. making phone calls on it without pulling my phone out of my pocket was the absolute greatest feature.I ordered the gear live because it was running Google wear, thinking of the future. Now I find out it does not have a speaker so I can not make phone calls from the watch. I'm going to return the gear live and go back to the gear neo 2. Wrong decision Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't care for making phone calls on my Gear 2 Neo. If you aren't in a quiet room its near impossible to hear what they are saying.

enko420 said:
I honestly don't care for making phone calls on my Gear 2 Neo. If you aren't in a quiet room its near impossible to hear what they are saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each their own.
But it's fascinating to know you don't like it.
I had the Gear 2 Neo for about a week and had good results when not standing in Time Square.
Gear Live 2!

I would like the ability to turn off the motion sensor, sense everytime I move my wrist a certain way my watch just turns on.I look at my watch ocassionally and notice that the screen is on I have indavertenly been touching the screen selecting things. I prefer to touch the screen to turn it on. I have already turned off the screen always on option, but would like to turn off motion as well. Would extend the battery life alot further.

chumboy said:
To each their own.
But it's fascinating to know you don't like it.
I had the Gear 2 Neo for about a week and had good results when not standing in Time Square.
Gear Live 2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm 100% in the not taking phone calls on a watch camp for the same reason i don't use speakerphone when not in a car.
but i would have liked a speaker simply for alarms and stopwatch/timer funcionality. nothing crazy, just a simple beep/chirp would have been enough

adiliyo said:
i'm 100% in the not taking phone calls on a watch camp for the same reason i don't use speakerphone when not in a car.
but i would have liked a speaker simply for alarms and stopwatch/timer funcionality. nothing crazy, just a simple beep/chirp would have been enough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, we can find common ground here! A speaker would make us both happy.
Surprised that Sammy decided to remove a hardware feature rather than adding them (to a point).
Their research must have shown that the cost/benefit was upside-down.
So it goes.

They should have stuck with Gear 2 features and gwear os. I'm sure it will be ported.... I love my Neo 2
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

I have a feeling that Samsung was forced to make the watch according to Google specifications. (No Speaker, No WiFi, Single Button for turning the device on) There is also a WiFi antenna in the Gear Live that is not being used according to iFixIt.

StevenMattera said:
I have a feeling that Samsung was forced to make the watch according to Google specifications. (No Speaker, No WiFi, Single Button for turning the device on) There is also a WiFi antenna in the Gear Live that is not being used according to iFixIt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
antenna but they couldn't confirm if there is a wifi controller on the mobo, could just be the cheapest way to order that part for assembly.
i agree that samsung was probably told to stick to the reference design which i'm fine with, but it's curious that google decided not to include a basic speaker for alarm use in the reference design for android wear.
i am however much happier (so far) with the watch than i expected to be. if moto prices the 360 out of what i'm willing to pay, i'm actually satisfied enough to hang on to the gear live until i can get the moto for a reasonable price (i won't pay more than $250 for the 360)
---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 AM ----------
hashcheck said:
They should have stuck with Gear 2 features and gwear os. I'm sure it will be ported.... I love my Neo 2
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i like the general design of the gear 2, but i am so glad that android made wear, i see adoption for this from a developer standpoint to be much much better than any proprietary garbage os that samsung puts out. and personally, i dislike samsung devices (read: touchwiz) and plan to stay away from them for the foreseeable future.

adiliyo said:
i like the general design of the gear 2, but i am so glad that android made wear, i see adoption for this from a developer standpoint to be much much better than any proprietary garbage os that samsung puts out. and personally, i dislike samsung devices (read: touchwiz) and plan to stay away from them for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, I've been reading about the gear watches and android wear all day and I still just don't see it. Anything that's on there I would normally pull up my phone for, and the small watch screen version and limited functionality (no speaker, small screen, etc)... I think if I get any notification I'll end up pulling out the phone and responding there anyway... Is this stuff just a lazy persons solution to a problem that doesn't exist?? If wear devices were more like little phones with built in wifi, IR (I think some gear watches had this?!), etc at least you could use it to control your movie watching experiences...
I'm probably just getting old and wanting stuff to stay how I'm used to it

peaklabs.net said:
I don't know, I've been reading about the gear watches and android wear all day and I still just don't see it. Anything that's on there I would normally pull up my phone for,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that IS the point, so you don't have to pull your phone 100 times a minute for every notification, it is trying to "change" the way we use the phone and not trying to replace it. For all that "extras" (Wifi, Speaker, etc, etc) you have the phone.
I love it, I hardly touch my phone now, the battery life on my phone had gotten so much better and I am more interactive responding to all SMSs and facebook/Whasapp messages than before. :laugh:

peaklabs.net said:
I don't know, I've been reading about the gear watches and android wear all day and I still just don't see it. Anything that's on there I would normally pull up my phone for, and the small watch screen version and limited functionality (no speaker, small screen, etc)... I think if I get any notification I'll end up pulling out the phone and responding there anyway... Is this stuff just a lazy persons solution to a problem that doesn't exist?? If wear devices were more like little phones with built in wifi, IR (I think some gear watches had this?!), etc at least you could use it to control your movie watching experiences...
I'm probably just getting old and wanting stuff to stay how I'm used to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maturola said:
I think that IS the point, so you don't have to pull your phone 100 times a minute for every notification, it is trying to "change" the way we use the phone and not trying to replace it. For all that "extras" (Wifi, Speaker, etc, etc) you have the phone.
I love it, I hardly touch my phone now, the battery life on my phone had gotten so much better and I am more interactive responding to all SMSs and facebook/Whasapp messages than before. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the watch essentially becomes a (more useful) implementation of notification triage, i can see what's important and respond to many things without taking out my phone.
it comes down to the user and their daily flow of usage. the big difference with this vs a very limited and closed off system (like samsung's system, or sony's for that matter) is that it leverages two things.
1. android itself as the platform (no seperate market, no need for seperate apps and figuring out how to make sure the apps work with the phone versions)
2. google now, which i think in the long run is going to be the real centerpiece of the platform. as it gets smarter you really will need to use your phone less for basic things since it will offer up the information you need when you need it with even less interaction necessary from the user.
the biggest deal breaker for the samsung system (for me) is the need for a crappy galaxy smartphone. i can't stand touchwiz and the lag samsung's software developers can't seem to get rid of in the many iterations they've had of their software.
i also enjoy the freedom of leaving my phone at my desk, or at home on the charging pad and just checking things on my watch as i go about my day.
i think i like android wear more as i don't want a tiny phone on my wrist to look awkwardly at and speak to people on. i want a companion device that lets me get on with my day and look at my phone less. it's a change in mindset and workflow that pulls you out of your phone and lets you get back into the world.

Yeah ... I'm constantly having to refer to my phone, more with this than I had to with my Galaxy Gear ... After two weeks with it, I feel like I'm done and ready to go back to the Galaxy Gear for good.
But I don't want to give up on it for some reason. I think because what it does do it look better than my Galaxy Gear, in terms of UI. And the always on is very nice.
I dunno ... Maybe I should have just gotten a Gear 2.

sbrownla said:
Yeah ... I'm constantly having to refer to my phone, more with this than I had to with my Galaxy Gear ... After two weeks with it, I feel like I'm done and ready to go back to the Galaxy Gear for good.
But I don't want to give up on it for some reason. I think because what it does do it look better than my Galaxy Gear, in terms of UI. And the always on is very nice.
I dunno ... Maybe I should have just gotten a Gear 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said in my previous post...I went from the Gear 2 Neo to the Live.
Found out it didn't have a speaker after I ordered it.
Tried it out for 3 days and (same as you) had to refer to my phone more.
Called Google to send it back and the Rep said "yea, surprisingly we're having allot of returns b/c of no speaker and many going back to Gear or Gear 2."
They sent me an email for to fill out stating why I'm returning. She said they're interested in feedback for the next model they release. I hope they listen.
I went back to my Gear 2 Neo and am patiently waiting for the next model (with speaker I hope).
They had the same with the Gear 1, made some changes and launched the Gear 2.
Don't waste your money on something you won't use and be happy with.
Wait for the Gear Live 2.

I think I'm going to suck it up though. When the next one comes out I'll gift it or sell it for $100 or so to subsidize the new one.

Glucose Monitoring, will it happen and when?

I am am watching the watches per say and the Blood Oxygen level and EKG stuff is really cool, but for me to drop money on a watch I want Glucose monitoring ..... It seems like technology is slowly getting there with companies and products like Dexcom's the G6 and the FreeStyle Libre.
Also in mens watches I guess 45mm is nice, but I would like to see something more along the lines of a 51mm watch. ( When the Note was released there was allot of hate,) but it is one of the most popular phones now.... so why can't we have a "Note" or phablet sized watch....
I am sure Samung has thought about glucose monitoring as a feature in its watches, its just a matter of getting technology to make it work.
Which brings up the next question...... Privacy...... all this data collected is skimmed by google, and then skimmed by Samsung (or Apple in the case of the Apple Watches) so how do you trust these companies and their employee's with personal data.

I'm not sure this can be monitored with existing infrared sensors. I believe you need an implant under your skin that then sends the readings to your watch or other BT device.
But who knows. I'm pretty blown away they can estimate BPM without a cuff.

kodiak799 said:
I'm not sure this can be monitored with existing infrared sensors. I believe you need an implant under your skin that then sends the readings to your watch or other BT device.
But who knows. I'm pretty blown away they can estimate BPM without a cuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I am sure there needs to be a skin based sensor right now, it looks like a company in Europe is working on a watch for glucose monitoring that requires some sort of patch below the watch. I guess it will come sometime.

I believe it is possible with LEDs alone. About 6 or 7 years ago a friend who is now in his 80's wrote me about such a device. (He had developed age-related diabetes.) In the 60's and 70's, along with dozens of other medical equipment, they developed a device that used light to monitor blood flow and levels of certain blood factors including glucose. Whether or not Samsung has rediscovered this method or purchased something similar is anyone's guess. (And no, he didn't work for theranos... his clients were NASA and OHSU.) It sure would be a game changer if it made it into a smartwatch.

Is there any app to grab Dexcom G6 sensor readinga from the android phone app?

Používám G-Watch

Would be a nice feature...

It exists / under development in France : named K'Watch.
https://www.pkvitality.com/fr/ktrack-glucose/
Dassault and Sanofi recently have been investing in this company, promising. Watch isnt as nice as GW3 though right now

Snowleopard1900 said:
Right, I am sure there needs to be a skin based sensor right now, it looks like a company in Europe is working on a watch for glucose monitoring that requires some sort of patch below the watch. I guess it will come sometime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing this its very helpful for me. I found more information about best watch $5000.

The last update on PK Vitalities website was like 2-3 years ago, they have to have improved it by now. This is sad because this 1 feature alone if it works on a watch would open a whole new market and probably kill the i watch and samsung watch sales unless it gets licensed into them.