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Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans
The press has been speculating about the hardware and design, and leaking information, since word got out that the company would be designing its smartwatch to rival new and yet-to-be-released gadgets from Sony, Apple and Pebble.
We’ve been speaking with sources to separate fact from fiction. And this weekend, a source showed us one of the prototypes sent to developers and a few select partners. Note that Samsung is highly security conscious in protecting its designs, and occasionally sends off prototypes that don’t mirror the final design. But it won’t be far off.
My source, who requested anonymity, also showed me an internal promotional marketing video for the watch. The video was not developed by Samsung, but by an independent team working closely with Samsung. I wasn’t allowed to photograph the smartwatch itself, but I snapped a few stills from the video, which clearly shows the high-quality OLED display, with its square screen. I also made some sketches based on my time with the watch.
I’ll walk you through the specs, and then offer a few insights about potential use-cases for Samsung’s smartwatch. Health and fitness junkies will be intrigued. My initial impression was that it’s a new wearable fitness device to rival a Nike Fuelband or Fitbit Flex — a smartphone companion rather than a smartphone alternative.
At about 3 inches diagonally, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is quite large. Although its screen is square, large bezels on the top and bottom give it a chunky, rectangular shape, with rounded corners.
The color is fairly basic — dark black and grey, although it may be enhanced in the final version. The wristband is clunky and masculine, large enough to hold speakers in the clasp. It’s not heavy to hold, but it dwarfed my tiny lady wrists when I tried it on. Women may instead opt for a Misfit Shine, which isn’t a watch but is a small jewel-like button.
The smartwatch prototype has Bluetooth to connect with the Galaxy S family of smartphones and tablets, although it may also connect to all Android devices. It also has Wi-Fi for Internet access, including e-mail, even when it’s not connected to a smartphone, but I didn’t see that in action.
It has a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap, and tiny speakers in the clasp. You can measure health data through the camera. Take a picture of your food, and you can tag it according to what type of food it is, such as “grains” or “fat.” It’s a clear swipe at Google Glass — but would anyone take photos of their meals from a watch, other than for spy movie appeal?
By -
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans
 |
| Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues |
Samsung is set to reveal its Galaxy
Gear smartwatch next Wednesday, Sept. 4, in Berlin. But this weekend, we
got a first look at the watch.
The press has been speculating about the hardware and design, and leaking information, since word got out that the company would be designing its smartwatch to rival new and yet-to-be-released gadgets from Sony, Apple and Pebble.
We’ve been speaking with sources to separate fact from fiction. And this weekend, a source showed us one of the prototypes sent to developers and a few select partners. Note that Samsung is highly security conscious in protecting its designs, and occasionally sends off prototypes that don’t mirror the final design. But it won’t be far off.
My source, who requested anonymity, also showed me an internal promotional marketing video for the watch. The video was not developed by Samsung, but by an independent team working closely with Samsung. I wasn’t allowed to photograph the smartwatch itself, but I snapped a few stills from the video, which clearly shows the high-quality OLED display, with its square screen. I also made some sketches based on my time with the watch.
I’ll walk you through the specs, and then offer a few insights about potential use-cases for Samsung’s smartwatch. Health and fitness junkies will be intrigued. My initial impression was that it’s a new wearable fitness device to rival a Nike Fuelband or Fitbit Flex — a smartphone companion rather than a smartphone alternative.
At about 3 inches diagonally, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is quite large. Although its screen is square, large bezels on the top and bottom give it a chunky, rectangular shape, with rounded corners.
The color is fairly basic — dark black and grey, although it may be enhanced in the final version. The wristband is clunky and masculine, large enough to hold speakers in the clasp. It’s not heavy to hold, but it dwarfed my tiny lady wrists when I tried it on. Women may instead opt for a Misfit Shine, which isn’t a watch but is a small jewel-like button.
The smartwatch prototype has Bluetooth to connect with the Galaxy S family of smartphones and tablets, although it may also connect to all Android devices. It also has Wi-Fi for Internet access, including e-mail, even when it’s not connected to a smartphone, but I didn’t see that in action.
It has a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap, and tiny speakers in the clasp. You can measure health data through the camera. Take a picture of your food, and you can tag it according to what type of food it is, such as “grains” or “fat.” It’s a clear swipe at Google Glass — but would anyone take photos of their meals from a watch, other than for spy movie appeal?
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