Things You Should Know Before Buying Galaxy Gear

Gadgets and technology are the two things which gets updated every day. Technology has made our life more easy than before. Mobiles are updated and will keep on updating with many new technology and great features. One such gadget is, the Galaxy Gear. Samsung went mainstream with tis own smartwatch, named Galaxy Gear last year. Samsung launched Gear with its flagship phablet, galaxy Gear Note 3.

The Gear need to be paired via Bluetooth with a high-end Samsung Galaxy smartphone devices like, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 running Android 4.3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. I was trying to buy it for my Galaxy S4 since long, but was worried about the price. The launch price of gear gadget was 22,990 INR. Then the price was cut to INR 19,075. But not it is available at the price of 15,290 INR on the company's official e-store giving discount of 3,785 INR.

Since the price has been so low I m definitely looking for it. But what do I or you know about it? Is it worth buying? What are its limitations? Is this the Gear you were looking for? Following points will let you know some things that you should know before you buy it.

• Can Make Calls:

Using the Gear you can make calls suing the built-in speakerphone and microphone. Gear gives you the access to call logs, phone book and a dialer pad. Also the speaker is loud enough and is more useful when in car.

• Can be used as a media controller:

The Gear can be used as a media controller to pause and play music tracks and skip to the next and previous tracks. It’s pretty helpful if you use your phone to listen to music in the gym, or connect it to your car’s stereo system (serves as an alternative to steering mounted controls).It even works with third party music streaming apps. While you can set the Media controller as the default screen, if you lock and unlock the watch manually, it goes back to the time screen and you’ll need to navigate to the controller again.

• Can click pictures:

The Gear features a 1.9MP camera that takes functional pictures. The pictures wont be much bright and clear. Other problem is to click the picture with right angle. There is no option to mute the shutter sound. You can shoot a video of only 15 seconds at 720p. You can choose to store pictures and videos in the watch, transfer them automatically to the phone or transfer them at a later stage.

• Provides notifications:

Once connected, the Gear will not only sync time and location from the phone, but also bring notifications for text messages, calls, emails and social networks. You’ll need to install smartwatch versions of apps and enable notifications through the Gear Manager on your phone. You’ll find apps (mostly third party) for Facebook, Twitter, Path and even a Foursquare client. WhatsApp notifications can also be enabled.

• Has built-in Pedometer:

The Gear comes with a built-in Pedometer and an accompanying app that can keep a count of your steps. It also works with other third-party fitness tracking apps to help you keep a check on your workout and track the calories you've burnt. And it works quite accurate.

• Looks a bit chunky:

While we won’t deny that Samsung has tried to give the Gear a premium look with all the metal and screws, the watch looks a little chunky with its almost miniature phone like form-factor.

• Mediocre battery life:

With moderate to heavy use, the Gear lasts about 2 days. It seems very less but that what it has to give. To charge it, you will need a charging shell.

• Doesn't work with non-Samsung devices:

The expensive gadget is only compatible with select Samsung devices. This Gear wont work on other brands like iPhone, HTC or Sony.

• Lacks good third-party apps:

There are very less apps available for Gear. Most of them keeps on crashing. Some of them are, Evernote, Flipboard and some mores. Samsung needs more quality watch apps.

This are some of the important things that needs to be taken into consideration before buying it. Thanks to TOI for trying and providing this information.

Cheers!!!