Anyone who knows me knows that I am a watch addict. Whenever I am out and about and happen to see a watch, I try to get a better look at it. I have had to do a few loops in order to see a timepiece and when it is a high end watch like a Rolex or an Audemars Piguet, I feel like a pro watch spotter!
Just like phones don’t only make calls, we now have watches that can do much more than just tell the time. I have had the Samsung Gear 2 to look at, which is one of Samsung’s smartwatches.
I received the rose gold edition which is probably my favourite. The Gear 2 comes in rose gold and silver with a range of interchangeable straps in different colours. The Gear 2 has a 41.1 mm Super Amoled touch screen display which is how you interact with the device. Since the Gear 2 has a small screen compared to phones or tablets, the 1.0 Ghz Dual Core processor with 512MB Ram really does the job. For storage you are looking at 4GB of space which is enough considering you still have your phone. The Gear 2 runs a Tizen based wearable platform unlike other smart watches that runs Android Wear. I haven’t had much time with Android Wear but I did find the Tizen operating system smooth and easy to use.
The Gear 2 is IP67 certified which means that is resistant to dust and water up to 1m. So there is no need to worry about taking the Gear 2 into rough conditions or near water. You can even where it whist you shower!
The Gear 2 has a Li-ion 300mAh battery which will give you about 2 to 3 days on normal usage and up to 6 days on light usage.
Now that I have covered the specs of the Gear 2, it is about time I told you what the Gear 2 actually does.
Those into fitness can use the Gear 2 as a fitness tracker with loads of features such as a heart rate sensor and Pedometer and tracker for running, walking, cycling and hiking. The sleep and stress features help you understand yourself!
You can play music straight on the Gear 2 or use the Gear 2 to control music playing on your phone. So if your phone is in your pocket and you are using headphones, you can change tracks straight on the Gear 2. The Gear 2 has a standalone music player so if you are out running, you can play music on the Gear 2 on a Bluetooth headset even if your phone is not with you.
When the Gear 2 is connected via Bluetooth to your phone, you can make and receive calls via the smart watch. Standing in public talking into your watch really makes you feel like James Bond.
You can take photos on the Gear 2 using the 2MP camera or if video is your thing you can capture video in 720p. Having a camera on your wrist is pretty nifty when you quickly need to capture an image or video or when you need to capture something discreetly.
Notifications are sent straight to the Gear 2 so if you are worried about missing notifications, worry no more. You can view messages straight on the Gear 2 and depending on the app you can even respond to messages so you don’t need to pull out your phone when you are on the go.
Back in the day everyone wanted those TV remote watches. Either to change their TV without having to reach for the remote or to mess with random TVs. The Samsung Gear 2 can be used as a remote control for your TV using the LrLED sensor and the WatchOn App.
The Gear 2 connects to a range of Samsung devices via Bluetooth 4.0. The following are the supported devices:
Samsung Galaxy S5 / Galaxy Grand 2 / Galaxy Note 3 / Galaxy Note 3 Neo / Galaxy Note 2 / Galaxy S4 / Galaxy S3 / Galaxy S4 Zoom / Galaxy S4 Active / Galaxy S4 mini /
Galaxy Mega 6.3 / Galaxy Mega 5.8 / Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) / Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) / Galaxy TabPRO (12.2/10.1/8.4)
This was my first experience using a smart watch and it was a good one. I found it super easy to connect the Gear 2 to the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini. Configuring the settings was simple and I had the Gear 2 running in no time. Sometimes you just don’t want to reach for your phone and when you are having one of those days, quickly checking a message on your wrist is nifty. I also sometimes miss notifications and smart watches can definitely help. Though you may want to turn off certain notifications as you may not want every notification on your wrist. Overall I am really happy with the Gear 2. It has a great build quality, design and looks great on your wrist. It’s not too big or too small so will suit most users.
