Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear smartwatch with built-in camera, 70 apps | Hacker News Reader

Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear smartwatch with built-in camera, 70 apps

engadget.com

77 pointshiraki983 comments

And so the 'production' smartwatch era begins. Notionally kicked off by the InPulse and iPod Nano wrist straps, "proven" by the Pebble kickstarter, now in jumps Samsung and if rumors are to be believed Apple and possibly Google.

It is a testament to the new sensibility that something like this can be worn in public and be "cool." I had a CASIO Data bank watch that was really cool but man the nerd-griefing I got if I wore it outside of the Science Club crowd was intense.

You left out Metawatch, Sony, etc.

>It is a testament to the new sensibility that something like this can be worn in public and be "cool."

Or, everyone's hedging their bets. Better to be on the train platform than off it if the train actually comes.

Smartwatches need more sensors than advanced UIs. They can do much better in sensing world around them.

>It is a testament to the new sensibility that something like this can be worn in public and be "cool."

I really think this remains to be seen. I'm a pretty geeky guy, and there's no way I'd wear any of the smart watches I've seen to date in public.

Wearing a watch just isn't a common thing among people under 40 these days in general. Those who do wear them tend to do so primarily as a fashion accessory. The simple fact is all the watches I've seen so far have been flat out ugly. They absolutely recall the old calculator watches you're referring to. But at least wearing a watch was a fairly normal thing back then.

I'm not saying it's impossible for there to be a cool smart watch, just that I haven't seen it yet. Everything out there so far is going to be serving a very niche market, IMO.

Are there any health issues with having an active bluetooth device next to your privates, and another one strapped to your wrist?

I don't think there is any research which says wearing a bluetooth headset everyday is bad for you, but based on some anecdotal stories I've read, and my gut feeling, it doesn't seem like a good idea.

Until we see some sales numbers proving beyond a doubt that these devices are a success, I'm not going to believe in them. So far there has been a lot of hype that started with rumours of an iWatch. The media instantly jumped on those rumours and started the echo chambre, assuring each other that smart watches were going to be the next big thing. Then suddenly Samsung came out of the woods and announced that they, of course, were also preparing to introduce a smartwatch in the near future.

The question now is how is really going to buy and wear those watches once the novelty effect wears off? People who are wearing watches as a fashion accessoire are probably not going to swap their Rolex or Breitling for some ugly plastic-y looking thing. This leaves the more geeky crowd that might be interested in the smartwatch for its functionality. I'm not convinced it provides enough added value over using my phone to warrant wearing it. I think, in the end, the target demographic for smartwatches is limited to the same people who used to wear those Casio watches and will remain a niche for the foreseable future.

Don't forget the Qualcomm Toq:

http://toq.qualcomm.com/#toq-hello

Qualcomm isn't big in the consumer space but mirasol displays seem promising.

I was pretty hyped when I saw the product here and instantly wondered, "why did I get a Pebble if this exists!?".

But then there's not even a release date. This is a concept page, not a product.

It will be shipping in Q4 per [1], where I also see a video of the product. I do not see a firm shipping date still as you noted.

[1] http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/04/qualcomm-toq-smartwatch/

That's nice to know Mirasol isn't dead like I thought it was. It's pretty cool display technology.

The funny thing is, when the Pebble guys were doing the inPulse watch, they never provided an SDK that worked on Win7/64 claiming that Qualcomm wouldn't release a 64 bit driver for their bluetooth chip. If I hadn't had such a crappy experience with the inPulse I might have bought a Pebble :-(.

For a while in college I had one of the Timex Datalink [1] watches. That was a funky setup. It "synced" with your calendar by holding it up to your CRT. The CRT then flashed a bunch of lines that the watch read with a sensor. You could sync almost anything to it, but the watch itself had a one line display. It was handy for calendars, but really cumbersome. And I still got crap for wearing it, even amongst my nerdy friends...

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Datalink

The Gear does not feel like a complete gimmick - not having to take out your (big screen) SmartPhone out for emails/texts/pics/shares etc. is kinda useful to the mainstream people.

But the problems are Price, Performance(Battery life, responsivness) and Limitations that make it work only with Samsung phones. For those reasons I think the Gen 1 of the Gear will flop. And who knows what kind of apps Samsung is running on the Gear - if that's something non-standard it makes it even worse. (If Google released a watch it would hopefully work with all Android devices and let people build apps using the standard Android SDK.)

So meh on the Gear. With Note 3 and Note 10.1 however Samsung seems to be mostly doing the right things - extended multitasking, more RAM, Dot, Circle, Box, great screen res, more battery life etc. Almost makes me hopeful 10 in Android tablets might go somewhere finally!

Keep in mind that not only is it limited to Samsung devices, but it doesn't even support their entire range of currently-sold devices. No launch support for the Galaxy S4, their flagship device and the one that they sell the most. No promised support for their brand-new Galaxy Mega 6.3. No support for any of their other devices that are still on the shelf being sold even today...

Yeah, probably something to do with BT 4.0 LE - only Android 4.3 supports it - so all those other devices will have to painfully wait for their respective carriers to release the 4.3 update. As good as not gonna happen!

Samsung pushing them hard to release 4.3 might let us see some progress.

I wonder if Google has an even greater (more so than with phones and tablets) inherent disadvantage to Apple because it's going to be beholden to a more generic UI given the diversity of devices by the android OEMs.

The Google card UI is slick and very user friendly, but it can stagnate pretty quickly given the potential for a more accommodating, dynamic UI that a company like Apple can make with a limited range of devices. I think it's not just a simple visual gimmick that Apple demonstrated a parallax effect as a major visual feature of iOS 7.0. If the iWatch is some sort of wrap-around your wrist screen, then layers of visual information could be really interesting.

Well Apple had their chance with iPod Nano Touch - it doesn't look any different than iOS. Besides the key on these tiny displays is going to be how minimalistic you can get - get the UI baggage out of the way and present as much info as possible.

Imagine looking down on your wrist and it immediately lights up and shows you the time and date and some notification that you have messages. Rotate your wrist clockwise and you can see some more details about the message (the subject, who it's from, etc.) and you can decide whether you want to take out your phone or tablet and address it.

Rotate your wrist counter-clockwise and you see slowly start to see more relevant information (weather, news headlines, etc.). It would be kind of like google now, except not necessarily requiring interaction and it would be much more visually interesting.

or simply a circular motion with the tip of your finger could work too?

Great joke..The scroll wheel worked before touch was great, and touch works before simple, naturalistic motions can be perfected.

Presumably it would have a built in gyro you you could tip it left/right and up/down so scroll through screens, go into menus etc. It might go a bit crazy when you are running down the road though :-p

Hence the eye contact.

> The Gear does not feel like a complete gimmick

I like the design. I could see myself wearing one while actively engaged in various sports. I'm not so connected to my Note 2 while playing basketball, but I just might be with Gear.

You'll have to wait for the Note 2 to get Android 4.3 for that I think. Qualcomm seems to be coming out with something similar at the same price point and it seems to work with any Android 4.0.3+ phone - http://www.androidcentral.com/qualcomm-announces-toq-smart-w...

Except the watch is pretty much worthless without the phone it's attached to. Perhaps it would work from gym bag on the bench, definitely not from the locker room.

Or perhaps you could just play basketball.

Galaxy Gear II will see a massive industrial and UI design change sometime after Apple's smartwatch is released.

Yes, I am saying this thing looks kind of awful.

prediction 1: we will soon see smartwatches incorporate biometric measurement full force. After all unlike a mobile phone, a smartwatch is (typically) always attached to your body, right up against the skin.

prediction 2: once prediction 1 starts to happen, and people realize that (1) there is a device measuring physiological signals from their body, (2) it also has a gps tracker, (3) it is also connected to "the cloud" and (4) if it is android based, it is potentially sending all this info to the google-borg, there will be (I hope) a new imperative to have an honest discussion about privacy

or not

> there will be (I hope) a new imperative to have an honest discussion about privacy

No, people will be excited that they can have a Fitbit, camera, and phone all in one.

I agree with both, but the discussion will probably be similar to the ones being had today. We're all upset, but "we" are the minority.

Even if smartwatches become a trend, they will still be worn by some limited percentage of the population. Out of that limited percentage, an even further limited percentage will understand the privacy issues. And a smaller yet percentage of those folk will actually care about the privacy issues enough to do something about it.

> once prediction 1 starts to happen, (...) there will be...

...people that will want to use it to track their kids

I would love prediction 1 to come true and already have a Pebble. To be honest though, I couldn't care less about the privacy "problem" of having a cloud-connected wearable on you.

> prediction 1: we will soon see smartwatches incorporate biometric measurement full force. After all unlike a mobile phone, a smartwatch is (typically) always attached to your body, right up against the skin.

That's why I think Basis B1 [1] is the most interesting of all "smartwatches". It's a pity they are basically out of stock since several months.

[1] http://www.mybasis.com/

At Neumitra:

1) We build more medical watches than gadgets. Right up against the skin means great data quality if you take biometric data seriously in terms of the problems that can be solved. But comfort and fit are extremely important to get right.

2) We build around a data co-op model. If you share your data we show how your health data relates to everyone else. You get more info by giving. If you choose not to share, we can't share the crowd with you. You become an island unto yourself.

P.s. We're hiring: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6311608

This really feels like a "because we can" product. Given the specs and features, it seems to be purely a companion device...and for $300?

After reading the press release, I'm still trying to understand what legitimately useful functionality is provides beyond your phone. I'm amazed they didn't at least include some bio measurement capability (beyond accelerometer). I would have thought it would be a key potential application.

As noted in the PR, a watch and fashion icon apparently:

Standalone Watch and Iconic Fashion Accessory

Yes it's version one, but surely they can do better.

The pricing seems ridiculous, but it is unabashedly a companion device, and is almost certainly Samsung testing out form factors to see what demographics they work in. Being able to check and respond to messages and do basic operations without pulling out your smartphone may appeal to some people.

Recall when the Galaxy Note first came out it was almost universally mocked (including on here, it should be mentioned. I recall the pages of people declaring it DoA, etc). Turned into an incredible success.

And let's bring this full circle -- in selling larger and larger smartphone/tablet devices, it almost makes a market for a device like this.

At $300 this isn't going to go far, but I'm sure the $200, 800x600, quad-core successor is just around the corner, and then the $100 model, etc.

Yes, it is an accessory. Compatible only with Samsung products, and not all of them apparently [1].

[1]-https://twitter.com/androidpolice/status/375317526755827712

For $300 I'd expect it to be a complete stand-alone phone device, to be used with a Google Glass or a bluetooth headset or a wifi-only tablet as a client.

They don't have any bio measurement stuff, but they have an app for EBay. Wonder what the logic there is (shop from a tiny screen, while in the elevator?)

Seems like a landgrab to have any product on the market before Apple's rumored iWatch to avoid any controversy of who was in the market first, regardless of how limited and silly v1 is.

Come on! Isn't that watch "fugly"? Or is it just me?? And why should I check my wrist before my phone when I could just check the latter? And, I must say it, with the Note 3 Samsung reinforced its throne as the undisputed bloatware king. I'm so happy I moved to Nexus devices a while ago. Pure Android is just better. [I swear it's not a fanboy comment, although it looks like one]

My reservation with the notion of a smartwatch is battery life. I care to charge my phone, but I really don't like the idea of also having to charge my watch for mildly more convenient features than my phone.

Just sleep in a rapidly vibrating magnetic field, with your watch on your wrist and your phone by your head.

What could possibly go wrong?

I have a Pebble, and charging my watch isn't too bad. I usually charge it in the morning while I'm in the shower. I've been trying to sleep with it on for the vibrating alarm. Although, with the Pebble, I can get almost a work week of usage before it dies. I'm not sure how I'd like charging it daily.

How long does that weekly charge take?

There's no indication on the watch itself when it's fully charged, and the battery indicator only appears when the watch has like ~4 hours of battery remaining. Thus it's hard to get a read on just how long the watch needs to charge for -- I usually plug it in overnight once I see the low battery indicator, then wear it for another week or so before the low battery icon shows up again.

As for things to do with the Pebble during the shower: use it to control your music!

Can't wait for the 4" model.

that's what she didn't say

i saw a video earlier today that suggested perhaps some features of a phone could be more convenient in watch form just as some things are more pleasant on phones and tablets than on desktops. that it wasn't a replacement, rather a supplement

i could maybe get behind that.

but if it can't do anything on it's own, without the phone, it loses like 99.5% of it's appeal. if your phone or tablet had to be tethered to a laptop or desktop, it would be useless.

i'd think a huge part of the appeal of smart watch would be the fitness stuff. i know my wife doesn't really like using her phones because it is too big for running. she likes her garmin watch better. if you have to take a 5.7 inch phone with you, wtf good is the watch? Sure there is a slight bonus to just putting phone in pocket instead of on arm and using the watch to check stuff, but man it feels like this is missing the point.

i'm not convinced i want a smartwatch, but i'm pretty sure i want it to be able to do "something" on it's own. As it is, this is a dumbwatch second screen for phone.

>but if it can't do anything on it's own, without the phone, it loses like 99.5% of it's appeal.

Agreed. See PlayBook - BlackBerry Handheld pairing. The biggest appeal in BB was BBM and the PlayBook alone did not include it. #Fail

Well, I wouldn't trade my Omega Seamaster for it yet. Sometimes, I just want to wear a watch to tell the time, and I'm used to a certain amount of weight on my left wrist. I don't even see the need for complicated movements, but I'm an old man in this tech world--45. My demographic is not very important anymore.

I totally get it. It's similar to how I just keep a phone to make and receive calls. But it does seem a little ludicrous when you think about all the things you can do with a smart phone. As the number of apps increases, I think smart watches will be accepted and used in a similar way. A huge plus point for smart watches is it's accessibility. Compared to the time spent pulling out a smartphone from your pocket, you'll be able to to instantly check news updates, emails, weather and etc right on your wrist.

It feels less accessible to me for anything other than pushed notifications and SMS (Pebble owner here). Given the screen size and limited controls or touchscreen space, the pain of navigating to the information you want, makes a smartphone seem like less effort overall.

Interesting, not sure the battery life of this watch will sound appealing to the masses.

As a side note, this presentation is one of the most amazing displays of poor taste I have ever seen. You have to give them kudos for improving on the stage decoration of last year (remember the red curtains horror?) - now the music, the acting, and the outfit of the presenters still sound out of this world to me.

PS: for the golden trophy of inelegance, I'm still unsettled between the plastic glasses and the grey smoking!

Discussion from the comments:

"So how does dialing on this work like? You dial on your watch with phone in your hand and then talk on your phone or you talk directly by raising your wrist upto your mouth. How does it work?"

Reply: "I saw an early demo a while back. You just say "go go gadget phone" and then talk into your pinkie."

That would be awesome

The problem with an LCD screen on a watch is that you have to wake up the device to see the time. As far as I can tell that is the case with this device too.

Watch the video here at the 2:00 mark to see it power off: http://reviews.cnet.com/samsung-galaxy-gear/

I like the look of this. More industrial and interesting than I was expecting, will probably be big in Korea and Japan. For myself, I prefer mechanical watches though...

please give me symbian hack

My most obvious use case for something like this would be sports. If I can interface with my phone, it'd be much easier to mess around with something on my wrist, than something in my pocket, when snowboarding. I keep my phone in a waterproof pouch in my inner pocket when going down the mountain, and it's a pain to get out. This'd be much easier.

I wonder where they found their inspiration for the design.. http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f9/60332d1188163636...

Hey Samsung, let me know when you get a Hologram projector in this thing[0].

[0]http://cdn.tutsplus.com/ae.tutsplus.com/uploads/2013/06/Aetu...

It looks much better then Pebble. It's a pity though that it will work only with Samsung phones, not all Androids (not mentioning iPhones...).

Put an Ant+ sensor on it, and I could see the benefits of using it over my Garmin cycling computers, especially with a small mount for the bike.

This uses Bluetooth 4 LE (low energy) which offers the same advantages as Ant+. This protocol will probably completely supplant Ant+ in the next year or two because it's part of the Bluetooth spec and supported natively by most smartphones released in the last year. Ant+ is proprietary and has only a handful of phones with onboard chips.

The problem today is that if you already own devices that speak ANT+, you're not likely to be replacing them in the near future as they are generally quite expensive (eg PowerTap). The only bicycle power meter that speaks BT LE is the Stages power meter and that just started shipping. In this interim time period it would be awesome to support both as there is a pretty large installed base of ANT+ hardware in the exercise / fitness demo.

Is there any info on what OS it is running? Is it a Samsung proprietary one? Also info on how to develop apps for it?

So this will be the image we use in the png under the "before iWatch" label. (Actually iBand I bet)

Compatible with Note 3 and Note 10.1. You lost me there!

Who in their own mind would ever wear a 4-pounds brick on his or her wrist? Am I having a bad trip or we're headed in a dystopian future where tech companies are managed by a pack of monkeys designing useless gadgets to strap on the lesser humans?

It weighs 74 grams (or about 0.16 lbs).

Source for "4-pounds"?

I was being sarcastic, the point is it's big, no, not even big, it's enormous and unwieldy.

Most luxury watches are bigger, and much heavier....

Luxury items are meant to be flashy, a man with a Rolex is basically saying "Hey look here, I'm freakin' rich", while a man with that monstrosity is just saying "I'm a douchebag with a ridiculous-looking watch".

Exactly, it's the difference between classy taste and ostentatious gauche

The line between a watch saying "Hey look here, I'm freakin' rich" and "I'm a douchebag with a ridiculous-looking watch" would seem to be both in the eye of the beholder and razor thin.

4-pounds is about 1.8kg, the weight of most notebooks. I think you have your weights all mixed up. In comparison, the Samsung S4 weighs 130 grams, iPhone 5 is 112 grams.

I wouldn't expect this to weigh more than 100 grams. In comparison, a Rolex Sea Dweller weighs 220 grams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolex_Sea_Dweller).

For me this would be useful when going to the gym, I could listen to music, see urgent emails and if it had GPS then track bike rides and runs. If it had a heart rate monitor then perfect. I don't like the fact it has to connect to your phone, standalone would be preferred.

As I said, I was joking. Maybe its really light, but that doesn't take away the fact that it' s a giant piece of hardware that shouldn't even exist. It's a smartphone that couldn't be shrunken enough to actually achieve some sort of purpose, it's like a monument to the limits of current technology.

Yeah, sorry, cross post with everyone else. Still, I think it is a valid gadget, it won't be for everyone, but useful for some.

It's not that much different from using the iPod Nano as a watch - http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/18/ipod-nano-review-as-a-wat...

Yeah, It's not at all different, but I was the first to say that using an iPod nano as a watch was a stupid idea. I can understand testing the water with some prototype like Google Glass (those just look ridiculous, we're several iterations from something approaching a real product) but it's a stretch to go from prototype to mass product.

If they could incorporate a heart rate monitor and GPS then this would be my ideal workout companion, and I could use it for bike rides and snowboarding in the winter - the separate costs of all these would be more than $300. I don't think it will become mass market, BUT you can only make the watch so small after which the interface become unusable - esp if you have fat fingers like me! You do require the the revolution before the evolution though, like with the Google Glass hopefully.

But regardless of the size of this, have you been to a watch shop recently? Some of the sizes of the watches are ridiculous and I presume they sell... so this might do just fine!

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