Samsung has once again released a gadget in their smartwatch Gear S series. This time, they have gone for a design that looks more like an actual timepiece.
In the past incarnations, Samsung went with a high tech display version of their Gear series. However, when that failed to entice consumers, they decided to go with something a little more classic.
The Samsung Gear S brings 3G connectivity to the product line, but gets rid of the old design. Now, it looks a bit more like a traditional watch, with a wide, square and curved display and old school clock face.
Otherwise, it appears very similar to the other products currently launched. It has access to contacts and alerts. It connects to Nike+ Running and S Health as an overall fitness tracking device. It runs on a Dual core 1.0 GHz processor and has a 2.0” Super AMOLED display with 360 x 480 resolution.
Maybe I am jaded, and I know I have gone on and one about this particular topic in the past. But it has to be said again: what is the appeal? Companies are trying so hard to be the first to release the first big smartwatch seller. But they are offering no innovation.
Let’s take a look at this and other Gear smartwatches. What do they really offer? A fitness tracker, and an intermediary between you and your connected smartphone. That is it. But the retail price at the beginning of the release for the first Gear was $300, and now $147 on Amazon.
Is it really worth that to have something so limited? Who doesn’t take their phone as a media device when working out anymore? Why would you need it in your watch? Or why wouldn’t you buy one of the many other devices out there straight for that purpose, often for cheaper?
Samsung is doing their best to promote these products as the next big thing. But they are making the mistake of releasing the same overpriced vanity gadget over and over again, with a couple of changes.
Think it is weird that Apple hasn’t launched the iWatch yet? Hopefully, it is because they don’t want to release a product that doesn’t bring something revolutionary to the table.
By the way, LG just released a smartwatch that is also relying on the mind blowing feature that it “looks like a regular watch”. This is just getting silly, now.
Source: Samsung
