[Samsung Galaxy Gear] ArborRes:
To each his own...

I haven't worn any wrist watch ever since I started using the PDAs, as I had no reason to carry around more than a device that tells me time.

So I hesitated some before deciding to get a Gear. I was also concerned that this generation of Gear would be as bad as the smartphones Samsung made prior to Galaxy series. Boy, am I glad that I did. This device basically has a solid hardware and an acceptable software as a start. However, it is already quite usable and useful imho and will get better with more software updates. I was going to return the device within the 14-days grace period, but I doubt that I will.

I got my Gear tonight at the Bestbuy, after missing the opp at the AT&T stores.

They had one Mocha unit available and of course, I picked it up. :)

I like the design of the watch very much. I have compared this watch to all other existing smartphones out there and it beats them all hands down. It looks classy and exudes high quality feel. I would have also enjoyed the Jet Black version as a business man.

The overall build quality is quite good. The choice of Sapphire glass is excellent as it keeps the finger smudges off very well.

Samsung used very good quality material to construct this device.

I'm loving the digital watch this is. I have downloaded a Chocolate:Analog watch design to go with my Mocha strap and it looks dandy. Heck, even just as a nice customizable watch, this device is cool. Then, I downloaded the Watch Styler app that allows me to create my own custom watch design, even using my family photo as the background. That's cool! I think I'm going to have so much fun creating my unique watch designs that I can use as I feel like it.

Seeing Ebay and Kakao Talk apps already available just confirmed my choice of this device. They will come very handy on a daily basis, especially Kakao Talk, which I use all the time.

This watch's built in Timer and Stop Watch functions will come in handy when I referee some group games tomorrow, rather than using my big Note 3 to do the same thing. Yes, some cheap digital watches also have these functions, but I don't wear them in general and therefore, they don't matter to me. The Spin the Bottle app or QuickDice app are also fun and useful in such situation to decide who goes first to start a game.

I have tried using the watch as a phone and it works quite well. The voice quality is very good. The speaker is plenty loud enough. In fact, I turned the volume down almost to the lowest setting.

As many have pointed out already, there are areas of improvements for this device for sure but I'm sure they will come.

I got the device knowing such deficiency because it's the first generation device.

- Gmail notifications must show at least the name of the sender and subject header (I found out that I can have Gmails pushed to the stock Email app and see all notifications the same way as emails. Happy~ :) )

- Why isn't a calculator available already? It will come in handy to have one readily available. I feel the screen is big enough to have some more apps like a calculator and a compass.

- It also annoys me a bit how protruding the speaker portion is when typing on the computer keyboard. Although this can also be a good thing as I am learning to lift my wrist up as I type, which is actually healthier habit. :P

- It would be fantastic if I could use Skype on the Gear as I use it to talk to my family members overseas together with my children often, using a speaker phone setting on my smartphone usually. It would be so much more natural to use the Gear instead, I can imagine already.

Yeah, I'm an optimist who looks for things to be thankful for rather than things to complain about. :P

Imho, if you want a mature product, you shouldn't buy any first generation product and complain as you do.

I think Samsung will do quite well with the Gear series in the years to come.

I think this device could be quite popular even now, if it weren't for the current high price point.

As for me, if more software improvements become available, I will end up really enjoying this device until the next Gear comes along for me to upgrade to, as I do with the Note series.

The real challenge for me with this device is whether I would be able to bear wearing a watch at all after not wearing one for years.

Time will tell. :cool: