[Samsung Gear S3] ttown:
My thoughts coming from the 1st gen Moto 360:

I still remember the first time Motorola announced the Moto 360. This was the first smartwatch to have a circular screen. I knew right then that this was the watch for me. After waiting months for the official release, I was able to pick one up at Best Buy on launch day. My excitement with the Moto 360 was a 10 out 10 from day one. Android Wear was really cool, and the circular screen was the wow factor.

Fast forward two years. My Moto 360 has had a good life, but is now showing it's age. Had Motorola released, or even announced a 3rd gen coming, I would have put it on the top of my list. Then came the announcement of the Gear S3. I watched the launch event on You Tube; not thinking I would want one, but rather just keeping up with the latest tech. By the end of the event, Samsung had convinced me this would be my next watch. I followed that up by watching all of the You Tube videos from all the tech sites giving their first impressions. Once again I had the same feeling I had two years prior waiting for the Moto 360 to launch. I patiently waited for pricing and availability. Just like many of you, I circled Nov 18th on my calendar. At first I was convinced the Classic was more my style. As I continued to watch more videos and feedback of first impressions, I was open to either model. I figured I would have to see both in person before making my choice.

Last Friday I called my wife to let her know I was going to Best Buy, and that I MAY buy a new watch. There were 5 Frontier models available, but no Classics. After taking one look at the Frontier, I took the plunge.

Now that we have the intro out of the way, let me get to my impressions. It is now Sunday, and I have had the watch for about 48 hours. These are my first impressions:

Appearance: As many of you know, this is a very good looking high end watch. That being said, I can't help but wonder if I made the right choice. I have always been more partial to silver watches. I keep wondering if I should have seen the Classic in person before buying the Frontier. That being said, the Frontier really looks good outdoors. The fit and finish are superb. The rotating bezel has a good feel when scrolling. The size, weight and thickness of the watch are just what I like. Samsung has done their homework in this area, and it shows.

Pairing and Setup: Pairing the watch was quick and easy. Digging through the setup, I decided to go with the AOD on and Wifi on auto. I was pleasantly surprised that the Gear S3 automatically paired with to my network. I didn't have to reenter my wifi passcode to connect the watch.

Software: Coming from Android Wear, I have high expectations of what a watch OS should be. While Android Wear isn't perfect, it does a lot of things right. That being said, there are parts of Tizen that shine. The apps menu, scrolling bezel and notification management are points where Samsung got it right. Android Wear wins when it comes to integration with Google Now, Google Maps, voice recognition and availability of apps and watch faces.

Battery Life: As I write this, my watch has 59% at 4:10 pm. I took the watch off the charger at around 7:30 this morning. I'm not going to kid myself, I'm still playing around with it when I can. I'm sure battery life will improve as the battery gets conditioned and I stop playing with the watch. My minimum expectation is that I can get through a full day, but I'd really like to see 2 to 3 days of use between charges. This would mean I could leave the charge at home when I leave for short trips.

Overall Impression: This is one of, if not the best smartwatch on the market right now. To be completely honest though, my excitement level isn't what it was for the Moto 360 two years ago. I think my expectation was that it would be, and I don't think that is fair to Samsung. Don't get me wrong, this is a better watch than the Moto 360 on many levels. I think the difference is that the Moto 360 was a revolutionary product for it's time, and the Gear S3 is more of an evolutionary product.