Database Develop

Garbage

Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil

RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you just purchase it or??? If you just purchased it today you should take it back. I thought about purchasing it but I am going to wait. I usually jump on first gen stuff but I had the Inpulse watch, I had the Wim Labs prototype, I had the playbook (and see how that turned out).
I hope there are other people that will chime in about this. FWIW, I also think the pebble is crap. The support, I hear, is the same lousy support the company provided for the Inpulse watch.

Not surprised a bit

RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sucks to hear , the notifications seem like crap but apparently need to be updated by vendor. Someone mentioned a new API that would allow a 3rd party to setup a notification system. No idea how they could launch with such limited notifications.
Can you upload some camera and video samples ? One mans crap is another mans "ok"

xManMythLegend said:
Sucks to hear , the notifications seem like crap but apparently need to be updated by vendor. Someone mentioned a new API that would allow a 3rd party to setup a notification system. No idea how they could launch with such limited notifications.
Can you upload some camera and video samples ? One mans crap is another mans "ok"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to fan the fire between us but having read your mail I find myself asking if YOU actually own one? Why do you keep asking for pictures?
---------- Post added at 09:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unsure what you where expecting. I am unhappy with the gear also but for different reasons. Oddly enough I have experienced zero software problems to date.
With care and respect I have to ask what you expected from the camera? Jeez its a toy and more or less just for fund snaps. I have this thing about phone cameras. I love photography so use a DSLR. I know little about the art but do know one cannot seriously expect great photos from a mobile phone., or wrist watch in this case.
It is sad as yet again I feel a major brand has introduced to a market a product that is not user ready. I mean the IP is IP55!! Water and this watch are not friends.
At present I am enjoying the learning curve and new toy. I said before I purchased it that it would end up collecting dust in some draw before long. Lets see. BTW I bought mine on the 27th and the battery only needed a charge this afternoon? £ days of decent usage and experimenting.
I expected to need to recharge every night. Not the case so far.
Don't set me of regarding the quality of that strap
In your shoes I would return it for a refund. Problem is for this type of device this is as good as it gets.
Kind regards..

I look forward to getting mine next week, but I will have 14 days to check it out and by the sounds of things I may not be happy (time will tell) and if I am not I will just return it and get something else.
BTW there is always the Omate TrueSmart watch which can be used without a SIM and is competely water proof.

Ryland Johnson said:
I hate to fan the fire between us but having read your mail I find myself asking if YOU actually own one? Why do you keep asking for pictures?
---------- Post added at 09:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------
Unsure what you where expecting. I am unhappy with the gear also but for different reasons. Oddly enough I have experienced zero software problems to date.
With care and respect I have to ask what you expected from the camera? Jeez its a toy and more or less just for fund snaps. I have this thing about phone cameras. I love photography so use a DSLR. I know little about the art but do know one cannot seriously expect great photos from a mobile phone., or wrist watch in this case.
It is sad as yet again I feel a major brand has introduced to a market a product that is not user ready. I mean the IP is IP55!! Water and this watch are not friends.
At present I am enjoying the learning curve and new toy. I said before I purchased it that it would end up collecting dust in some draw before long. Lets see. BTW I bought mine on the 27th and the battery only needed a charge this afternoon? £ days of decent usage and experimenting.
I expected to need to recharge every night. Not the case so far.
Don't set me of regarding the quality of that strap
In your shoes I would return it for a refund. Problem is for this type of device this is as good as it gets.
Kind regards..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he would return if he actully bought one....these are usually paid trolls by other companies....if i have bought sometime and im not satisfy with it.i will just take it back and not write stupid stuff about it.(beauty is eye of the beholder)i may not like something that dont mean the other person wont like it.

Ryland Johnson said:
I hate to fan the fire between us but having read your mail I find myself asking if YOU actually own one? Why do you keep asking for pictures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously I do not which is why I have given no opinion on it.
He started a thread claiming the picture and video quality being poor. Why wouldn't I ask for samples?
It's crazy to just take everyone's opinion and not ask for something tangible.
When people make negative threads they should expect to back-up claims.
Also I have taken no offense to your posts.

Hi,
The Samsung Experience Store in Westfield Shopping Centre (in London) told me that I cannot have a refund. I am now arguing with them that the product is defective as its clearly not "ready to be sold and is therefore defective". To be honest I am not going to stress too much on it as I *only* paid £200 as I bought with a Note 3 (which I love) and due to a pre-order offer I got a total of £100 savings for buying the 2 together. I will sell it on eBay if I have to and probably not lose much. And in case you cannot detect the cynicism - I do feel cheated that I spent £200 on this device as the only way to get it for this price was to pre-order it BEFORE the release, which meant I couldn't try the device before pre-ordering and pre-paying. As soon as I used it for more than a day I phoned them up and they told me that they do not accept returns for anything that is not defective.
Do you really need me to give you a photo sample? Reviews are full of them. The watch strap camera is poor. I didn't expect more, but it takes awful photos in anything other than good light. This is inline with my expectations going in, but it doesn't make it any less of a half baked feature.
The Apps are dreadful. Most S-Voice commands dont work via the watch. Whoever said they got 4 days battery life has had a very different experience to me. The battery life is very much linked to the screen brightness from my experience - and anything less that full brightness is not very readable outdoors. Indoors with low brightness I guess its possible that I would get 4 days... but I dont think I will own the device long enough to really test it.

RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
The Samsung Experience Store in Westfield Shopping Centre (in London) told me that I cannot have a refund. I am now arguing with them that the product is defective as its clearly not "ready to be sold and is therefore defective". To be honest I am not going to stress too much on it as I *only* paid £200 as I bought with a Note 3 (which I love) and due to a pre-order offer I got a total of £100 savings for buying the 2 together. I will sell it on eBay if I have to and probably not lose much. And in case you cannot detect the cynicism - I do feel cheated that I spent £200 on this device as the only way to get it for this price was to pre-order it BEFORE the release, which meant I couldn't try the device before pre-ordering and pre-paying. As soon as I used it for more than a day I phoned them up and they told me that they do not accept returns for anything that is not defective.
Do you really need me to give you a photo sample? Reviews are full of them. The watch strap camera is poor. I didn't expect more, but it takes awful photos in anything other than good light. This is inline with my expectations going in, but it doesn't make it any less of a half baked feature.
The Apps are dreadful. Most S-Voice commands dont work via the watch. Whoever said they got 4 days battery life has had a very different experience to me. The battery life is very much linked to the screen brightness from my experience - and anything less that full brightness is not very readable outdoors. Indoors with low brightness I guess its possible that I would get 4 days... but I dont think I will own the device long enough to really test it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i totally not agree with you
we just have to wait... and i can explain you why
(before all, sorry for my bad english)
the notifications works bad, i agree, BUT it's a software problem that (hopefully) will be fixed by 3rd party apps
an example? do you use Line?
if you don't use it please throw whatsapp into the garbage and try line
Line has an app for the gear that not only shows very beautiful notifications style, but let you reply with some pre-selected stickers.
we just have to wait for software houses to update and code their own notification app
i'm confident this will happen soon
the gear have a GREAT potential... something that pebble doesn't have (i've got the pebble too)
let's wait a bit... it's out since few days.
PS: battery time 2 days for me

Yes, when someone on XDA says photos are garbage then photos are requisite.
I saw pics and videos and comments were nowhere near as negative as yours. If you post pics perhaps some kind of flaw or problem with your unit can be revealed. Or we come to the conclusion your "taste" is different from others.
You guys think way too highly of your "opinions" and expect them to be taken as gospel. Make a claim back it up let others scrutinize. That's how things work, that's how problems, bugs, hardware flaws get exposed. Not "it's garbage trust me".
Gear could be the crappiest waste ever... But if you say it is... Show people why.

faremoney said:
i totally not agree with you
we just have to wait... and i can explain you why
(before all, sorry for my bad english)
the notifications works bad, i agree, BUT it's a software problem that (hopefully) will be fixed by 3rd party apps
an example? do you use Line?
if you don't use it please throw whatsapp into the garbage and try line
Line has an app for the gear that not only shows very beautiful notifications style, but let you reply with some pre-selected stickers.
we just have to wait for software houses to update and code their own notification app
i'm confident this will happen soon
the gear have a GREAT potential... something that pebble doesn't have (i've got the pebble too)
let's wait a bit... it's out since few days.
PS: battery time 2 days for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I dont think that anyone - not even Samsung - can release a brand new product which *requires* 3rd party app developers to do something to support it. Why would Google bother to update GMail to support a few thousand watch owners? I wouldn't.
What Samsung should have implemented - just like a lot of the supporting apps for Pebble (e.g. Augmented SmartWatch Pro) - is to "scrape" all notifications and allow them ALL to be sent to the watch. This way, 3rd party app developers don't *have* to do anything. They only have to write apps for the device if they wish to offer something extra.

RealEvil_UK said:
Hi, I dont think that anyone - not even Samsung - can release a brand new product which *requires* 3rd party app developers to do something to support it. Why would Google bother to update GMail to support a few thousand watch owners? I wouldn't.
What Samsung should have implemented - just like a lot of the supporting apps for Pebble (e.g. Augmented SmartWatch Pro) - is to "scrape" all notifications and allow them ALL to be sent to the watch. This way, 3rd party app developers don't *have* to do anything. They only have to write apps for the device if they wish to offer something extra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes but in the moment we are talking, ebay JUST released Ebay for Gear.... and it works beautifully
and remember there is a market out there... the apps can be free or paid, so who comes first can find an open market... :good:

This product wont be a success. Samsung will learn from it and release a updated model with wider Android support and for half the price within the next 6 - 12 months. That v2 product will probably be worth considering, but I feel cheated as a v1 owner that this product has been very poorly thought out and is effectively a alpha product/proof of concept.
The most basic functionality of Smart Watch - to me at least - is notifications. Custom apps are potentially interesting but not the "vital" feature that I could use 20 - 50 times a day. And in this regard, the Galaxy Gear is a terrible failure.

I think, I don't know, that a number of us are disappointed with the gear for several reasons.
Most of us made this a re order purchase mea culpa, to this end not only where any hands on reviews thin on the ground but until launch date non of us even knew what it would even look like.
Again I guess, It is perhaps significant that many of us purchased the Note 3 and the Gear as a pre order purchase at a discount price. Like many here I made a saving on the Gear by purchasing the two items together. Call me suspicious but perhaps and only perhaps, Samsung knew this was very much a project in the making and sold the Gear discounted knowing it would soften the blow? This is of course pure conjecture.
I made this purchase for several reasons. I have enjoyed my past Samsung mobiles, the Nexus S, SGS2, 3 and Note 1. I am a gadget freak, love the stuff always have. Lastly I collect watches, that's in by blood.
One can imagine my response when a new mobile AND watch came out together. Geek nirvana.
The Gear IS expensive, its not a cheapo try it and bin it. IF the concept had worked it would have been acceptable. With due respect to Samsung I cant see this as a consumer ready device.
Okay. The camera. Again with due respect and care for the OP I am unsure what any of us could reasonably expect from a 1,9 MP camera?
Its a sales gimmick and something to use to snap a quick shot, though even that doesn't work.
What does concern me the most is that strap and clasp. The clasp is the type that has a history of being the most problematic and is generally found on the cheaper end of the market for watches if used at all these days. When we close the clasp and here that 'click' that sound is made by a tiny piece of pressed steel bending slightly into a hole and binding with the other half of the clasp. What happens is after time that tiny tiny piece of metal weakens and eventually no longer 'clicks' into place.
What customers then do is try to bend it back so it again will hold and this further weakens the pressed steel part. I wont write again about the material used to produce the strap-under body as I simply cannot for see the future. What I can guess, again, is this strap is perhaps not going to last too long, it just doesn't feel durable and is certainly not vulcanised rubber. The strap is an integral part of the watch and cannot thus be replaced, hence my over concern regarding the strap.
As for the software, I am still learning how to use it and have come across some possible flaws BUT it may be ignorance on my part and until I read the manual and try to resolve the problem I am experiencing I will not complain.
Lastly I do agree with those owners who suggest this is very much a work in progress and should perhaps have been delayed for further development until at least the water resistance could be improved etc....
ALL opinion form an owner. Time is going to be the best teacher.
Kind regards.

Here is my take on this. I don't own Gear, yet, and my opinion is based on reading other reviews and opinions and in general based on the fact that I review gadgets on XDA as a full time hobby (check out link in my signature ).
A success of smartwatch is based on hardware and software. So far the main gripe I heard about hardware is battery life which to my pleasant surprise people reporting to as lasting1-2 days rather then "less then a day", all that with typical use or perhaps higher then average since everybody wants to play with camera. I suspect that might even improve with some software optimization in the future. Other then that, I also heard some people saying wristband is not was they expected (in terms of material) - oh well, this is not your typical $500-$1000 watch but rather an electronic gadget you strap to your wrist. So basically most of the complains are with software which we all know going to be fixed, sooner (from Samsung) or later (maybe even with some rooting or custom ROM, etc.) Once 4.3 updates start rolling in to cover S3/S4/N2 users and US market going to see N3 release that's when the real "beta" testing going to start. Right now, you guys are alpha-testers, early technology adopters. Everyone's expectations was that it will work straight out of the box. Well, it happened to some extent but not 100%. I'm sure the improvement will happen in the next few months, just have to be patient if you decide to stick around and keep this smartwatch.
Just my 2 cents.

RealEvil_UK said:
Hi, I dont think that anyone - not even Samsung - can release a brand new product which *requires* 3rd party app developers to do something to support it. Why would Google bother to update GMail to support a few thousand watch owners? I wouldn't.
What Samsung should have implemented - just like a lot of the supporting apps for Pebble (e.g. Augmented SmartWatch Pro) - is to "scrape" all notifications and allow them ALL to be sent to the watch. This way, 3rd party app developers don't *have* to do anything. They only have to write apps for the device if they wish to offer something extra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android 4.3 has the APIs to do just that.
I'm working on that app right now. Will keep XDA updated with progress

vectron said:
Here is my take on this. I don't own Gear, yet, and my opinion is based on reading other reviews and opinions and in general based on the fact that I review gadgets on XDA as a full time hobby (check out link in my signature ).
A success of smartwatch is based on hardware and software. So far the main gripe I heard about hardware is battery life which to my pleasant surprise people reporting to as lasting1-2 days rather then "less then a day", all that with typical use or perhaps higher then average since everybody wants to play with camera. I suspect that might even improve with some software optimization in the future. Other then that, I also heard some people saying wristband is not was they expected (in terms of material) - oh well, this is not your typical $500-$1000 watch but rather an electronic gadget you strap to your wrist. So basically most of the complains are with software which we all know going to be fixed, sooner (from Samsung) or later (maybe even with some rooting or custom ROM, etc.) Once 4.3 updates start rolling in to cover S3/S4/N2 users and US market going to see N3 release that's when the real "beta" testing going to start. Right now, you guys are alpha-testers, early technology adopters. Everyone's expectations was that it will work straight out of the box. Well, it happened to some extent but not 100%. I'm sure the improvement will happen in the next few months, just have to be patient if you decide to stick around and keep this smartwatch.
Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I will 'try' one more time....The strap. The cost of the Gear is immaterial in terms of the strap. What is vital is the strap lasts so the watch can function. No strap no watch? The watch could be 50.00€-500,000.00€ BUT once that strap goes so does the watch, its a non replaceable part. I just cant explain this point any clearer.
Regards

Personally I am holding off on this watch for two main reasons... One may be possible with third party apps, the other can't. I am not a fan of svoice and want to be able to type a reply to a text vs saying it. Most of the time I am at work and don't want svoice going off and talking to my watch to send a replay of "lol" or "ok". Omate has a keyboard but I hate the look of it. Second is the camera... I wish they made a gear without a camera. That hump on the strap is so ugly. I want the watch to look semi professional and that hump kills it. Wish I could combine omate and gear... Would be perfect for me.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

Wow, just got a call from Samsung who have agreed to take the watch back and give me a refund. Nice.
As a few people have commented - it will get better. But I am not sure Samsung will have the patience for this particular model, and they will likely release much better hardware within then next 6 - 9 months.
They could massively improve the device via software updates - no question. But I think they can only really do this by taking a step back and starting with the position that no app maker should have to *do* anything for it to be compatible with the Smart Watch. THIS is where the device needs to start. At the very least, all notifications should be on the watch and ideally actionable. Surely thats a better starting position than with a App Store model that no big app developer will bother with?

My 0,02$ about Gear

My first smartwatch ever was the original Sony Smartwatch 1. First of it's kind widely available, it was a pretty good product (if you compare the features to it's price). I bought Galaxy Gear few weeks ago shortly after startup for it's original price of 300 euros. I had it for few days and decided to return it, as this is a beta product with no support at all (at that time). So I returned the Gear and got Smartwatch 2 from Sony.. and that watch is really cool. It's waterproof to some point, it's very VERY light, super comfortable and you can even change the wrist stripe if you don't like the original one. It costs 150 EUR for silicon version, and 200 EUR for metal version here in Netherlands. So it's up to 50% cheaper than the Gear. Out of the box, you only have to install few applications to get messages, and notification to work. Installation is super easy and it works with nearly all devices running android 4.0 or higher. It's a nice device, but lack any kind of customization - and so far there haven't been any tools to change anything in the watch at all. Lately I got a chance to get a Gear for less than 200 EUR so I decided to give it another try, and here it is..
1. After using Smartwatch 2 for a while Gear feels more solid, but it's way more bulky. It doesn't rest nicely on my wrist, and I'm not a huge guy. I could survive uncomfortable top, but the metal bottom (where speaker and mic are located) is catastrophic. I can't stand having the watch on my wrist if I'm working on my desk, as it's touching the desk all the time and leaves scratches. Very annoying.
2. Installation. I had to change my custom ROM to original TouchWiz on my S3 to get Gear to work. Maybe it can work on custom - but there would be more troubles with it than stock so.. To get the full functionality, and don't run into endless troubles, you have to be stock, where SW2 works on custom roms without a single issue.
3. Out of the box experience.. it's a tragedy. The 'main menu' is really slow to operate, and even switching between apps can take few precious seconds. Notifications do not work properly. I have to use 3rd party app to get more notifications. No SMS forwarding to your watch. No replying to messages. No Gmail support. No keyboard. Simply nothing! Out of the box this is just a bluetooth headset with a clock. I don't know anyone who is really using S Voice on a daily basis. Samsung promised us making calls straight from our wrists, and Samsung did deliver that but..
4. Speaker quality - if you are using more than 50% of volume level, you can clearly hear a lot of buzzing. Sound is far from being clear. Not a huge issue though, it's a watch after all.
5. Hardware. Builtin camera that takes decent pictures and videos (as for a watch). Big plus! Loudspeaker so you don't have to hold your wrist to your ear - nice, although sometimes I would prefer to be the only one who can hear the other side (and look like an idiot, I don't care). AMOLED display with 320x320 resolution. Looks really sharp and vivid. Love it! Smartwatch is running a real Android 4.2.2, and that's great. You can root it, sideload apps and so.. but...
6. Usability - but it's pretty useless. There is no bluetooth tethering so you can't use any internet on your wrist (smartwatch 2 has a working internet browser!). You can install app like Tablet Talk to have messaging ability but it's really cumbersome, doesn't display your contact list, only the numbers are visible and generally, you can clearly see that it just wasn't designed for a wrist. I guess runninng Tablet Talk on Gear AND phone uses more battery which results in shorter battery life...
7. Typing. I can easily imagine typing short sentences/messages using Swype-like keyboard, or T9 styled. Display is big enough to send few words within seconds. Unfortunately that is not possible at the moment.
8. Future? There is definitely a future in smartwatches. This device is great, but Samsung tottaly ****ed up the software side. Nothing is working as it should, and if it does - it's cumbersome, and far from being user friendly. You can't get apps from Play Store, you have to use Samsung App Store which is really poor. There are very few apps that are actually somewhat usefull, but they do suck. I tried app like speedometer, that takes ages to start and catch a signal, and if it finally does - it's really ugly. SW2 to compare was displaying current GPS speed within seconds. When I was done with it, all I had to is just go back to home screen, or turn on the clock face, then GPS was stopped. On Gear? You have to open notifications, click on Speedometer, and FORCE STOP it in order to be closed. WHAAAAT?
I love the idea, I like the features (AMOLED, speaker, mic, touchscreen) but there way more wrong things with it than positive.. Media Controller doesn't always work properly, so you can't really shuffle songs etc. There is no SDK available to the publicity, so there won't be any dedicated apps from community anytime soon. Samsung didn't say anything that they will release it anyway so... if you buy the Gear, don't buy it cause it's gonna be "great in the future once XDA devs hack it". It didn't happen, noone knows if it's going to happen and what will come out of it...
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...

I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)

skyline23 said:
I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.

hurdlejade said:
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.

mhoepfin said:
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
out of the box, SW2 beats Gear in every aspect, if you forget the camera/mic/speaker. S Voice? i guess it's only widely used in USA. i see a lot of people on the internet asking how to actually turn this thing off. it's one of the first things i did when i installed official 4.3 rom.
this is not a hate post. i just tried both products, they are both far from being perfect, and although gear seems to be superior, it lacks the software. and we shouldn't wait months for basic functionality that hardware is fully capable of.

It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

ardsar said:
It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may i know why is it better? besides the camera/speaker/mic/svoice thingy.

It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

ardsar said:
It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just wanted to find out why you prefer gear over SW2, that's it.
i do realise that the internet browser on SW2 works more or less on screenshots.. but it works! and there is no possibility to do so on Gear, although it's capable of real rendering.

Owning 2 Galaxy Gear I guess you can tell I like it. With more and more things being added to the ability of the Gear such as ATN and launchers, etc it is growing leaps and bound sans Samsung. There are 2 versions of Sony out there and this has been out weeks. I say write this after February when it has been thru a few updates. I don't need my watch to do everything the phones does or i wouldn't have bought a 5.7 inch phone. The great things is competition is great and I'm sure Apple is gearing up for theirs and then someone will come and beat theirs and so on and so on. Consumerism at it's best.

Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.

There are already enough of these threads here...
The watch des exactly what it says. It is a companion to phone, not a replacement (Why does a watch actually need software?)
it also has mic/speaker/cam which all work surprising well. Didn't take long to adjust to bulky speaker when resting palm on flat surface (mind I wear it a little loose)
There are several default notifications that are sent that everyone has - sms, email, etc. Granted they could do with more detail (html emails, all text in notification), however that will have to come when apps start supporting it - 4.3 helps a lot here
it is waterproof enough - that whole thing seems to be a scare campaign. All the watches available can survive water, just not to the extent of swimming/diving
Gear looks the best out of the watches available and once you use it for a few weeks, then the chance of wanting to return is much lower. I'd say my Pebble does more currently (especially tasker integration!), however, I've not touched it since getting gear a month ago
It only supports 4.3 and Touchwiz, but if you look at the percentage of s3, note2, s4, note3, and future phones, there is no need to support others. Will people complain when apple come out with a watch and it only supports two devices like pretty much everything else they do? (latest and previous model)
Samsung really need to get a move on with releasing sdk though
Plus it is first gen, so it can't have everything. Just be thankful you aren't with Apple and have to wait years for stuff everyone already has
Still going to try out Neptune Pine when it is released, but it is a replacement not companion

blazespinnaker said:
Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room

Awesome
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hurdlejade said:
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snipped For Space!
At 73, I cannot play the waiting game. With smartwatches, women, and fastazz motorcycles..
I want and need it NOW!!
About you comments, they seemed to be like the case of one man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter..
BTW, can you answer and call from the SW2?? :fingers-crossed:

I also have a Sony Smartwatch 2. It's a great watch and the SDK support is superb. I recently bought the Gear and my first impression was
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
2. Much better resolution and much clearer display
3. Touch response is so much better than the SW2
4. Awful charging method..
5. Miss the always on mode that the Sony has. The magical movement thing to wake up the Gear does work in say 75% of the time for me. The other 25% makes it a bad experience as a watch. Maybe I still have to get the hang of it and learn to make the movement work.. or maybe I have to adapt myself. Have the watch for 2 days now, I'm still learning and not ready to give an overall conclusion.
6 Apps.... yep the Sony has a lot more apps and yes there's a browser out there. But it also has a lot of weird amateuristic apps in the Play store (not made by Sony). I somehow am appreciating Samsung's approach now after a couple of days of using the Gear. They've teamed up with some good third party developers (a few not so good also) and seem to be very careful about what they release on the market right now. Seems like a good thing to me. I bet you can trash a potential goood product that still has to prove itself as a thing that could work by opening it for badly written and designed apps. Good thing to go easy on this. Nevertheless as a developer I love to jump on the bandwagon... But I understand that somehow one needs to direct the experience of a new product. Too many apps that do just half of what you can do can ruin the experience totally. (That said, they might have released the watch too early. On the other side, by releasing it early they now can work on a lot of feedback. It's a decision they've made and it is a decision that comes with a trade off (bad reviews), but in the end it might be the best decision. Nobody knows and nobody will know)

mike208 said:
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you kidding me! It's AWESOME ... well I have long thin fingers though. I use gameboid.
They could probably optimize the control setup on gameboid for the watch a bit more.
Sideloading is easy to do, don't need to root. I highly recommend it.
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. People have commented that the watch looks great. Sony with it's geeky logo and buttons... come ON.
That being said, there are pros/cons to them all. I'd *love* the battery life of the pebble on the Gear, but I can't go without having Android on my watch. That's just a non starter (for me), but I'm a developer so my opinion is entirely unreflective of the market at large .. but I love it, so who cares.
The one huge problem with the gear, in my opinion, is the lack of compatibility. That's what is really pissing 99% of the world out there that doesn't have a Note 3, frankly. This bundling nonsense is so deeply arrogant. It's monopolistic and completely unnecessary.
It's what makes you root against a company and pray they fail as an enterprise. It's the same sort of arrogance that makes me despise Apple and why I take every opportunity I can to root against them even though my career is tied up with their technology.

I agree with you on the speaker buckle being annoying, but otherwise, it's not THAT bad.

Off-topic, other device, comparisons to other devices, and upgrading discussion

Please use this thread to discuss devices other than and any comparisons with other devices on or about Gear Live in this thread and any other off-topic issues that are not needing a new thread.
Post with respect, this is a helpful community, hope we all learn from this stuff in here.

What made everyone choose this over the LG G watch?

i went for gear live because it has amoled display and the silver thing on the two side makes the watch look a bit premium
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big_b0sss said:
i went for gear live because it has amoled display and the silver thing on the two side makes the watch look a bit premium
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget it's also $30 less as by the end of the year we ALL know we will be owning superior devices anyways.

enko420 said:
Don't forget it's also $30 less as by the end of the year we ALL know we will be owning superior devices anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i actually paid £10 more as its priced higher than lg g watch in uk

I absolutely cannot believe they did not include a speaker! I just returned the gear neo 2 because it was running Tizen and not Google wear. making phone calls on it without pulling my phone out of my pocket was the absolute greatest feature.I ordered the gear live because it was running Google wear, thinking of the future. Now I find out it does not have a speaker so I can not make phone calls from the watch. I'm going to return the gear live and go back to the gear neo 2. Wrong decision Samsung.

chumboy said:
I absolutely cannot believe they did not include a speaker! I just returned the gear neo 2 because it was running Tizen and not Google wear. making phone calls on it without pulling my phone out of my pocket was the absolute greatest feature.I ordered the gear live because it was running Google wear, thinking of the future. Now I find out it does not have a speaker so I can not make phone calls from the watch. I'm going to return the gear live and go back to the gear neo 2. Wrong decision Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't care for making phone calls on my Gear 2 Neo. If you aren't in a quiet room its near impossible to hear what they are saying.

enko420 said:
I honestly don't care for making phone calls on my Gear 2 Neo. If you aren't in a quiet room its near impossible to hear what they are saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each their own.
But it's fascinating to know you don't like it.
I had the Gear 2 Neo for about a week and had good results when not standing in Time Square.
Gear Live 2!

I would like the ability to turn off the motion sensor, sense everytime I move my wrist a certain way my watch just turns on.I look at my watch ocassionally and notice that the screen is on I have indavertenly been touching the screen selecting things. I prefer to touch the screen to turn it on. I have already turned off the screen always on option, but would like to turn off motion as well. Would extend the battery life alot further.

chumboy said:
To each their own.
But it's fascinating to know you don't like it.
I had the Gear 2 Neo for about a week and had good results when not standing in Time Square.
Gear Live 2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm 100% in the not taking phone calls on a watch camp for the same reason i don't use speakerphone when not in a car.
but i would have liked a speaker simply for alarms and stopwatch/timer funcionality. nothing crazy, just a simple beep/chirp would have been enough

adiliyo said:
i'm 100% in the not taking phone calls on a watch camp for the same reason i don't use speakerphone when not in a car.
but i would have liked a speaker simply for alarms and stopwatch/timer funcionality. nothing crazy, just a simple beep/chirp would have been enough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, we can find common ground here! A speaker would make us both happy.
Surprised that Sammy decided to remove a hardware feature rather than adding them (to a point).
Their research must have shown that the cost/benefit was upside-down.
So it goes.

They should have stuck with Gear 2 features and gwear os. I'm sure it will be ported.... I love my Neo 2
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I have a feeling that Samsung was forced to make the watch according to Google specifications. (No Speaker, No WiFi, Single Button for turning the device on) There is also a WiFi antenna in the Gear Live that is not being used according to iFixIt.

StevenMattera said:
I have a feeling that Samsung was forced to make the watch according to Google specifications. (No Speaker, No WiFi, Single Button for turning the device on) There is also a WiFi antenna in the Gear Live that is not being used according to iFixIt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
antenna but they couldn't confirm if there is a wifi controller on the mobo, could just be the cheapest way to order that part for assembly.
i agree that samsung was probably told to stick to the reference design which i'm fine with, but it's curious that google decided not to include a basic speaker for alarm use in the reference design for android wear.
i am however much happier (so far) with the watch than i expected to be. if moto prices the 360 out of what i'm willing to pay, i'm actually satisfied enough to hang on to the gear live until i can get the moto for a reasonable price (i won't pay more than $250 for the 360)
---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 AM ----------
hashcheck said:
They should have stuck with Gear 2 features and gwear os. I'm sure it will be ported.... I love my Neo 2
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i like the general design of the gear 2, but i am so glad that android made wear, i see adoption for this from a developer standpoint to be much much better than any proprietary garbage os that samsung puts out. and personally, i dislike samsung devices (read: touchwiz) and plan to stay away from them for the foreseeable future.

adiliyo said:
i like the general design of the gear 2, but i am so glad that android made wear, i see adoption for this from a developer standpoint to be much much better than any proprietary garbage os that samsung puts out. and personally, i dislike samsung devices (read: touchwiz) and plan to stay away from them for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, I've been reading about the gear watches and android wear all day and I still just don't see it. Anything that's on there I would normally pull up my phone for, and the small watch screen version and limited functionality (no speaker, small screen, etc)... I think if I get any notification I'll end up pulling out the phone and responding there anyway... Is this stuff just a lazy persons solution to a problem that doesn't exist?? If wear devices were more like little phones with built in wifi, IR (I think some gear watches had this?!), etc at least you could use it to control your movie watching experiences...
I'm probably just getting old and wanting stuff to stay how I'm used to it

peaklabs.net said:
I don't know, I've been reading about the gear watches and android wear all day and I still just don't see it. Anything that's on there I would normally pull up my phone for,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that IS the point, so you don't have to pull your phone 100 times a minute for every notification, it is trying to "change" the way we use the phone and not trying to replace it. For all that "extras" (Wifi, Speaker, etc, etc) you have the phone.
I love it, I hardly touch my phone now, the battery life on my phone had gotten so much better and I am more interactive responding to all SMSs and facebook/Whasapp messages than before. :laugh:

peaklabs.net said:
I don't know, I've been reading about the gear watches and android wear all day and I still just don't see it. Anything that's on there I would normally pull up my phone for, and the small watch screen version and limited functionality (no speaker, small screen, etc)... I think if I get any notification I'll end up pulling out the phone and responding there anyway... Is this stuff just a lazy persons solution to a problem that doesn't exist?? If wear devices were more like little phones with built in wifi, IR (I think some gear watches had this?!), etc at least you could use it to control your movie watching experiences...
I'm probably just getting old and wanting stuff to stay how I'm used to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maturola said:
I think that IS the point, so you don't have to pull your phone 100 times a minute for every notification, it is trying to "change" the way we use the phone and not trying to replace it. For all that "extras" (Wifi, Speaker, etc, etc) you have the phone.
I love it, I hardly touch my phone now, the battery life on my phone had gotten so much better and I am more interactive responding to all SMSs and facebook/Whasapp messages than before. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the watch essentially becomes a (more useful) implementation of notification triage, i can see what's important and respond to many things without taking out my phone.
it comes down to the user and their daily flow of usage. the big difference with this vs a very limited and closed off system (like samsung's system, or sony's for that matter) is that it leverages two things.
1. android itself as the platform (no seperate market, no need for seperate apps and figuring out how to make sure the apps work with the phone versions)
2. google now, which i think in the long run is going to be the real centerpiece of the platform. as it gets smarter you really will need to use your phone less for basic things since it will offer up the information you need when you need it with even less interaction necessary from the user.
the biggest deal breaker for the samsung system (for me) is the need for a crappy galaxy smartphone. i can't stand touchwiz and the lag samsung's software developers can't seem to get rid of in the many iterations they've had of their software.
i also enjoy the freedom of leaving my phone at my desk, or at home on the charging pad and just checking things on my watch as i go about my day.
i think i like android wear more as i don't want a tiny phone on my wrist to look awkwardly at and speak to people on. i want a companion device that lets me get on with my day and look at my phone less. it's a change in mindset and workflow that pulls you out of your phone and lets you get back into the world.

Yeah ... I'm constantly having to refer to my phone, more with this than I had to with my Galaxy Gear ... After two weeks with it, I feel like I'm done and ready to go back to the Galaxy Gear for good.
But I don't want to give up on it for some reason. I think because what it does do it look better than my Galaxy Gear, in terms of UI. And the always on is very nice.
I dunno ... Maybe I should have just gotten a Gear 2.

sbrownla said:
Yeah ... I'm constantly having to refer to my phone, more with this than I had to with my Galaxy Gear ... After two weeks with it, I feel like I'm done and ready to go back to the Galaxy Gear for good.
But I don't want to give up on it for some reason. I think because what it does do it look better than my Galaxy Gear, in terms of UI. And the always on is very nice.
I dunno ... Maybe I should have just gotten a Gear 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said in my previous post...I went from the Gear 2 Neo to the Live.
Found out it didn't have a speaker after I ordered it.
Tried it out for 3 days and (same as you) had to refer to my phone more.
Called Google to send it back and the Rep said "yea, surprisingly we're having allot of returns b/c of no speaker and many going back to Gear or Gear 2."
They sent me an email for to fill out stating why I'm returning. She said they're interested in feedback for the next model they release. I hope they listen.
I went back to my Gear 2 Neo and am patiently waiting for the next model (with speaker I hope).
They had the same with the Gear 1, made some changes and launched the Gear 2.
Don't waste your money on something you won't use and be happy with.
Wait for the Gear Live 2.

I think I'm going to suck it up though. When the next one comes out I'll gift it or sell it for $100 or so to subsidize the new one.

[Q] Are you enjoying it?

Debating if I should get the watch or not, like to see some of feedback / reviews on your thoughts on those who own the wacth. I also been looking at the thread about battery life and other things, but overall do you feel like the watch is worth it?
Planning at stopping at AT&T to see if they have on on display for me to fiddle around with.

Love it. I'm not a watch person. Can't stand them but this has made me love them. It is a novelty but it is handy also
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Mr.Marc said:
do you feel like the watch is worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. It is far from perfect BUT, the hardware side it's excellent implemented and this is offering Google Wear plaftform a solid base to grow. I expect to see may OTA's in the futures with fine tuning of some of the existing features and also with new stuff .
It is by far the best looking Android wear device.

From its exterior design it's not very perfect i.e. thick bezel, small screen compared to 360 but when I count every aspect including SoC, Sensors, Screen technology, build quality, etc, G Watch R is the best choice so far(except the expensive price).

Hawke84 said:
Love it. I'm not a watch person. Can't stand them but this has made me love them. It is a novelty but it is handy also
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ro_explorer said:
Absolutely. It is far from perfect BUT, the hardware side it's excellent implemented and this is offering Google Wear plaftform a solid base to grow. I expect to see may OTA's in the futures with fine tuning of some of the existing features and also with new stuff .
It is by far the best looking Android wear device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the feedback!

its to small

When it first arrived I noticed that the screen was much larger than it looked online - perhaps all of the side-by-side comparisons with the Moto 360 made it look tiny, but it's actually a decent size. The battery life was impressive after the system update that comes about 10 minutes after first setup.
I mainly use it for changing my songs while I'm out and about. You don't realise just how much of a pain it is to take your phone out on the bus etc to switch songs, but having a few taps of the watch is such a convenience.
The only flaw I've noticed with the watch is when, for example, you switch both your watch and phone off in the night, and wake up and switch your watch on *first*... it basically shows the time that appeared on the watch when you switched it off! e.g. if I turn it off at midnight, then in the morning it'll show midnight when I switch the watch back on. I have to sync it with my phone again for the watch to acquire the correct time again. Not a big deal, and I assume it would get fixed eventually, but still...

I never turn mine off. Just stick it on charge over night.

Lovers and Haters...

I've just ordered my Gear VR and it will arrive tomorrow. Have done a ton of reading online about user's impressions. Seems a real dichotomy. About 95% of users think it is an amazing can't-miss experience, while 5% claim it is absolutely horrific (pixelated, out of focus, uncomfortable, just awful). It makes one wonder what is going on here. Are those 5% just technology snobs who are expecting to be transported to the Enterprise Holodeck for $200, or are the 95% just fanboys who are basically amazed by shiny moving things?
I was particularly moved by one YouTube video from a fellow who has owned every Oculus Rift Developer Headset thus far and felt the Gear VR was a superior visual experience (acknowledging of course that PC's will always run more robust games than a cell phone). One reason for my getting this is so my mother, who is wheelchair bound, can experience things visually she can no longer do in real life.
Also, I'm wondering if increasing DPI reduces pixelization? Is that a dumb question? Not sure.
Opinions?

Everyone hated on the Note series when Samsung first made it. Now look at its success.
People just hating because deep down inside they know they should have bought a Note 4.
I almost bought a Nexus 6 and if I did knowing what I know today I'd be pissed too.
Haha suckers! Lol

The display is slightly pixilated but nothing too excessive. When watching a 3d film in oculus cinema you hardly notice and I'm personally very happy with it . At the end of the day the phone screen is being magnified so much it is to be expected

sawdoctor said:
The display is slightly pixilated but nothing too excessive. When watching a 3d film in oculus cinema you hardly notice and I'm personally very happy with it . At the end of the day the phone screen is being magnified so much it is to be expected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slightly? If anything is a couple of meters from the camera the image gets so blurry that you cannot even recognise the person. It doesn't make the Gear VR any less of a wonder, but the resolution could definitely be improved. Not sure if a near-eye light field lens could solve the problem, as right now the lens only uses a small part of the screen.

Toss3 said:
Slightly? If anything is a couple of meters from the camera the image gets so blurry that you cannot even recognise the person. It doesn't make the Gear VR any less of a wonder, but the resolution could definitely be improved. Not sure if a near-eye light field lens could solve the problem, as right now the lens only uses a small part of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like you need to use the focus wheel or wear contacts. Definitely exaggerated.
To OP: the image is on par with a CRT Television picture in terms of pixels. The 360 videos lack the most definition because of their low quality definition. Still 360 photos show the potential and are quite impressive. The videos, particularly the virtual tourism videos you'll find in Milk VR under Planet VR are still very impressive. There is nothing like flying over Manhattan from the belly of a helicopter. The Cinema is also impressive and easy to forget you aren't in a real theater.
I took my Gear VR to a research office where 7 people proceeded to try it and be blown away. Guess what? I realized after the first round that that focus wheel was set for me without my glasses, and I can't see for sh** without them or contacts. So I corrected it and they went for another round.
---------- Post added at 10:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 AM ----------
Toss3 said:
Also, I'm wondering if increasing DPI reduces pixelization? Is that a dumb question? Not sure.
Opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it does. The goal is to increase the display to at least 4k, which we will likely see on the Note 5 . The pixels on the current Oculus devices are due to the magnification of the screen when looking through the lenses. The key is to remember that as of today, the Note 4 offers that highest definition display available at that size.
Just see it as the same evolution we had with our TV sets. The quality of the image right now is at a point where you will definitely be able to enjoy VR without being overly distracted while also seeing where we will be going in the the very near future as we hit 4K and beyond.

Thanks for the replies.
1) I understand that the Gear VR will work with a rooted and rom'd phone. The key is the kernel. Does anyone have a list and link to the best kernels to use with the Gear VR (I'm on Sprint).
2) What DPI setting do you recommend for the least pixelization?
Regarding user experience. I am growing in the opinion that those who seem to be having so much worse of an experience with the device than others is due to something peculiar to how their eyes work. Most of us do not see the same from both eyes. Unlike some upcoming headsets which beam the image into the cornea and can adjust for each eye independently, it's sort of one size fits all with the VR. Just a theory.

mitchellvii said:
Thanks for the replies.
1) I understand that the Gear VR will work with a rooted and rom'd phone. The key is the kernel. Does anyone have a list and link to the best kernels to use with the Gear VR (I'm on Sprint).
2) What DPI setting do you recommend for the least pixelization?
Regarding user experience. I am growing in the opinion that those who seem to be having so much worse of an experience with the device than others is due to something peculiar to how their eyes work. Most of us do not see the same from both eyes. Unlike some upcoming headsets which beam the image into the cornea and can adjust for each eye independently, it's sort of one size fits all with the VR. Just a theory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What i can say is, I have one eye worse than the other. When wearing contact lenses I'm fine but without them i have to compromise slightly on the focus wheel

The image is pixelated and there's pretty significant screendoor effect, but I'm still a big fan, it's very early in the game, and Samsung deserves praise for bringing it to market when it did.
There will be a ton of headsets out this year I understand, it will be glorious

pliablemoose said:
The image is pixelated and there's pretty significant screendoor effect, but I'm still a big fan, it's very early in the game, and Samsung deserves praise for bringing it to market when it did.
There will be a ton of headsets out this year I understand, it will be glorious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this screen is pixelated the Oculus Rift must be awful. I'm really wondering if cranking up the DPI can help that?

I don't have any pixellation unless it's a low quality video, such as if you try to stream Milk VR videos as opposed to downloading them. There is no pixellation at all in games or experiences like Titans of Space, Ocean Rift, and BlueVR.
The screen door effect is easy to overlook. Again, it's like watching a CRT TV. Yes, higher screen resolution will ultimately bring a perception of HD to your eyes. For now, there is nothing you can do. Take a look at your Note 4 screen. It takes serious eye strain to make out those individual pixels. They are only apparent in the Gear because they are magnified.
You'll be seeing for yourself soon enough. It's only a minority of weirdos that have issues with the screen at this stage. The rest are too busy enjoying the overall presentation and know full well the screen door effect will be gone in a year or two.

Well my GVR will finally arrive today. Little BestBuy rant. Last week they announce to the world they will start selling the GVR from their stores February 8th. I have 10 BestBuy stores within 30 minutes of my house. NOT ONE BestBuy in my area had the GVR in stock or had even heard that they would be selling it.
BestBuy does this all the time. Announces a big release then NOTHING.

mitchellvii said:
Well my GVR will finally arrive today. Little BestBuy rant. Last week they announce to the world they will start selling the GVR from their stores February 8th. I have 10 BestBuy stores within 30 minutes of my house. NOT ONE BestBuy in my area had the GVR in stock or had even heard that they would be selling it.
BestBuy does this all the time. Announces a big release then NOTHING.
Click to expand...
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Not in stock for me to but was available online from them. I got mine 3 business days with free shipping. Thanks best buy.

Ordered mine yesterday with overnight and will have it today! It's on UPS truck out for deliver now. I will post back when I have a chance to experiment with them. Very excited to try something entirely new out. If I like it enough I will buy the Oculus Rift for my PC to fool around with. Just not sure to wait with those or not considering last release is a year old now and something new should be out soon I would think.

Hardcore73 said:
Ordered mine yesterday with overnight and will have it today! It's on UPS truck out for deliver now. I will post back when I have a chance to experiment with them. Very excited to try something entirely new out. If I like it enough I will buy the Oculus Rift for my PC to fool around with. Just not sure to wait with those or not considering last release is a year old now and something new should be out soon I would think.
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Thing I hate about UPS is that my house is like at the very END of his route, so basically even if I get shipped next day, I still have to wait until almost 8 PM before I get my package. Boo!

yeah I will get it about 6pm and it drivers me crazy. I know how you feel I got my Note 4 charged up to 100% and ready to rock this beast haha.

Hardcore73 said:
yeah I will get it about 6pm and it drivers me crazy. I know how you feel I got my Note 4 charged up to 100% and ready to rock this beast haha.
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Word of warning. Backup the included SDCard immediately. If you have any "Cleaner" type apps on your phone it may accidentally wipe the card and you will be sorely SOL.

Ok first thing I will do is back it up, thanks for the tip

Hardcore73 said:
Ok first thing I will do is back it up, thanks for the tip
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Clean Master seems to be the biggest offender on this. I just deleted it to make sure.

Just got my package from the UPS truck! Now I have to sneak off from the wife for a bit haha. Wish me luck!

Hardcore73 said:
Just got my package from the UPS truck! Now I have to sneak off from the wife for a bit haha. Wish me luck!
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Congrats. Still waiting on mine.