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Seriously, how can the Gear keep getting bad reviews?

I've got a lot of wearables (Pebble, Gear, Fitbit, Glass, etc.) and the Gear beats them all by a wide margin based on functionality, ease of use and looks.
I'm still baffled that nearly every review and comment I see still bashes it.
Especially with the latest updates it has become a great device.

I don't understand that either. I mean my only complaint is that I haven't been pushed the new update but I plan to manually do so anyways and the battery life isn't the greatest. But honestly what do you expect from a watch that does so much? I'm happy I don't see what everyone else's problem is. Maybe they expected to strap it on and start curing cancer or something... Its a watch people.
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mhoepfin said:
I've got a lot of wearables (Pebble, Gear, Fitbit, Glass, etc.) and the Gear beats them all by a wide margin based on functionality, ease of use and looks.
I'm still baffled that nearly every review and comment I see still bashes it.
Especially with the latest updates it has become a great device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You hit the nail on the head. I have the Quallcom Toq in addition to the Galaxy Gear, and the only better feature with the Toq is their interferometric modulator*display technology (Mirasol display). With this technology, 3 to 5 days battery life can be obtained with heavy usage if the backlight is not used, but the display itself is always on and readable, and actually becomes more readable in direct sunlight. With the display always lit, it appears less nerdy than a blank faced (no display) smartwatch. Bottom line is, I'd rather have one full days battery life out of a useful smartwatch, than 3 to 5 days of battery life from a smartwatch that is only marginally useful and is clunky in its operation. With note 3 tucked in pocket, on a ladder installing an in ceiling speaker, I can answer a call on the Galaxy Gear from my wife, so she can tell me she crashed into my car that was parked in our garage. True story.
Could it be better, sure.... But for a company that took a chance to beat Apple to the mass production line, it is pretty impressive.
My 2 cents worth.

Completely agree with you. I bought a metawatch when it first came out as a developer watch. It was awesome at the time, but the gear blows it out of the water. I mean, battery life isn't bad. I think people read the 25 hours and think it's true. When I first got my gear, I couldn't put it down and still got 2 full days. Now I'm getting close to 4 days. With the notification update, this thing just got way cooler and more useful. It just keeps getting better and better every day. I can't help but to think that people that give it bad reviews either have not really owned one or have not used it to it's potential.

Well and I have some "inside" info. They are planning something big with the watch Samsung is building a new rom every day.....
Im from SAMMobile BTW...
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Jeshter2000 said:
Well and I have some "inside" info. They are planning something big with the watch Samsung is building a new rom every day.....
Im from SAMMobile BTW...
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A new rom every day ? Hmm.. SHAKE TO WAKE GOD DAM IT, WE WANT SHAKE TO WAKE !

Jeshter2000 said:
Well and I have some "inside" info. They are planning something big with the watch Samsung is building a new rom every day.....
Im from SAMMobile BTW...
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully official non-Samsung phone compatibility...
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Gear is great when we have both stock Rom at sammobile and an improvement from fomey Null Rom. Thank you guys for your hard work to make Gear our best choice smartwatch.
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Jeshter2000 said:
Well and I have some "inside" info. They are planning something big with the watch Samsung is building a new rom every day.....
Im from SAMMobile BTW...
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know what it is that they are planning?

jonboyuk said:
Do you know what it is that they are planning?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No not yet ... Im poking my sources!
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I watched a ton of reviews on YouTube, and while they were all basically saying cool device but lots of problems, there was one similarity. They were ALL done within the first week or two of release. Before a lot of the issues were addressed (namely the notification issue). Even reviews released late November were actually using pre-updated information.
Under my daily usage (heavy notifications, reminders, calls and pictures), I get easily 1.5 days. And since I charge my phone every night anyways, it's no biggie to charge my watch as well. I used to take my regular watch off every night as well, now the only difference is an additional charging cord.
I'm happy with battery life, amazed at how much they crammed into a watch (seriously, this is a WATCH, and look at its capabilities, not even with rooting and such), and am not even mad about the price (my wife bought me a watch a few years ago for about half the cost, and all it has going for it is a few small diamonds inlaid in it. All IT can do is tell me the time)
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I've checked out all other reviews on other watches, And my gear do way more than those other watches

Would be nice if it worked with other Android devices though, Like my Nexus 5.
Sometimes the Note is a little large for where I'm going so the N5 is ideal & the Gear would complement it brilliantly.

Hey guys i got a couple of question, I have the pebble watch so when the notification comes on the watch and you view it does it clear it from the phone? also with the pebble watch the talkback system on the phone turns on so that means when i use the stock browser the voice says like "page loading or page loaded" im guessing the gear doesnt do that right?

The device was bound to get bad reviews because of the limited functionality, and limited usability before it was available to the current crop of smartphones.
And even then, you have the issues that Google Wallet faced when it was first released... if it only works with a couple of phones to do a few things, people are going to be quick to dismiss it as a "gimmick"
And it doesn't help when it's not a cheap gimmick as well. Unless you're a serious tinkerer -- like most of the people reading this thread -- you have to be seriously committed to not just Android but to the Samsung ecosystem as a whole in order to actually enjoy spending $300 on this smartwatch.
If Samsung releases a complete solution that would allow the Gear to work with ANY Android phone that supports Bluetooth LE, and work flawlessly without any tinkering, then you'll see a turnaround in the reviews -- much like you saw with the Gear Manager update that allowed additional notifications.
Their application development for the Gear is invite-only, so even if you had access to an SDK you couldn't publish any apps for use with the watch -- again, unless it was restricted to people "like us" that don't mind going out of their way to push an apk and sideload it to their watch, at the risk of turning it into a brick.
It's going to take some doing, and I don't know if Samsung will actually do what is necessary for this particular generation of the Gear to become a mainstream device. I'm glad I got one, but in retrospect it's really a lot of hard work to fully extract its potential. Until Samsung addresses this, I doubt you'll see many stellar reviews.

[Discussion] Would you buy the Galaxy Gear again or buy another smartwatch?

Those of you that purchased the Gear (whether recently, or right around launch).... would you buy the Gear all over again if you had the chance, or would you buy a different smartwatch (Sony, Pebble, etc.)? Also, would you recommend it to a friend that was looking to buy a smartwatch? Just wondering, so discuss!

At $300, no. At $150, yes.

Very good question, $300 for a watch is cheap for me.. so pricing is such a big deal.
I would have to see some new worth wild features to be brought to the table to justify the price...

I'm saying... if you could go back in time to when you purchased the Gear, would you still chose the Gear knowing what you know now, or would you buy a different one (Sony, Pebble, etc.)?

At $150, i would buy it again, and again, and again..
At $300, I would have a tough decision between the Gear and a Toq/Neptune.
Either way I am happy with my Gear.

if i could not put null rom on it, i would not buy it again. stock experience is terrible imho, and there is no real competitor on the market right now..

I have the Galaxy Gear, the Pebble, the Martian, the metawatch and the Sony 2. I have played with all of them for a while now. Although each has its good points, I prefer the Galaxy Gear. Price wasn't an issue for me, I wanted the best experience. The Gear has been the best for Bluetooth range, ability to reconnect after loosing a connection and features. It just works well period. Of course I will try the iwatch and the Gear 2 when they come out. For now I prefer the Galaxy Gear.

Nope. Doesn't do enough
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Would buy again!
I bought the Gear and the Note 3 for $300 each and am still very happy with both. I run it stock and sideload some apps for fun, like MX Player and Apollo, but the stock apps work well for me. I think Samsung should have had out more apps and better apps by now, but I know that will come when the Gear 2 is out and the SDK. People in the wild do not have issues with the reviews and everyone just thinks it is really cool that i show what it does.

Yes at $150. I was already in the market for a non-smartwatch that would have set me back $500. So when bestbuy had this on sale I jumped saved me a bunch of money.....for now.
Even though I dont have a samsung device it does enough for me right now. Its stylish and doesnt look too bad.
Like someone else said the price doesnt really matter when compared to other watches out there.
Now as for other watches I am woman and none of the other smart watches appealed to me as the rose gold color samsung has. The Iwatch when it comes out MIGHT appeal to me but I doubt it. I think men have a easier time as far as looks go in the smartwatch department.

I had a pebble, bought gear at release for $300. Never looked at my pebble again. Would buy it again
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Had a Sony smartwatch 2 for a few weeks and best buy ran the 150$ deal. Haven't thought much about my Sony since. Especially after null rom. GG+null FTW!
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I have had a bunch of smart watches. Being a kinda early adapter, I even had a Sony Liveview, Burg 12 and several Motorola's Motoactv with custom roms. Now I have a Burg 16 and a ZGPAX and the bottom line is standalone smartwatches may be more powerful and more feature packed, but they dont make sense for most people due to build quality. Most are made in China and the quality is horrible, not to mention, most arent even splash proof to water intrusion. Where the Gear shines is its exceptional build quality. Yes, it lacks hardware like a larger battery, wifi, actual micro usb connection but those are all trade offs to improve the watches water resistance, battery life, and overall size. In my opinion, to date, there is nothing on the market that beats the Gear in this very important area.

I bought mine for $200, but $150 really seems like the right price point for an impulse buy that I might consider buying the next Galaxy Gear - otherwise my current Gear will do just fine for a while.

Just got it
I just got mine @ $150 the other day, it seems like the right price, anything over <$200, is not worth it.
However, I was originally waiting for the Gear 2 but pulled the trigger on the Gear, couldnt resist the $150..
Its a cool device, still running stock, but the rooted/flashing a new rom looks way worth it..but im still contemplating on returning it and waiting for the Gear 2, since it will be debuted this Monday 2/24.

Couldn't justify buying it at $300, but pulled the trigger for $150 and I love it. I had a liveview back in the day and loved it other than the fact that you had to take it off the strap to charge, which let to it's demise. I'm not even planning on rooting right now, the stock gear does pretty much everything I want.

Got the Sony SW2 for Xmas, then saw the Gear advertised for £183, so returned the Sony and bought the Gear. Never regretted it for a second.
The Sony was a nice watch, but seemed a bit flimsy - I was worried it was going to break anytime soon.

Hmm...just picked up mine for $99 and I'm not sure it was a good idea... I'll try it for the 15 days and see if I can make use of it.

I'm just gonna say that I love it! wont change not even for the gear 2 since it doesnt even run android. I'm sure we will get android wear roms once those watches come out, since our gear runs android.

I've had the gear from day 1 but I personally can not wait for the moto 360

Pre Ordering Samsung Tab S

Moving over to a Tab S 10.5" from a Note Pro 12.2" not much different in the display size but my arms will appreciate the weight difference and my eyes will LOVE Netflix HD.... Sears has a SWEET DEAL on preorder right now 105.00 back and FREE Tab S Book cover ? thinking if I should wait around on the 32GB Version though ?
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Best Buy offers the 10.5 32GB for pre-order as an "exclusive".

TonyBigs said:
Best Buy offers the 10.5 32GB for pre-order as an "exclusive".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I noticed that, hmmmm.
It's tempting even though I have a Note 10.14 already... :victory:
This is such a great tablet I can't imagine this new one, with that screen and size specs.

fergymac said:
Moving over to a Tab S 10.5" from a Note Pro 12.2" not much different in the display size but my arms will appreciate the weight difference and my eyes will LOVE Netflix HD.... Sears has a SWEET DEAL on preorder right now 105.00 back and FREE Tab S Book cover ? thinking if I should wait around on the 32GB Version though ?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is the first post in this forum.
Definitely would like at least 32 GB. Leaning more towards the 8.4". We have a 10" tablet, and it is just too big to use one handed. And by use, I mean hold.

The weight of both tablet is relatively low. The AMOLED screen makes for a thin tablet. The ahead-of-its-time GT-P6800 7.7 tablet is amazingly thin and solid. It's still a good tablet for media playing and web surfing.

I just pre ordered the 10.5 32gb version from Best buy, I wonder how they pulled the exclusive with the 32gb. I'm in the process of putting some sample files on a flash drive to test on one of the display models. Best buy also has the bronze and white book covers for 39.99 rather than 69.99. Glad I decided to wait for the release and didn't open my Note Pro, it's already on it's way back to Samsung.
Edit: So I went and tested two video files at the local Best Buy, Pacific Rim 1080p 12gb mkv high encoding 19 quality and Timescapes mp4 2560x1440. The picture on this tablet is amazing especially the nature scenes in the Timescapes file. The stock player was able to player both files with no skips or jitters.

I pre ordered the 8.4 from Future Shop (Canada). I am keeping my Note Pro 12.2 as my home unit, the 8.4 as my traveler (Read in bed) and Nexus 5 as my phone. I have no problems with a 16 gig unit. I used the savings and bought a 64 gig microsd. After being burned by Samsung in the past ie.. software updates and coming from a Nexus background I was hesitant to purchase the 12.2 but I have to admit that it has been a nice experience. The first tablet I haven't bothered to root. I think the 8.4 will be even better. Of course I will be keeping my eyes on this year's Google IO conference just in case they mythical Google 8 is announced. I just need to find a case and glass screen protector.

I am really tempted by this new tab
Especially since I sold my Nexus 7 2013 FHD, I really would like to replace that with the new 8.4 Tab S. I miss reading books and browsing the web on my couch or bed. I don't really care for the aesthetics mainly due to the placement of the buttons, it's just weird having the phone layout of buttons on a huge tablet, I prefer to have them on the sides of the device. Not a deal breaker though. I'm just torn on whether to buy this 8.4 through amazon as I have a gift card there for 300 bucks or save a little more and wait for the new Nexus 8 or Nexus 10 if they ever announce them. I have a galaxy note 3 and being a phablet I thought it would be sufficient enough in size to not miss my nexus 7 but I was wrong. The one thing I hate about Samsung is the bloatware and difficulty in rooting the device due to knox and voiding the warranty. I'd prefer to wait for a tablet using either the tegra 4 K1(32 bit) chip or the tegra k1 (64 bit) chip because the games on it would be fabulous, but like I said I am just itching to replace my tablet I dearly miss and this samsung galaxy tab S looks very promising...Woe me

for some reason the smartwatches here in bahrain and saudi are more expensive than in the US but the phones and phablets are cheaper, wonder which range this tab s prices will be here

I preordered this online on bestbuy (in canada) because when I went to do it in stores their system didn't let them help me. is this normal? anyway if you preorder from bestbuy canada they give you the folio case for free as well I believe and theres a lexar 64gb thats on sale for 70 bucks off until the 19th...

Noticed BestBuy, Futureshop, Staples in Canada all bumped their dates back to July 4th right away. Was saying June 26 for the first day or two. Amazon still says June 26.
I wonder if it will get bumped again. I've had horrible experience ordering online from bestbuy and futureshop. I'd try staples next if they had the free cover offer too.

I ordered the 10.5 white from Samsung store for $499, including Samsung's book cover case worth $69.99 as a gift... They promised 1 July delivery.

dilgit said:
I ordered the 10.5 white from Samsung store for $499, including Samsung's book cover case worth $69.99 as a gift... They promised 1 July delivery.
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Any one here no what samung use for delivery is it ups FedEx or usps

coresplinter said:
I preordered this online on bestbuy (in canada) because when I went to do it in stores their system didn't let them help me. is this normal? anyway if you preorder from bestbuy canada they give you the folio case for free as well I believe and theres a lexar 64gb thats on sale for 70 bucks off until the 19th...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What color folio case did you select?
On both bestbuy.ca and futureshop.ca, only 3 colors (brown, blue, and white) are available for free.
When I add the charcoal black one to my cart, it shows up as full price.
I was going to go into the store to ask for the black one, but your posts makes it sound like they won't be able to do much.

Snow755 said:
Any one here no what samung use for delivery is it ups FedEx or usps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ups I ordered an extra battery for my gs5

i gonna get Tab S and is first time i buy a tablet lol and i got a plan with the bills for it 24 months payment plan. 1 GB data for 6 months after that i stop. i gonna order a sim card and which is linked with my phone data on my phone got 10 GB each months. what you guys think lol

Would anyone consider getting this tablet over the new samsung galaxy tab s? I dont know what to expect if I buy a chinese tablet vs a brand I know? http://www.geekbuying.com/item/iFiv...a-2048-1536-Touch-Screen-2GB-16GB-328854.html
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everlast716 said:
Would anyone consider getting this tablet over the new samsung galaxy tab s? I dont know what to expect if I buy a chinese tablet vs a brand I know? http://www.geekbuying.com/item/iFiv...a-2048-1536-Touch-Screen-2GB-16GB-328854.html
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started my tablet buying addiction with Chinese tablets - lol. I have owned a number of Chinese tablets , TV sticks and TV boxes. My advice is to save yourself a lot of grief and buy a name brand tablet from a recognized retailer. There are a number of issues to consider. 1) The RK3288 looks like a good chip but Rockchip is notorious for producing buggy versions of Android. I know I currently own two Rockchip devices and if it wasn't for a dedicated user base debugging and producing custom ROM's, the devices would be useless. 2) If your tablet has a hardware defect you would have to ship it all the way back to China - usually at your own expense. It could take months to get it sorted out. 3) Chinese manufacturers tend not to support devices once they are originally released and since these Chinese tablets don't usually appear on XDA you are left on your own. 4) Many Chinese Companies quickly disappear for no notice. 5) You'll be kicking yourself for not spending that extra money for that great Tab S display.
If you do by Chinese then Geekbuying is a reliable place. They have always been good to me.
Hope this help,
D

darnone said:
What color folio case did you select?
On both bestbuy.ca and futureshop.ca, only 3 colors (brown, blue, and white) are available for free.
When I add the charcoal black one to my cart, it shows up as full price.
I was going to go into the store to ask for the black one, but your posts makes it sound like they won't be able to do much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Staples.ca is offering the Black one only for free. Not selectable. Go figure.

I just bought a Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition. It's really nice and I actually like the S-Pen more than I thought I would... however, I'm thinking of returning it to get a Tab S instead.
From what I see, the specs are really close between the two tablets. Main differences appear to be the AMOLED screen and slightly thinner/lighter Tab S ... but then I lose the S-Pen. Both AMOLED and scLCD screens seem to perform nicely, so that's a matter of preference I guess. I have a Galaxy S5 and the scLCD on the Note side-by-side to my S5 AMOLED screen looks pretty close.
Thoughts? Do you think the Tab S will be that much better than something like the Note 2014?
Thanks

Cheap VR Kit for Note 5

I picked up a cheap VR headset from Amazon. Figured it was cheaper than 199 for the Samsung one. It is a pretty cool gadget to play with but I'm not sure how well it would do with long term usage in that videos need to be in 3D SBS format (Someone correct me if I'm wrong).
I think if the technology gets a bit more popular we'd see more apps for it, but in any case here's my video of it in action.
https://youtu.be/kOFIINycFT4

Err. ..samsung one is 99 dollars
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TechAnimal said:
Err. ..samsung one is 99 dollars
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not released yet. The larger issue is Samsung is not promoting it witch leaves many of us wondering how long they will delay the november release they talked about at MWC.

Samsung Gear VR Lite now on Samsung UK Site

Just as the title says the Gear VR Lite is now available to order at £80 got mine order anyone else ordering today or soon? Im excited for this

Ordered mine today from Samsung uk, bet they sell out fast just like in the states.
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They might yeah not that expensive and the support for it seems to be good web browser on the way etc.. got my dispatch email its been shipped already

That was fast landed today only ordered yesturday

Got mine next day to. Definitely better than the Innovator Edition on the note 4, no fogging or over heating issues. Played for 40 mins with no issues. £80 is a unbelievable value. Using with note 5.
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Got mine too. Mindblowing piece of technology. But there is some overheating issues sometimes i can use it for 20 min other day for 1hr before i get cool down message anybody else had problem with that ? I use S6edge
Wysłane z mojego SM-G925F przy użyciu Tapatalka

I wonder if the bigger note helps dissipate the heat better, I was playing gun jack for ages with no issues.
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Did your phone automatically fire up a Wizard and download the Oculus app? I ask because I've just got mine (awesome delivery speed) but when I plug in my Note 5, nothing happens.
Bummer! This is almost certainly because my Note 5 is an AT&T expat with no way of getting the required firmware update - short of jumping on an aeroplane, but I'm wondering if there's any way to download the Oculus app or sideload it without the wizard. There may be other problems, but one thing at a time.

Is the USB fully in.? Did you get the little noise when you insert it?
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It doesn't make a noise, but the USB is in and the control pad on the Gear VR works, after a fashion, it produces a cursor which I can move around. I know the Gear VR is OK because I tried it with a friend's S6 and it's just fantastic. For me, not so much I need to figure out how to get this firmware update.

Hopefully one of the community will come up with a solution.
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I was lucky in ordering one as soon as it appeared on the Samsung store because 15 mins later they were out of stock! It's been that way ever since.
Arrived following day and have to say it's a great improvement over the previous Innovator edition for my Note 4, lighter and less bulky with better ventilation and in line charging. Doesn't have the fancy case and box though
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ using Tapatalk

What's the difference between the lite and the normal one?

Got mine since 29.12.2015 (I live in Poland)
I go to sleep at 3:00 am everyday
I hope that developers will use it's potential in higher degree. There should be more games like anshar wars, smash hit and 3d videos in much better quality.
This is a bold step in to the future of VR technology.
About overheating I had one information so far about that since I use it but did not receive this message any more(S6 Edge+)

got mine a few days ago and so far its good, but not great, really wish the usb port (underneath for power) was OTG enabled so i could plug in my usb stick or even HDD with all my 3D films on Also the power adapter doesnt even charge the phone its for some fan that i cant even hear or tell if its working!! phone still gets hot!!