Picked up the Galaxy Gear and the Note 3 (Both at Best Buy)

[AldousSnow]

Can't see why I would ever need to be on the phone with Delta (with my watch) ... while watching Bourne Supremacy and browsing the web..... on my phone. But it was cool to do it.

 

[KyleCentral26]

Cool! How is it?

 

[MLdroidN4]

Nice! Got the Note 3..waiting for the Gear to arrive sometime next week(hopefully).
Early thoughts on the Gear?

 

[AldousSnow]

It's interesting.... I was kinda of against it.. but I figured what the hell. But.. I'm a little surprised. I've taken several calls and no one can tell I'm not using the phone. Literally as I type this I'm talking to someone on the gear and it's not like I'm holding my wrist to my mouth (**** Tracey style). I also find I haven't touched the phone as much since getting the Gear... which is great, since I don't have a case.

 

[TeamPowerstroke]

It's interesting.... I was kinda of against it.. but I figured what the hell. But.. I'm a little surprised. I've taken several calls and no one can tell I'm not using the phone. Literally as I type this I'm talking to someone on the gear and it's not like I'm holding my wrist to my mouth (**** Tracey style). I also find I haven't touched the phone as much since getting the Gear... which is great, since I don't have a case.

I'm glad you decided to test it out for yourself instead of relying on a review which said nobody will buy it. lol. While it might not be perfect im sure it is decent and should be getting updates to make it better...

 

[rclifton]

It's interesting.... I was kinda of against it.. but I figured what the hell. But.. I'm a little surprised. I've taken several calls and no one can tell I'm not using the phone. Literally as I type this I'm talking to someone on the gear and it's not like I'm holding my wrist to my mouth (**** Tracey style). I also find I haven't touched the phone as much since getting the Gear... which is great, since I don't have a case.

I agree 100%, after reading all the reviews I was rethinking buying the gear, but after a full day of use I think it is great and can only get better! Out of the box I thought the display was great, then I switched it over to daylight mode and it was even better. Being able to see texts and calls without pulling out the phone is great and it is very responsive. I'm looking forward to seeing what Samsung and Developers do with it. I would suggest anyone who even thinks they might like it spend some time in a store playing with it and seeing if it works for you.

 

[AldousSnow]

I agree 100%, after reading all the reviews I was rethinking buying the gear, but after a full day of use I think it is great and can only get better! Out of the box I thought the display was great, then I switched it over to daylight mode and it was even better. Being able to see texts and calls without pulling out the phone is great and it is very responsive. I'm looking forward to seeing what Samsung and Developers do with it. I would suggest anyone who even thinks they might like it spend some time in a store playing with it and seeing if it works for you.

How do you switch to daylight mode?

 

[imtravis]

How do you switch to daylight mode?

Press and hold the home button, and at the bottom of the shutdown/restart menu is a checkbox for daylight mode..

Picked mine up with my Note 3 this morning. Just starting to play and am diggin it so far..


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[MaTtKs1]

Picked up the N3 and Gear today as well. Didn't have much time to tinker aside from setting up email and downloading a few apps. From about a half day of use, I'm really enjoying the combo.

As you said, I'm not pulling my phone out as much. Email notifications, meeting alerts, text alerts, etc are all very nice. I also found out that the Gear media controller works like a charm with Spotify, which I use all of the time in my car.

The only negatives I've found so far are:

• It's a bit cumbersome to swipe from app to app on the Gear
• Google Now alerts are already annoying. Not sure why Now is alerting me at all, since with my N2 I'd only see Google Now info when I went to Google Search.
• Gmail needs to support the Gear. Prompting me to head to my phone to read emails isn't what I want the watch for. If Microsoft Outlook can let me read emails on the watch, so can Google.
• It would be nice if the Media Controller stayed at the forefront if in use and I "unlock" the watch again.

Overall it's a nice companion to the Note 3. I received several unprompted compliments over the course of today, and people were definitely intrigued when they noticed me talking or swiping on my watch. Ooooh yea, Evernote is great with the watch as well! As an example, after a meeting this evening, I simple opened up Evernote on the watch and recorded a quick recap of notes for myself, which was instantly sync'd to Evernote on my Note 3, Evernote on the web, and my desktop Evernote client. Love that.

I'm sure I'll find more pros and cons with some more use, but that's what I've got for now.

 

[ttexxan]

I have the galaxy gear as well. Purchased purely to be a first user. I think its great. After several calls no one has any idea using a watch. Many have stated very clear.

 

[anon(22793)]

I am suprised at all the positive reviews. I have one on order too

It seems like pro reviewers are getting a little jaded or something.

 

[TeamPowerstroke]

I am suprised at all the positive reviews. I have one on order too

It seems like pro reviewers are getting a little jaded or something.

It's funny, Most real world users are liking the Galaxy Gear. And these so called Expert Reviewers don't... People that knocked the Galaxy Gear only after reading these expert reviews should maybe wait next time....

 

[titaniumSS]

I really want it to go on sale since Buy Back left me with a $100 gift card for my S3 after paying for the Note 3. =D Glad to hear you guys like it!

 

[ttexxan]

I was surprised how easy it was to use. Mine had around 70 percent charge on it out of box and charge to 100% very quickly. I think the watch looks great on as well. I would highly recommend getting one.

 

[browetally]

What's the range? How far can you walk away from your Note?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[rclifton]

I'd say 30-50 feet depending on walls etc.. I can leave the phone at one end of my home and lose connection when I enter the room at the opposite end.

 

[MaTtKs1]

What's the range? How far can you walk away from your Note?

Posted via Android Central App

As Clifton said, about 50ft. Blue tooth range.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[rclifton]

Looks like there is at least one reviewer out there that seems to feel the same as those of us that think the Gear is much better than what most of the other reviewers said. Review: Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch

 

[rajnet]

Can you please tell me if the whole email can be read or a certain part. I get a lot of important notifications so it would be great if the email thingy works. I believe that 3rd party apps and Gmail doesn't work but I think the update should resolve that as well.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[rclifton]

If you use the Gmail app then no, you can't read any of the email at all. If you use the Samsung email app you can read about the first 12 to 15 lines it seems. You can set it up so your Gmail appears in the Samsung app if it is a requirement to read them on the watch for now. I don't have a need to respond to emails rapidly so didn't bother, but I can understand those that have that need. I would assume since the Samsung app can do it there isn't a technical reason why the Gmail app couldn't be updated to do the same eventually.