My Standalone Experience: AT&T Gear S as my only phone

[Active55]

Active55,

I have been following your thread on the galaxy gear s and appreciate all the info. Just wanted to say thank you, and also to say sorry you are going through this time with your father. I understand what that is like. I did that about 14 years ago with my dad.

Thank you for your caring words. Unfortunately my father passed on Christmas Eve. It was not unexpected, as my brother and I had been caring for him for the last two years. Recently his condition deteriorated and he required 24/7 care above what we could provide. Luckily his stay in the nursing home was short. He is in another's hands now and no longer in pain. He will truly be missed by all those that knew him.

I received the S-View case I ordered from China. You'd think I'd know better by now that anything from China is a crapshoot. It is thin and cheap, plus the speaker hole isn't even over the speaker. A refund I'll be a gett'n! Minus well just throw this POS in the trash...

Ordered a pleather wallet case from CHina once again. :-\ Fingers crossed this one will be halfway decent.

Sold my Gear S for $125 more than I paid for it! After I deduct shipping and other fees I'll probably have an additional $100 to put towards whatever new toy I end up with.

 

[Active55]

Although I didn't keep the Gear S, it is a great little device that fits a unique niche. I highly recommend it for those that want to use it as it is designed. This will end my Gear S adventure. So what's next for me?

I've decided to wait for the Sony Xperia Z4 Compact to be announced; hopefully at the January CES show in Las Vegas. Rumor has it that Sony is moving away from their magnetic charging system to Qi wireless charging. That is a feature I think I will like very much. Who knows? They may even annouce a new smartband/watch that will peak my interest too.

Here's a couple product leak articles:

http://www.androidorigin.com/sony-xperia-z4-tablet-compact-ultra-exclusive-leak/

http://www.androidorigin.com/new-sony-xperia-z4-compact-images-tech-specs-rumors-emerge/

It was fun. Enjoy your Gear S Smartwatches. Happy New Year!

 

[priceslss]

It was fun. Enjoy your Gear S Smartwatches. Happy New Year!

Thanks for sharing! Sorry for you loss and have a great new year! Best of luck to you on your new device!

 

[Active55]

WOW!

LG AUDI R SMARTWATCH

"As you can see in the video below, the LG webOS smartwatch fully supports third-party applications and has cellular capabilities built into the device, allowing it to be used without a smartphone."

Beautiful! But 2016 seems like a lifetime away...

 

[Active55]

While I wait for the early March new product announcements to actually come out, I'm going to give the Asus Padfone X Mini a try (only $150 at WallyWorld). Interesting concept and might get me using the mapping GPS features on a screen I can actually see at a dashs arm length from my face. May install a mount for the 7" tablet-dock in my car too. The phone is a 4.5" pockable.

One reason I want to give this Android KitKat V4.4+ phone a try is to see if the Sony SmartBand Talk will do basic notification functions with a non-Sony phone.

Off on another technology adventure HERE...

 

[alan44]

thanks for relating your experiences - you've gone from stating you're a reluctant technophobe, have outlined the pros and cons in your use case scenario for the Gear S, but now seem to be chasing rainbows - tell them you've changed your mind and get the Gear S back - it it what it is, does what it does, is not perfect, but is not a niche product rather the very best of a currently not that great bunch. I had an LG watch-phone a few years ago and it was great. The Gear S is the nearest thing to that in the intervening 6-10 years - only clearly very much better despite the limitations. From what you've said I don't think the Padphone mini will satisfy your original Use Case Scenario.
Reminds me of when even before that a colleague spotted my new iPhone (v1 whatever) and said "wow you got an iPhone what's it like?" Before I could answer a hostile co-worker interjected "they said on the Gadget Show the iPhone was sh!te and the Sony Erickson XYZ is much better" I reached into my other pocket and pulled out the the Sony Erickson XYZ. "Well the XYZ is a really great phone but Ithis iPhone thing is a computer and can already do out of the box things I've been trying to do for 20 years" ( via Casio & Sharp Digital Diaries, various Psions, early ultraportable laptops from Olivetti Tulip Toshiba etc) - yeah then they ruined it with the Appstore & iTunes LOL!

Now I can say (almost) "its a watch, it's a phone, its a bit of a slave computer - all I wanted all i ever need is here on my arm

regards, sorry about your loss, and keep in touch

 

[pre1561]

It's now 9:45pm here and it's at 50% now. Not going to charge it tonite. I'm going to let it go all the way, then snap on the battery charger block that comes with it and see what happens. I like to let new batteries go dead two of three times after the initial charge to break them in, if you will. Be interesting to see how long the initial full charge on each will carry me. Good night all.

There is a lot of Mis info about batteries out there, I used to do the same thing. But I read an article about this from Kim Komando, she's somebody I have been listing to and reading her articles for years. I trust her advise and research. Letting the battery go compleatly dead a lot is not good for it.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

 

[dorrien12]

There is a lot of Mis info about batteries out there, I used to do the same thing. But I read an article about this from Kim Komando, she's somebody I have been listing to and reading her articles for years. I trust her advise and research. Letting the battery go compleatly dead a lot is not good for it.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

The poster wasn't saying to drain your battery dead all the time. He just said to do it 3 times after an initial charge (meaning when you get a brand new device or brand new battery ). Then after the 3 times, you tap it off as needed.

 

[pre1561]

Neither was I in my post, it is still not a good idea unless specifically stated in the owners manual to do so.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

 

[skyred5]

Hi there.

First time on this forum, and got to read on your post while searching for this gear S. I must say that I am very thankful for of your experience shared on this forum about the gear S. I myself am looking for one and considering the pros and cons, price, and why it is worth for me to get a smartwatch instead of a tablet.

I didn't get to read through all 3 pages of your sharing. It is really a pity that you sold it away, but I'm sure you had your reasons. I see that you keep repeating that you're not very techie, but I'm quite impressed you managed to use the gear S as a standalone phone, which I find quite impressive!

cheers.

 

[Active55]

thanks for relating your experiences - you've gone from stating you're a reluctant technophobe, have outlined the pros and cons in your use case scenario for the Gear S, but now seem to be chasing rainbows - tell them you've changed your mind and get the Gear S back - it it what it is, does what it does, is not perfect, but is not a niche product rather the very best of a currently not that great bunch. I had an LG watch-phone a few years ago and it was great. The Gear S is the nearest thing to that in the intervening 6-10 years - only clearly very much better despite the limitations. From what you've said I don't think the Padphone mini will satisfy your original Use Case Scenario.
Reminds me of when even before that a colleague spotted my new iPhone (v1 whatever) and said "wow you got an iPhone what's it like?" Before I could answer a hostile co-worker interjected "they said on the Gadget Show the iPhone was sh!te and the Sony Erickson XYZ is much better" I reached into my other pocket and pulled out the the Sony Erickson XYZ. "Well the XYZ is a really great phone but Ithis iPhone thing is a computer and can already do out of the box things I've been trying to do for 20 years" ( via Casio & Sharp Digital Diaries, various Psions, early ultraportable laptops from Olivetti Tulip Toshiba etc) - yeah then they ruined it with the Appstore & iTunes LOL!

Now I can say (almost) "its a watch, it's a phone, its a bit of a slave computer - all I wanted all i ever need is here on my arm

regards, sorry about your loss, and keep in touch

No rainbows here! Just looking for practical functionality that makes my life easier, not more complicated. The Asus Padfone X Mini was right in line with my needs of a smaller sized phone (4.5") that fits in my pocket that will function with the current wearables being produced, because of the Android V4.4+ OS. The 7" tablet-dock was just a FREE plus that I hoped might get me into using maps on a tech device (something I don't do now, but see friends and colleages using it all the time). I still have Thomas guides in my car!

I guess if you look at my "Orignal Use Case Scenario" as getting the phone out of my pocket, then you are right. But as I found out, the talking on my wrist experience isn't what I hoped it would be. So a phone in my pocket is back in play for me.

That said, if you went to my Asus Padfone X Mini link I had a problem with the SIM card tray out of the box (wouldn't click into place). Then AT&T and I got in a disagree (no surprise there), so I canceled my AT&T monthly non-contract plan in protest. That took the AT&T branded Padfone X Mini out of play unless I wanted to go to Straight Talk (AT&T overlay I think), but instead I just found a "reasonable" retailer who exchanged it no questions asked for a brand new one, then returned it for a full refund after the AT&T protest.

Today a brand new Garmin VivoSMART will arrive. It is super light weight, small, water proof to 50 meters, should met the "I don't know it's on my wrist" factor like many old school watches and will give me notifications for caller ID, text messages that I can read and unique alarm functions; which includes phone locator and out of range indication (if you leave your phone or it gets taken). The VivoSMART is said to work with Apple and Android so my phone options remain open. On the Android side, it will work with V4.3+ and BT 4.0 (unlike the Sony SmartBand Talk that requires V4.4+).

So no rainbows, sunflowers or even magic carpets; just looking to make my "required in today's world" cell phone experience simple and easy to use in everyday life. After all, that is what the majority of cell phone users out there are after.

As for my future phone, the Sony Xperia Z4 Music is now top on my list, because it is even smaller in my pocket than the Compact. Unfortunately I kind of have to update my SGS DUOS at some point, not that I really want to.

 

[Active55]

Neither was I in my post, it is still not a good idea unless specifically stated in the owners manual to do so.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

As the other poster said, I've always been told to "cycle" new batteries from full charge to empty a few times to insure a long life. It's alawys worked for me. I've never had battery issues, but can't say if this is an "old wives tail" or not? I do see experienced posters working for this site saying to recharge at 50% once in use to insure a long life, but can't say if that is true either? I'm certainly not an Electrical Engineer.

 

[Active55]

Hi there.

First time on this forum, and got to read on your post while searching for this gear S. I must say that I am very thankful for of your experience shared on this forum about the gear S. I myself am looking for one and considering the pros and cons, price, and why it is worth for me to get a smartwatch instead of a tablet.

I didn't get to read through all 3 pages of your sharing. It is really a pity that you sold it away, but I'm sure you had your reasons. I see that you keep repeating that you're not very techie, but I'm quite impressed you managed to use the gear S as a standalone phone, which I find quite impressive!

cheers.

Great to hear my posted experience is helping others. That's kind of the reason I desided to post it. The fact that when I was caring for my father I was kind of locked into staying around the house allowed me to share. It is a great device if used as designed with another phone; albeit heavy, makes your(my) wrist sweat and long talks on your wrist are a PITA (IMHO).

Yes, I am not a techie by any sense of the word, but I am computer savy. Ran the entire NOCCCD UNIVAC 1160 computer center at age 18 (card readers, real tapes, raised air-conditioned floors and all - lol). Learned to program in 5 different computer languages as a Computer Science & Data Processing major the first 2 years of college (none of which are really in use today), then majored in Business Administration with a speciality in Financial Investments. Worked as a Equity Specialist - Trader at a large Mutual Fund for years. Analysis, logic and critical thinking are second nature at 55 years old. Technology is ever changing, becoming part of everyday life and privacy somewhat non-existant. I'm not sure it is a good thing...

Once i find the right mix "for me" I won't be posting here much, but until then I will be happy to include my experience for others to weigh in their decision making. Much of the modern technology is a very personal thing and each of us use it in a different way.

Cheers all!

 

[Active55]

Here is an article well worth reading!

Designing For Smartwatches And Wearables To Enhance Real-Life Experience

 

[alan44]

re LG AUDI R Smartwatch



Gear S alongside my original LG (upside down) defunkt wrist phone from circa 2010

It was a great watchphone with fantastic potential, but sadly wasn't supported for very long
Like not many people saw the use-case - go figure! - but yeah LG have got prior expertise

 

[Ernesto Albuquerque]

I'm wondering if you can set this up with a compatible cell phone that doesn't have a SIM card installed, just using WiFi. I may try that if I can get my S DUOS upgraded to V4.3 and then download the Gear software via WiFi, but that will be some time before I get around to playing with the pairing and setup stuff. Just want to use it as is for now and get a good feel for the device.

ADDED: Or put my SIM card in the V4.3 phone and set up the Gear S without a SIM. Hmmm...




I GOT CURIOUS ..does it work? without a SIM card? ( with wi-fi maybe) ...To sync I mean.

 

[Rick76]

Mine is working fine. Perhaps the AT&T rep had a different location saved on the phone he used to set up your Gear.

My understanding is that your email settings transfer from your phone when you set up the Gear initially.

 

[vice86]

well that was an interesting read. Sorry to hear about your pop.

Just picked up my Gear S yesterday. Nice price drop now that the S2 is out. Picked it up from Best Buy for $189.99. Used both the S2 and S and I love the S a lot more. S2 looks/feels tiny and you lose a lot of screen real estate with the round design. Samsung should really go back to the rectangle for the S3 or whatever they come up with next.