Gear Update offers Stylish Gadgetry

• Standard 22mm watch band for easy customization
• Still and video camera
• Heart Rate monitor and IR blaster
• Compatible with most, recent Samsung Phones (full list at *bottom of page)

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The Gear 2 is not a redesign of the original gear, but it has plenty of upgrades, including longer battery life. The Gear 2 (like the first Samsung Gear) is one of the few watches that can accept and make phone calls (most others only notify you of the call). Also like the original gear, it has a brushed metal watch body, and a plastic strap similar to the one before, with an almost-identical clasp mechanism. The microphone is no longer housed in this strap and thus that part of the clasp is now thinner. The camera (which also used to be in the strap) has moved back up in the main watch housing as well. This means you can easily customize the Gear 2’s watch band, using any standard 22mm band.

Beyond some small aesthetic differences, there are some important internal upgrades of the Gear 2. It now has an optical heart rate monitor (like the one found in the Samsung Galaxy S5) and an IR Blaster, meaning it can function in place of many TV/Stereo/set-top box remote controls. The Gear 2 has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance (dustproof, and submersible to 1 meter, for 30 minutes). Its compatible with Bluetooth 4.0, has an accelerometer, and an updated charging cradle that utilizes a micro-usb charging cable.

Unlike Android Wear Smartwatches, the Samsung Gear 2 will require that you have Samsung’s Gear Manager App installed, which you can get from Samsung’s App Store.  Speaking of apps – its important to point out that the original Samsung Gear’s apps will not work on the Gear 2. That being said, the Gear 2 does have some pretty nifty functionality out of the box:

• Stopwatch
• Phone dialer
• Media controller
• Contact list
• Call logs
• Exercise app (a Spartan version of the Samsung S Health app, monitors distance)
• Heart Rate Monitor – on back of the watch. It emits a light that penetrates your skin to find your pulse rate
• Media player (plays music via the watch, not your smartphone)

You will also find all of the functionality that is to be expected anymore in a smartwatch (social media notifications/alerts, turn by turn directions, time/date, change watch faces, etc.).

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If you are looking for a Smartwatch Compatible with your [recent] Samsung Phone, but aren’t specifically looking for Android, the Gear 2 is a good fit.

SPECS

• Resolution: 320×320
• Ram: 512mb
• Processor: Exynos 3250 dual-core 1GHz
• Storage: 4gb
• Battery: Li-ion 300mAh
• Screen: 1.63in Super AMOLED display
• Water and Dust Resistance: IP67
• Operating System: Tizen

• Size: 1.45 inches, 0.39 inches, 2.3 inches
• Weight: 2.4 ounces

 

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

• Gear 2 Smartwatch w/ black rubber watch band
• Quick Guide
• Charging Cradle / wall adapter

 

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*Compatible Samsung Devices for the Samsung Gear 2:

Samsung Galaxy S5
Galaxy Grand 2
Galaxy Note 3
Galaxy Note 3 Neo
Galaxy Note 2
Galaxy S4
Galaxy S3
Galaxy S4 Zoom
Galaxy S4 Active
Galaxy S4 mini
Galaxy Mega 6.3
Galaxy Mega 5.8
Galaxy Note 10.1 – 2014 Edition
Galaxy NotePRO – 12.2
Galaxy TabPRO – 12.2
Galaxy Tab 4 10.1
Galaxy Tab 4 8.0
Galaxy Tab 4 7.0
Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1
Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4

Sleek design and smooth operation – Samsung’s Gear Live .

QUICK OVERVIEW:

• “Minimalist” Design
• Heart Rate Monitor
• Android Wear / use any Android Wear 4.3+ compatible watch!
• Screen dims when not in use to save battery

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The Gear Live is a slim and attractive model that’s minimalist in design, with a simple metallic edge and clear black screen. It’s less fussy and looks great because of it. Like others in the $200 price point, the Samsung Gear Live is a competent piece of hardware for quick glances at texts, emails, social notifications (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and other apps with the occasional ability to respond with voice commands via Google Now.

It employs a square, 320 x 320 resolution, 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display that provides a vivid 278 pixels-per-inch picture. This screen is noticeably brighter than the LG G Watch’s 280 x 280, 240 ppi LCD IPS display.

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The inherent Google-powered Android Wear software safely relocates our notification-checking addiction to the wrist.

It’s a $200 digital convenience for quick glances at texts, emails, Facebook notifications and other apps.

The single button on the Gear Live is on the side near the bottom of the device. As A Result, it’s relatively concealed but still accessible enough to use. One button is plenty, since with Android Wear the need for buttons is almost nil, as most options can be accessed by voice, as well as screen taps and swipes. The button does prove its utility through quick access to screen light, power and hardware connection shortcuts.

The Gear Live does not use a standard watchstrap (it’ specific to Samsung). However it follows suit with its minimalism. The strap is a basis, black plastic with a pop-in clasp but can be swapped for watch bands (sold separately) to suit various styles.

The 300mAh battery for this watch, coupled with the fact that it is always connected to your phone via Bluetooth means that you can expect about a day’s worth of battery life from it.

The Gear Live differs from its Samsung Smartwatch Siblings (Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo) in the fact that it isn’t restricted to Samsung-only phone pairing to work (instead employing pure Android Wear – use any Android 4.3+ smartphone that you want).

The Samsung Gear Live’s screen automatically dims when not in use in order to save battery and then comes back to life when you lift the watch to view it. The display is plenty bright enough even when used on level four of its maximum five.

Sensors and hardware

In addition to greater resolution screen than the LG G Watch, the Samsung Gear Live also comes with a heart rate sensor absent in The G Watch. This means you can check your pulse rate on the Gear Live simply by “asking it”. Your pulse rate result only appears after swiping through a few screens which seem a little unnecessary but the device then usually finds your heart rate (when you’re not moving anyway) in around 10 seconds.

The Gear Live uses a Snapdragon 400 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, 512MB of RAM and has 4GB of storage (very similar to the LG G Watch). Note: you cannot access that 4gb of space – that is for apps to use when they record data.

There’s also a digital compass, an accelerometer, and gyroscope.

Battery

You should get roughly a day’s worth of use out of the Samsung Gear Live’s battery. To recharge the Gear Live you place it into a charging cradle included in the box that you clip onto the back of the watch. There is a fast charge option puts 25% battery into the device within thirty minutes, and a full battery charge in two hours.

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SPECS

• Resolution
• Ram: 512mb
• Processor: Snapdragon 400 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7
• Android Wear Version: 4.3+
• Storage: 4gb

• Size: 1.49” x 2.22 (37.9mm x 56.4mm)
• Weight: 59g
• Battery: 300mAh battery
• Water and Dust Resistance: IP67 (protects against dust, and water depth of 1 meter)

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

• Samsung Gear Live Smartwatch
• Charging dock
• Travel adapter
• Quick start guide