Gear 2 Neo - Very Weak Vibration and aesthetic appeal

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motog35

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2010
145
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I have been using the original Gear 1 since launch, so when the Gear 2 was announced, I was excited and could hardly wait. I went ahead and ordered the Gear 2 Neo instead of the Gear 2 due to not using much of the camera at all on the Gear 1. I have two major problems with Gear 2 Neo, enough so that I may consider returning it. Your feedback is appreciated.

1. Vibration is very weak - On my original Gear 1, I could feel the vibration under any circumstance. It was very strong in comparison to the Gear 2 Neo. Perhaps Samsung decided to turn down the vibration to save/extend its battery life? Could this be the reason? I could hardly feel the vibration on the Gear 2 Neo.

2. Plastic Look - I'm use to the metal casing on the original Gear 1, so going from metal to plastic housing is a notable difference in aesthetics. It' just doesn't have that appeal. I would get complimented on the Gear 1. Gear 2 looks like a toy watch on my wrist in comparison.


For these reasons, I will likely be returning the Gear 2 Neo and try my luck with the Gear 2. Can anyone provide their feedback, especially if you are coming from the Gear 1?
 

bennyhill

Member
Jul 29, 2005
6
1
I have been using the original Gear 1 since launch, so when the Gear 2 was announced, I was excited and could hardly wait. I went ahead and ordered the Gear 2 Neo instead of the Gear 2 due to not using much of the camera at all on the Gear 1. I have two major problems with Gear 2 Neo, enough so that I may consider returning it. Your feedback is appreciated.

1. Vibration is very weak - On my original Gear 1, I could feel the vibration under any circumstance. It was very strong in comparison to the Gear 2 Neo. Perhaps Samsung decided to turn down the vibration to save/extend its battery life? Could this be the reason? I could hardly feel the vibration on the Gear 2 Neo.

2. Plastic Look - I'm use to the metal casing on the original Gear 1, so going from metal to plastic housing is a notable difference in aesthetics. It' just doesn't have that appeal. I would get complimented on the Gear 1. Gear 2 looks like a toy watch on my wrist in comparison.


For these reasons, I will likely be returning the Gear 2 Neo and try my luck with the Gear 2. Can anyone provide their feedback, especially if you are coming from the Gear 1?

I have to agree. I'm feeling exactly the same. I thought I was imagining things but the vibration is a lot weaker and I'm not feeling the all plastic design ether. I've also not noticed much of a battery increase. My Gear 1 seems to last just as long. I'll probably return this Neo and pick up a Gear 2. I'm also not satisfied with the selection of watch faces. At the present there are no analog dials which contain a date. I've found myself wearing the original Gear more then the Neo.
 

motog35

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2010
145
23
I have to agree. I'm feeling exactly the same. I thought I was imagining things but the vibration is a lot weaker and I'm not feeling the all plastic design ether. I've also not noticed much of a battery increase. My Gear 1 seems to last just as long. I'll probably return this Neo and pick up a Gear 2. I'm also not satisfied with the selection of watch faces. At the present there are no analog dials which contain a date. I've found myself wearing the original Gear more then the Neo.

Wow, we feel exactly the same. I had forgot to mention the classic watch face from the Gear 1 that is not present in the Gear 2.

This is the watch face I've always used on the Gear 1. It was both classy and modern.

bgr-samsung-galaxy-gear-21.jpg
 

klinsukont

Member
Nov 19, 2009
20
3
Just wondering if you guys are older gentlemen? The neo is waaaaay better looking than the Gear 2 or Gear 1. But i would think that Grey metallic look would appeal to an older crowd and older definition of "Classy".
 

smeiff

Senior Member
Feb 27, 2012
105
53
Indianapolis
I have been using the original Gear 1 since launch, so when the Gear 2 was announced, I was excited and could hardly wait. I went ahead and ordered the Gear 2 Neo instead of the Gear 2 due to not using much of the camera at all on the Gear 1. I have two major problems with Gear 2 Neo, enough so that I may consider returning it. Your feedback is appreciated.

1. Vibration is very weak - On my original Gear 1, I could feel the vibration under any circumstance. It was very strong in comparison to the Gear 2 Neo. Perhaps Samsung decided to turn down the vibration to save/extend its battery life? Could this be the reason? I could hardly feel the vibration on the Gear 2 Neo.

2. Plastic Look - I'm use to the metal casing on the original Gear 1, so going from metal to plastic housing is a notable difference in aesthetics. It' just doesn't have that appeal. I would get complimented on the Gear 1. Gear 2 looks like a toy watch on my wrist in comparison.


For these reasons, I will likely be returning the Gear 2 Neo and try my luck with the Gear 2. Can anyone provide their feedback, especially if you are coming from the Gear 1?

1. I'm sure you didn't change it, but could your vibrate be turned to low? In settings goto Sound -> Vibration -> Verify "Strong" is selected. I do agree however that the vibration is less string than the fit.

2. I agree with the plastic look. I know they want that extra $100, but I think they could have at least made it look more classy. I don't mind it but I do prefer the look of the Gear 2 over the Neo.
 

motog35

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2010
145
23
1. I'm sure you didn't change it, but could your vibrate be turned to low? In settings goto Sound -> Vibration -> Verify "Strong" is selected. I do agree however that the vibration is less string than the fit.

2. I agree with the plastic look. I know they want that extra $100, but I think they could have at least made it look more classy. I don't mind it but I do prefer the look of the Gear 2 over the Neo.







Just wondering if you guys are older gentlemen? The neo is waaaaay better looking than the Gear 2 or Gear 1. But i would think that Grey metallic look would appeal to an older crowd and older definition of "Classy".



Yes, vibration is set to strong. I am pretty confident this was intended by Samsung to save on battery life. I don't think the Gear 2 will be any different.


If your definition of "older gentlemen" is in the late 20's, then I suppose I am. Having said that, I work in a professional environment everyday and dress code business casual with a tie. The original Gear1 matched up pretty well with my attire. The Gear 2 Neo, not so much.

I'm really considering going back to the Gear 1, but the UI on the Gear 2 is so much faster, and can receive MMS picture messages. Decisions decisions.


Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app
 

klinsukont

Member
Nov 19, 2009
20
3
Yes, vibration is set to strong. I am pretty confident this was intended by Samsung to save on battery life. I don't think the Gear 2 will be any different.


If your definition of "older gentlemen" is in the late 20's, then I suppose I am. Having said that, I work in a professional environment everyday and dress code business casual with a tie. The original Gear1 matched up pretty well with my attire. The Gear 2 Neo, not so much.

I'm really considering going back to the Gear 1, but the UI on the Gear 2 is so much faster, and can receive MMS picture messages. Decisions decisions.


Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app

Late 20's?? i'm in my early 30's and have the same dress code. Not trying to offend anyone here but in my personal opinion that clock face and the grey metal is tacky. Reminds me of some "Johnson" getting in his rolls to hit the golf course. I prefer the subtle brushed metal face behind the glass, and the rubberized texture on the housing, as well as the texture on the band, i think it could do without the silver clasp and i would rather it had a satin black clasp. All in all i think the Neo is very modern, while the G2 is classic.

---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------

Motog35 are you sure you are getting picture messages on the watch? When i receive an MMS i dont even get a notification.
 

azpatterson3

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2011
534
261
St. Louis
Jumping in.
I get mms pics on my watch.
Other issue... I dress business casual for work. I instruct at a community college. The watch is fine and appropriate for my work environment. I can see it feeling out of place amoung the $10,000 Rolex crowd but it is certainly acceptable for the $300 seiko crowd. I am going to dinner with a couple of Rolex wearers tomorrow and will proudly wear my Gear. They know I don't make the money they make and if I did, I wouldn't buy a Rolex.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527
 

andrawer

Senior Member
Jun 3, 2011
686
147
Jumping in.
I get mms pics on my watch.
Other issue... I dress business casual for work. I instruct at a community college. The watch is fine and appropriate for my work environment. I can see it feeling out of place amoung the $10,000 Rolex crowd but it is certainly acceptable for the $300 seiko crowd. I am going to dinner with a couple of Rolex wearers tomorrow and will proudly wear my Gear. They know I don't make the money they make and if I did, I wouldn't buy a Rolex.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527

Hum, everyone has their own tastes obviously. I actually prefer the black on black of the Neo.
Whatever the metal stuff they use on the Gear 2 is reminds me of chrome which I can't stand...even though I know it's not really a shiny metal. For me BLACK/BLACK.
Especially since I got the Neo for $150 if you buy a couple of accessories which happen to be 25% off also.
 

motog35

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2010
145
23
Glad everyone is chiming in on this thread has kept it civil and simply stating their own opinion as far as aesthetics is concerned. I would like to hear more opinion on preference as far as aesthetics are concerned.

Also hoping they can merge the two forums (Gear 2/Neo) into one, so I can hear opinion of Gear 2 users - to see if they notice the same vibration weakness apparent on the Neo. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=52013394
 

bennyhill

Member
Jul 29, 2005
6
1
Just wondering if you guys are older gentlemen? The neo is waaaaay better looking than the Gear 2 or Gear 1. But i would think that Grey metallic look would appeal to an older crowd and older definition of "Classy".
I like that question , yes I'm older 53 years young. And it's not the all black that I'm not sure I like (I also wear a Pebble) it's the feeling I'm not sure I like. My Gear 1 just feels better my opinion. I also miss the classic watch faces that include the date . You know us older fellows have a hard time remembering the date LOL. and it's nice to be able to just look down and it's there. I'm self employed so normally I wear what I like so that's not a problem. I just think I'm going to get an Gear 2 so it feels about the same.
 
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rEVOLVE

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2006
417
86
What I wish is for a way to set vibrate AND ringtone on the watch simultaneously. I'd always want at least vibrate, but if I have it on ring only, sometimes I'll be at a place where it's suddenly loud and you have no way of hearing the watch.

As for the build - it's definitely better than the Pebble, but just under the Metawatch Frame I used before getting the Pebble. I got the grey Neo, but if I keep it, I'll swap out for the black.

As for watchfaces, the thing I loved about the Pebble was being able to cycle through watchfaces by hitting one button. What I'm hinging on in whether I keep the Neo is down to whether I can duplicate the density of at-a-glance info on a watchface that I enjoy with Canvas on the Pebble. On workdays, I normally use a watchface that has the time, date, temperature, weather, next appt., audio volume state, connected wifi SSID, phone signal level, phone battery level, and watch battery level. It was busy, but legible, and to me, made the smartwatch much more handy than just having a replica of an analog watchface.
 

logichoops

Senior Member
Dec 2, 2010
82
15
www.markmiller.in
Im hoping its just a case of taking a bit of time for people to develop Tizen apps and tweaking by Samsung to the base offering.. got my pebble to fall back on but this looks a lot better than the pebble to me anyhow..
 

Breach

Senior Member
Apr 1, 2009
334
182
I have the Gear 2, and came from the Galaxy Gear. I think it's classy and clean. I love the IR blaster and heart rate sensor. I don't really need the camera, but I didn't want the plastic body.

My wife opted for the Gear 2 Neo. She is happy with it, but one thing I noticed really quick with my Galaxy Gear and my Gear 2, if that when I am outside in the cold (I'm from Maine, so its just starting to warm up) the watch gets cold and it really chills your wrist, not the case with the Gear 2 Neo.

Regardless, we are both happy. My only complaint so far is the band should have been at least one size larger for the people with manly wrists.. lol. I mean, seriously. One more size and there would be a lot less complains online about the band. It's the same issue I had with the Galaxy Gear, but at least I can change the band now.
 

polish_pat

Senior Member
Nov 30, 2011
1,823
488
Montreal
I had the gear 1, and i picked up the neo because Rogers was selling it for 50$ to anybody that would buy an S5, and yes, i do feel like i miss the nice solid build, but hey, we all knew what the neo was and wasn't, it was cheaper than the price we all paid for our original Gear and yet, we all complain about the plastic feel when we all made the concious choice of buying the cheaper model when less than a year ago, we all threw out over 300$ for the original gear. You guys made a compromise by paying 100$ less, the option was there and no one took it, so i feel kinda dumb having this discussion about the plastic design of the new.

If we compare the Neo to the gear, well even the plastic model is a much better buy than the gear 1. I mean, i love this new watch. Design aside, how long did we have to wait for our damn gear to get proper notification, or have that stupid cradle to put it on, like a coffin, just to charge it. I love the neo because it's a good watch. I had the pebble, and the SW2, both sucked. The pebble was cool and all, but it felt like a kindle on my wrist. The SW2 had a color screen with a bad resolution, it was nice, but the apps sucked. The Neo is great, app wise, samsung have made great steps forward and they have left some of the stairs for developpers. I just can't wait to sideload apps made by devs on this.

As for battery life, i'm not sure how you guys use your watch, but i get an average of 25-40 notifications per day on the watch, i have the step counter on all the time and make approx 15 000 steps daily, i have sleep mode on every night, i auto-sync data every 3 hours and push the watch to refresh weather also every 3 hours, plus i have a bright blue background, i use the IR to change the channels and turn on and off my TV and STB, and yet, we are saturday evening and the last time i charged my Neo was on monday evening and i still have 23% left. So if i can keep this watch alive another 40 hours, it'll be a full 7 days on one charge, and this is a high res color screen, unlike the pebble that had an e-ink screen and lasted about as long as this. I actually think this is very impressive

EDIT: i did forget to mention that i turned off the "flick the wrist to turn on option" as it would light up during the night and light up my entire room and wake me
 
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  • 2
    Jumping in.
    I get mms pics on my watch.
    Other issue... I dress business casual for work. I instruct at a community college. The watch is fine and appropriate for my work environment. I can see it feeling out of place amoung the $10,000 Rolex crowd but it is certainly acceptable for the $300 seiko crowd. I am going to dinner with a couple of Rolex wearers tomorrow and will proudly wear my Gear. They know I don't make the money they make and if I did, I wouldn't buy a Rolex.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527
    1
    Just wondering if you guys are older gentlemen? The neo is waaaaay better looking than the Gear 2 or Gear 1. But i would think that Grey metallic look would appeal to an older crowd and older definition of "Classy".
    I like that question , yes I'm older 53 years young. And it's not the all black that I'm not sure I like (I also wear a Pebble) it's the feeling I'm not sure I like. My Gear 1 just feels better my opinion. I also miss the classic watch faces that include the date . You know us older fellows have a hard time remembering the date LOL. and it's nice to be able to just look down and it's there. I'm self employed so normally I wear what I like so that's not a problem. I just think I'm going to get an Gear 2 so it feels about the same.