Gear..gear 2..android wear

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jasvncnt1

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2011
2,392
707
Union NJ
Hi all...I'm looking to get a smart watch. I have been reading up a lot but still have more to go. This is the way I see it so far.

Original gear...can root and run a custom ROM.

Gear 2/neo. Can root but not much else at moment. I do like this one and the original. I like the fact you can reply to text and answer calls. Not sure how much support this will get.

Android wear. Seems to me to take full advantage you need to use Google now and I don't. I find it really drains my battery.

I'm still reading up on android vs tizen.

Am I looking at these the correct way? So far I prefer gear/gear 2 over android wear. Anyone have any input or correct anything I may have said that is wrong?

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phil999

Senior Member
Dec 9, 2004
84
16
My thoughts are. You can buy a gear for $99 which i did it has a camera and i can answer phone calls with it.. what do i use it for? Well firstly as a watch second to see my calendar, step counter, i use as a phone dialer for me its quicker to find a contract and dial then pickup the phone rather than pickup phone unlock dial etc. I can't see myself talking into my watch just seems odd. As for Google wear more apps / better apps but twice the cost and not sure i can read exchange email on it.

Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 
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Bladder61

Senior Member
Mar 31, 2011
157
56
I tend to agree with phil999, I have owned the original Gear since it rolled out. Answering calls on my watch has come in handy on a weekly basis. I don't usually initiate calls, but I am constantly grabbing a call when my phone is stuck in my pocket or sitting on my desk in another room. I use voice activation to both initiate and reply to text. Full exchange email viewing is great at work. For $99 you can not go wrong.

I was excited by the Android Wear watches as they were announce and info started leaking. Now that they are out and have initial reviews I am holding off on picking one up. I like the always on (this is a must in my opinion for a smart watch and sorely missing from the Gear), plus the way it integrates with Google Now. I myself don't use Google Now anymore as I did not get much value out of it, I know others do. There will certainly be a lot of Apps that start becoming AW capable, so I think in the next several months the list of apps will quickly outpace the relative meager list of apps we have for the Gear.

I dont know why Samsung did not just take the Gear 2 or Neo and turn it into the Live. I think the hardware (Camera/IR/Speaker) would have been a big hit for the AW platform. The way Sammy is pumping out smart watches it may be advisable to wait for the Live 2 as it will address feedback they receive on the Live 1.

So my advice is get something. $99 for a Gear 1 is a great way to experience your first smart watch. If you use and like Google Now, then grab a Gear Live. It does that slickly on your wrist and there is surely a ton of apps that will soon be compatible with it.
 
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mikespe

Senior Member
Dec 19, 2010
655
85
I tend to agree with phil999, I have owned the original Gear since it rolled out. Answering calls on my watch has come in handy on a weekly basis. I don't usually initiate calls, but I am constantly grabbing a call when my phone is stuck in my pocket or sitting on my desk in another room. I use voice activation to both initiate and reply to text. Full exchange email viewing is great at work. For $99 you can not go wrong.

I was excited by the Android Wear watches as they were announce and info started leaking. Now that they are out and have initial reviews I am holding off on picking one up. I like the always on (this is a must in my opinion for a smart watch and sorely missing from the Gear), plus the way it integrates with Google Now. I myself don't use Google Now anymore as I did not get much value out of it, I know others do. There will certainly be a lot of Apps that start becoming AW capable, so I think in the next several months the list of apps will quickly outpace the relative meager list of apps we have for the Gear.

I dont know why Samsung did not just take the Gear 2 or Neo and turn it into the Live. I think the hardware (Camera/IR/Speaker) would have been a big hit for the AW platform. The way Sammy is pumping out smart watches it may be advisable to wait for the Live 2 as it will address feedback they receive on the Live 1.

So my advice is get something. $99 for a Gear 1 is a great way to experience your first smart watch. If you use and like Google Now, then grab a Gear Live. It does that slickly on your wrist and there is surely a ton of apps that will soon be compatible with it.

This is exactly what I did. I got a Gear 1 on SlickDeals (Refurb) for $99 and it just arrived yesterday. I will be honest though, it was HELL trying to get Tizen to connect to my Note 2 running Nebula but I finally got it running today. I really like Tizen even though it has less apps than Android. But be honest with yourself, how many apps are you going to use on a 2 inch screen? With Tizen you can check ALL your notifications as well as answer calls...plus take a quick picture...I can't tell you how many times something was happening & I wanted a pic of it but by the time I got my phone out it was too late.

I think $300 is too much for a smartwatch. I know some drop more than that on a regular watch, but considering you can get a high end phone on contract for less than that (or a Google phone for just over that) I think they are over priced.

First, decide what you plan on using the watch for. I bought mine on a whim when I saw the deal on SlickDeals. But I can see where it will come in handy now that I have it.
 
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jasvncnt1

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2011
2,392
707
Union NJ
My thoughts are. You can buy a gear for $99 which i did it has a camera and i can answer phone calls with it.. what do i use it for? Well firstly as a watch second to see my calendar, step counter, i use as a phone dialer for me its quicker to find a contract and dial then pickup the phone rather than pickup phone unlock dial etc. I can't see myself talking into my watch just seems odd. As for Google wear more apps / better apps but twice the cost and not sure i can read exchange email on it.

Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I tend to agree with phil999, I have owned the original Gear since it rolled out. Answering calls on my watch has come in handy on a weekly basis. I don't usually initiate calls, but I am constantly grabbing a call when my phone is stuck in my pocket or sitting on my desk in another room. I use voice activation to both initiate and reply to text. Full exchange email viewing is great at work. For $99 you can not go wrong.


This is exactly what I did. I got a Gear 1 on SlickDeals (Refurb) for $99 and it just arrived yesterday. I will be honest though,

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to answer and give me your opinions. I greatly appreciate it. After reading I think your all right. I'm gonna look into the gear. I don't really use Google now at all. Tried for a few days. Didn't care for it and drained my battery. The main things i would like to do is receive notifications, reply to text, i guess with svoice, and i think answering calls would come in handy. I see the gear can also be rooted if I wanted to which I guess is a plus. I'm assuming most are running with stock TW? That will be the toughest thing..running TW. Been running custom ROMs forever. But sounds like it will be worth it.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
 
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mikespe

Senior Member
Dec 19, 2010
655
85
I want to thank all of you for taking the time to answer and give me your opinions. I greatly appreciate it. After reading I think your all right. I'm gonna look into the gear. I don't really use Google now at all. Tried for a few days. Didn't care for it and drained my battery. The main things i would like to do is receive notifications, reply to text, i guess with svoice, and i think answering calls would come in handy. I see the gear can also be rooted if I wanted to which I guess is a plus. I'm assuming most are running with stock TW? That will be the toughest thing..running TW. Been running custom ROMs forever. But sounds like it will be worth it.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

If you want notifications you're going to have to update to Tizen. Stock, the Gear only let's you read notifications from the stock Samsung apps. So if you use Gmail or Handsent it will only let you know you have a message but you can't read it on the Gear. Tizen lets you choose what apps will notify you & you can read the notification on the watch...
 
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jasvncnt1

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2011
2,392
707
Union NJ
If you want notifications you're going to have to update to Tizen. Stock, the Gear only let's you read notifications from the stock Samsung apps. So if you use Gmail or Handsent it will only let you know you have a message but you can't read it on the Gear. Tizen lets you choose what apps will notify you & you can read the notification on the watch...

Thanks. I did not realize that. I've been reading here that many people are happy with tizen.

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Bladder61

Senior Member
Mar 31, 2011
157
56
Thanks. I did not realize that. I've been reading here that many people are happy with tizen.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

I ran the Null Roms for a long time. Still miss the ability to run any launcher and customize everything, but I gave Tizen a shot about a month ago. I am happy with Tizen, functional, smooth, longer battery life, and it does what I need. With Null I could use the watch as a small full android device. I have come to realize that I want my watch to be an extension of android for notifications and convenience.

To be honest I have been wearing a Qualcomm Toq, I picked up on ebay for $100 for the past 3 weeks. I can voice respond to text, but with no speaker I cant answer calls on the watch. I can select answer call, but it answers on the phone (this does give me time to stand up and dig it out of my pocket). The always on and 4-5 day battery life plus wireless charging help to offset the one missing feature.

When one of the manufacturers puts a low power color display (Mirasol) on a Gear 1 / Gear 2 type hardware platform it will be the type of smart watch I am looking for.
 
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jasvncnt1

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2011
2,392
707
Union NJ
I ran the Null Roms for a long time. Still miss the ability to run any launcher and customize everything, but I gave Tizen a shot about a month ago. I am happy with Tizen, functional, smooth, longer battery life, and it does what I need. With Null I could use the watch as a small full android device. I have come to realize that I want my watch to be an extension of android for notifications and convenience.

To be honest I have been wearing a Qualcomm Toq, I picked up on ebay for $100 for the past 3 weeks. I can voice respond to text, but with no speaker I cant answer calls on the watch. I can select answer call, but it answers on the phone (this does give me time to stand up and dig it out of my pocket). The always on and 4-5 day battery life plus wireless charging help to offset the one missing feature.

When one of the manufacturers puts a low power color display (Mirasol) on a Gear 1 / Gear 2 type hardware platform it will be the type of smart watch I am looking for.

I have been reading about Null and it does sound very cool. But after reading your response I think your right. I just want the watch the be an extension. The only draw back i guess is your kind of stuck with certain Samsung phones. I was reading a thread about getting it to work with other devices but seemed to be hit and miss. Im gonna go check out the watches again. If I was able to get the watch to work with a custom ROM and still have the features I need it would be a huge plus. Maybe I'll grab one and try it out.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk
 

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  • 1
    My thoughts are. You can buy a gear for $99 which i did it has a camera and i can answer phone calls with it.. what do i use it for? Well firstly as a watch second to see my calendar, step counter, i use as a phone dialer for me its quicker to find a contract and dial then pickup the phone rather than pickup phone unlock dial etc. I can't see myself talking into my watch just seems odd. As for Google wear more apps / better apps but twice the cost and not sure i can read exchange email on it.

    Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
    1
    I tend to agree with phil999, I have owned the original Gear since it rolled out. Answering calls on my watch has come in handy on a weekly basis. I don't usually initiate calls, but I am constantly grabbing a call when my phone is stuck in my pocket or sitting on my desk in another room. I use voice activation to both initiate and reply to text. Full exchange email viewing is great at work. For $99 you can not go wrong.

    I was excited by the Android Wear watches as they were announce and info started leaking. Now that they are out and have initial reviews I am holding off on picking one up. I like the always on (this is a must in my opinion for a smart watch and sorely missing from the Gear), plus the way it integrates with Google Now. I myself don't use Google Now anymore as I did not get much value out of it, I know others do. There will certainly be a lot of Apps that start becoming AW capable, so I think in the next several months the list of apps will quickly outpace the relative meager list of apps we have for the Gear.

    I dont know why Samsung did not just take the Gear 2 or Neo and turn it into the Live. I think the hardware (Camera/IR/Speaker) would have been a big hit for the AW platform. The way Sammy is pumping out smart watches it may be advisable to wait for the Live 2 as it will address feedback they receive on the Live 1.

    So my advice is get something. $99 for a Gear 1 is a great way to experience your first smart watch. If you use and like Google Now, then grab a Gear Live. It does that slickly on your wrist and there is surely a ton of apps that will soon be compatible with it.
    1
    I tend to agree with phil999, I have owned the original Gear since it rolled out. Answering calls on my watch has come in handy on a weekly basis. I don't usually initiate calls, but I am constantly grabbing a call when my phone is stuck in my pocket or sitting on my desk in another room. I use voice activation to both initiate and reply to text. Full exchange email viewing is great at work. For $99 you can not go wrong.

    I was excited by the Android Wear watches as they were announce and info started leaking. Now that they are out and have initial reviews I am holding off on picking one up. I like the always on (this is a must in my opinion for a smart watch and sorely missing from the Gear), plus the way it integrates with Google Now. I myself don't use Google Now anymore as I did not get much value out of it, I know others do. There will certainly be a lot of Apps that start becoming AW capable, so I think in the next several months the list of apps will quickly outpace the relative meager list of apps we have for the Gear.

    I dont know why Samsung did not just take the Gear 2 or Neo and turn it into the Live. I think the hardware (Camera/IR/Speaker) would have been a big hit for the AW platform. The way Sammy is pumping out smart watches it may be advisable to wait for the Live 2 as it will address feedback they receive on the Live 1.

    So my advice is get something. $99 for a Gear 1 is a great way to experience your first smart watch. If you use and like Google Now, then grab a Gear Live. It does that slickly on your wrist and there is surely a ton of apps that will soon be compatible with it.

    This is exactly what I did. I got a Gear 1 on SlickDeals (Refurb) for $99 and it just arrived yesterday. I will be honest though, it was HELL trying to get Tizen to connect to my Note 2 running Nebula but I finally got it running today. I really like Tizen even though it has less apps than Android. But be honest with yourself, how many apps are you going to use on a 2 inch screen? With Tizen you can check ALL your notifications as well as answer calls...plus take a quick picture...I can't tell you how many times something was happening & I wanted a pic of it but by the time I got my phone out it was too late.

    I think $300 is too much for a smartwatch. I know some drop more than that on a regular watch, but considering you can get a high end phone on contract for less than that (or a Google phone for just over that) I think they are over priced.

    First, decide what you plan on using the watch for. I bought mine on a whim when I saw the deal on SlickDeals. But I can see where it will come in handy now that I have it.
    1
    My thoughts are. You can buy a gear for $99 which i did it has a camera and i can answer phone calls with it.. what do i use it for? Well firstly as a watch second to see my calendar, step counter, i use as a phone dialer for me its quicker to find a contract and dial then pickup the phone rather than pickup phone unlock dial etc. I can't see myself talking into my watch just seems odd. As for Google wear more apps / better apps but twice the cost and not sure i can read exchange email on it.

    Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

    I tend to agree with phil999, I have owned the original Gear since it rolled out. Answering calls on my watch has come in handy on a weekly basis. I don't usually initiate calls, but I am constantly grabbing a call when my phone is stuck in my pocket or sitting on my desk in another room. I use voice activation to both initiate and reply to text. Full exchange email viewing is great at work. For $99 you can not go wrong.


    This is exactly what I did. I got a Gear 1 on SlickDeals (Refurb) for $99 and it just arrived yesterday. I will be honest though,

    I want to thank all of you for taking the time to answer and give me your opinions. I greatly appreciate it. After reading I think your all right. I'm gonna look into the gear. I don't really use Google now at all. Tried for a few days. Didn't care for it and drained my battery. The main things i would like to do is receive notifications, reply to text, i guess with svoice, and i think answering calls would come in handy. I see the gear can also be rooted if I wanted to which I guess is a plus. I'm assuming most are running with stock TW? That will be the toughest thing..running TW. Been running custom ROMs forever. But sounds like it will be worth it.

    Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk


    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
    1
    I want to thank all of you for taking the time to answer and give me your opinions. I greatly appreciate it. After reading I think your all right. I'm gonna look into the gear. I don't really use Google now at all. Tried for a few days. Didn't care for it and drained my battery. The main things i would like to do is receive notifications, reply to text, i guess with svoice, and i think answering calls would come in handy. I see the gear can also be rooted if I wanted to which I guess is a plus. I'm assuming most are running with stock TW? That will be the toughest thing..running TW. Been running custom ROMs forever. But sounds like it will be worth it.

    Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk


    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

    If you want notifications you're going to have to update to Tizen. Stock, the Gear only let's you read notifications from the stock Samsung apps. So if you use Gmail or Handsent it will only let you know you have a message but you can't read it on the Gear. Tizen lets you choose what apps will notify you & you can read the notification on the watch...