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The smart watch. It isn’t easy to choose which smart watch is right for you, with each platform base having strengths and weaknesses. Whether it’s one of the new-fangled Android Wear devices, perhaps one of Samsung’s various smart watches, or even the Pebble watch, you can be sure that every choice involves a compromise of some sort. One of the common compromises is that smart watches need to connect to a smart phone in order to access data. If this is a compromise you are all too familiar with, Samsung may just have you covered with the Gear S smart watch that is going on sale from November 7th in the UK.
What is the Gear S smart watch all about? Well, its running Samsung’s Tizen operating system, it has a 2-inch AMOLED curved display with a 360 x 480 resolution, and is powered by a Dual-Core 1GHz processor. There’s 512MB or RAm available along with 4GB of internal storage. A 300mAh Li-ion battery stores the juice and there is support for WiFi b/g/n, A-GPS, Glonass and Bluetooth 4.1.The Gear S also supports USB 2.0.
And now on to the interesting part. Unlike the other smart watches that have been in the news lately, the Gear S smart watch can also send and receive text messages. You can also make and receive calls, all without needing a smart phone. You can install compatible apps such as Nokia’s Here sat-nav app, without needing to pair with a smart phone. The Gear S will also take on the role of a fitness tracker with it’s built-in sensors that measure your heart rate and movement.
So the Gear S is a capable smart watch, offering unique features that the competition aren’t able to at present. Remember earlier when I mentioned that each choice had its own compromise? In the Gear S’ case, the compromise is price and affordability. The Gear S will sell for £329 ($525) from Friday in the UK from Samsung’s own Experience Stores, their online store as well as O2. The question is, can you look past the price to see it’s added functionality? Or would you rather just pair your smart phone to your smart watch? Let us know in the comments or at our Google Plus page.