Galaxy Gear 2

Six 'Galaxy Gear 2' stories November 2013 - August 2014

Samsung and Apple will sew-up the smartwatch market, others will fail, predicts analyst

Ben Lovejoy Aug 14 2014 - 6:04 am PT

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Samsung and Apple will largely own the smartwatch market between them, predicts Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson in a report being issued later today and seen by Re/code.

Dawson said that new players should “stay out of the market,” and existing players should scale back their plans.

“We do not recommend that existing vendors should maintain current levels of investment when market growth and the overall revenue opportunity remain poor,” Dawson said. “It is unlikely that more than one or two small vendors will be able to make a sustainable business out of smartwatches in the face of competition from Samsung and […] Apple” …

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Samsung announces its first Tizen phone, the Samsung Z – a hint of the future?

Ben Lovejoy Jun 2 2014 - 4:38 am PT

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About a year later than first expected, Samsung has finally announced its first smartphone running Tizen instead of Android, the Samsung Z.

While this particular handset is only launching in Russia initially (sometime in Q3), it’s notable in a couple of ways. First, the spec – while not cutting edge – is pretty decent. Powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM, it has a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display (though only in 1280×720 resolution) and the fingerprint sensor that has so far been exclusive to the S5. It’s not the low-end spec many had expected from Tizen …
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Samsung aims to kickstart Tizen app development for smartwatches via $1.25M prize fund

Ben Lovejoy Apr 24 2014 - 5:42 am PT

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To paraphrase the old real-estate line, the three factors most likely to drive the success or failure of a new operating system are apps, apps and apps. If Samsung is going to get its new Tizen-powered Gear 2 and Gear 2 Nano smartwatches to take off, it needs apps, and lots of them.

To persuade developers to create apps for what is currently a tiny market, the company has announced the Samsung Gear App Challenge, offering a total of $1.25M in prize money for the best Tizen apps. Samsung made the announcement in conjunction with Hackathon and Developer Day events in six countries to date, with more to follow.

The competition is scheduled to begin on 8th May.

If you’re still wondering which of the Gear smartwatches might be best for you, check out our detailed comparison.

Via SamMobile

See inside the Galaxy Gear 2 as iFixit gives it high repairability rating

Ben Lovejoy Apr 9 2014 - 6:59 am PT

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iFixit has done a tear-down of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch, giving it a score of 8/10 for repairability. The company praised the ease of replacement of the watch-strap, and says that it’s easy to open the case and replace the battery.

The only bad news is that the display assembly is a fused unit, meaning any failure in its components would require the entire assembly to be replaced.

The Gear 2 ditched Android in favor of Tizen, and better power management means that the battery now lasts 2-3 days. The watch goes on sale on Friday, but pre-orders are available on Amazon.

Samsung confirms pricing of Gear 2 and Gear Fit as it creates video boasting design skills

Ben Lovejoy Mar 20 2014 - 6:37 am PT

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Photo: thestar.com.my

Samsung has finally confirmed pricing for the Tizen-based Galaxy Gear 2 and Gear Fit smartwatches, though still no word on pricing for the camera-less Gear 2 Neo. The Gear 2 comes in at almost the same price as the original (and widely panned) Gear at $295, while the Gear Fit can be yours for $197 when both devices go on sale next month.

Samsung made SDKs available for the Gear 2 watches a few days ago in the hope that third-party apps will be available by the time the devices go on sale …
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Rumor mill says Galaxy Gear 2 will launch at same time as Galaxy S 5

David Beren Nov 27 2013 - 2:20 pm PT

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It will come as little surprise that Samsung is working on a successor to the Galaxy Gear and that a Galaxy S 5 on the horizon. However, a new rumor courtesy of etnews via SamMobile indicates the Korean giant is looking to launch both the next-generation Gear and S 5 at the same time. Realistically, that seems logical so while this is a pure rumor for now, it’s certainly a rumor that makes sense.

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