14 DAY TRIAL // If you thought that AT&T had the only good news about the newest device from Samsung, you were mistaken. It so happens that the Galaxy Gear smartwatch has been made available in India as well.
It's actually kind of surprising. India seems to be getting the first slices of the pie quite a lot lately, when it comes to new product releases. It's like how China has been slowly becoming prominent on the tech industry as a whole.
But I digress. The point is that Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch is now up for order there, for INR 22,990 / $299 / €224.
It's a pretty steep price, one might say. Like buying a second smartphone, albeit a cheaper one, instead of an accessory.
Still, that's the price, and if we were to look at the hardware inside the small thing, we'd have to admit it's at least partially justified.
After all, not every wrist watch has an 800 MHz ARM processor, or a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display showing Android, or a microphone and a speaker.
There's even Bluetooth, plus a 1.9MP camera with BSI sensor and a bunch of pre-loaded apps like S Voice.
The watch can work on its own or in conjunction with a smartphone, although only the new Galaxy Note 3 is supported at present.
Through a connection via Bluetooth, and by means of the speaker/mic in the watch and buckle, you can answer calls from it. No need to pull the phone out of your pocket or bag.
You can also get notifications (incoming calls, text messages, e-mails, other alerts) and see previews of those messages.
You can also shoot photos or videos of course. The camera sensor we have mentioned before is mounted on the side of the wrist, into the belt.
There are several apps available for the Galaxy Gear, and will be available for download within days of shipments. The Gear Manager app on the Note 3 will have to be used to install them.
