The creation of a smartwatch has nowadays become a pet project for a great many of manufacturers. The fuss around such devices has become so overwhelming that it could have created an impression as if these are really needed and up-to-date. At every turn the news tell about the Pebble, the Qualcomm Toq, the Google WIMM and, most oftenly, in the recent time, about the Samsung Galaxy Gear. And let us not to forget about the Sony Smartwatch 1 and 2, the Motorola MOTOACTV and, of course, some developments of the Apple iWatch. For now, the Galaxy Gear is the most “real” embodiment of the smartwatch.
The Galaxy Gear watch is named similarly to the company smartphones – SM-V700. Moreover, for the present moment it is the most unusual device! But don’t make hasty conclusions – “unusual” doesn’t mean the best. The Galaxy Gear is almost a smartphone with everything that it implies. And what is it that is implied? Well, let’s have a close look to what we are offered.
Design
The electronics to be put in to the device is the biggest challenge, as, eventually, the device is to be “put on”. In that case one has to care not about the pockets, like in the case of smartphones, not about bags and briefcases, like in the case of notebooks or tablet PC’s, and not about table surface and its “surroundings” like in the case of a desktop PC. The first issue to be taken into consideration in this case is a human body, which is all soft, “curved and bent”, always moving and staying in different weather conditions.
Dealing with a Smartwatch one is to solve quite an unusual problem. The screen is the major challenge in this case. Regularly, a larger screen size is the first indicator of convenience, in this case, however, a big screen do not promise so much convenience, as the device is to be put on an arm. So manufacturers have to find compromises – maximum possible screen size, maximum convenience at wearing, appropriate design.
Did Samsung manufacturers manage to solve the task? At least to some extent. It was rumored about the plans of installing the 3-inch screen, which evidently would have had to be bent. Still the first generation of the smartwatch is equipped with a 1.63-inch square-shape screen. Dealing with a smartphone such size is would have been a trifle while for a smartwatch it is really huge. The screen is covered with glass, yet it is not sapphire glass (which one would like to get!), around the glass there is a metal frame. The frame has as if deliberately sticking out four slotted head bolts.
In general the Galaxy Gear seems quite huge, still it is not heavy – the weight is 73.8 grams. The body width is quite big as well – 11.1 mm. The width, together with quite prominent height (56.6 mm), makes it difficult to hide the device under a shirt’s sleeve. The device stretches the sleeve and always sticks out from underneath. It is much easier to put the device on over the sleeve, yet it is not the prettiest way of wearing a watch. Of course more casual cloths style would not create such problems, but, anyway, the huge, unusual-shape watch is going to attract attention.
