Samsung Gear 2 Neo Review

                    

The SAMSUNG GEAR 2 NEO

    Quick Specs:

Display: 1.63" Super AMOLED (320 x 320)

RAM: 512MB

Storage: 4GB

Camera (Gear 2): 2MP + AF 720p @ 30fps

Battery: 300 mAh (2-3 Days of normal use)

Samsung has three smart watches in its early-2014 lineup. How many of them are good, and which one should you buy? It's not easy making a decision when most people aren't even sure if they want a smart watch -- any smart watch -- in the first place.

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The Gear 2 Neo is the ultimate hedge bet: it's the least-expensive way to own the most full-featured Gear. It runs the same apps as the Gear 2, has the same screen and processor, and does absolutely everything the Gear 2 does, including track heart rate and change the channels on your TV -- except it lacks a camera, and it's made entirely of plastic.

Black, gray, or orange: the Gear 2 Neo comes clad in one of these colors, from wristband to watch body, in basic plastic. The display, glass-covered, has a brilliantly bright AMOLED touchscreen. In plastic, the Neo feels more like a futuristic Swatch than the more metal-clad Gear 2.

The watchband can be replaced, either with another Gear band or most 22mm watchbands. It involves sliding a pin out and possibly removing links if the replacement is a metal band, but at least the Neo's own band has easy pop-out pins. It still feels like a project.

The Neo charges via Micro USB but needs a clip-on plastic dongle to attach to the Neo's rear contact points. It's annoying but a lot more compact than last year's Galaxy Gear charging cradle. A full charge, which take a couple of hours, lasts around three to four days while connected to your phone, longer if offline.

The Gear 2 Neo has a ton of baked-in features: a stopwatch and timer, a weather app, an IR-based WatchOn TV remote control, notifications for all apps that ping your Samsung phone regularly, an onboard offline music player, a heart-rate monitor and pedometer, and a microphone and speaker for making phone calls, recording voice memos, using S-Voice voice recognition, and playing back music loudly to annoy everyone around you. That's lots more than the Pebble watch offers, on paper.

The Gear 2 Neo's basic exercise-logging functions -- the pedometer and the sometimes-helpful heart-rate monitor would be great if they were more reliable, but they don't make the grade. Maybe new firmware or software could fix the problems. Right now, it's not enough.

The Gear 2 Neo is the best Samsung smartwatch yet, but it's not yet an essential smartwatch.

The biggest problem with all of Samsung's current wearables are their dependence on Samsung phones to pair with. If the Gear 2 Neo worked with more phones, I'd like it more. It's priced lower than the Pebble Steel, and losing the Gear 2's camera and metal design are well worth it for the extra hundred dollars in savings. There are clear hardware advantages to the Gear 2 Neo's many extra features, but they're collectively a jumble versus being a coherent wrist-worn whole.

On the eve of new Google wearable devices, due possibly as soon as at Google's developer conference in late June, you're better off waiting. Samsung may have improved its wearable hardware, but the software it's running could be a lot better. And, by the end of this year, Samsung may very well have other watches that are better still. I'd want to see what Android Wear is all about before making the leap to Gear. But if you really want a smartwatch now, and you want one that works with Samsung phones, the Gear 2 Neo is the best bet. It's a very solid leap forward...it's just not fully there yet.

PROS:

Samsung's Gear 2 Neo comes with a more attractive price, a feature set that's nearly identical to the more expensive Gear 2, and a lot of bells and whistles including apps, offline music playback, and heart-rate monitoring.

CONS:
Many of the extras don't work as smoothly as you'd expect. Fitness features aren't well thought out, need polishing. Works only with Samsung phones and tablets.

The Bottom Line
The Gear 2 Neo offers the best balance of features and price among Samsung's three 2014 smartwatches, but it falls short of must-have status.

Samsung Gear is compatible with 17 types of device models :
Samsung Galaxy S5 / Galaxy Grand 2 / Galaxy Note 3 / Galaxy Note 3 Neo / Galaxy Note 2 / Galaxy S4 / Galaxy S3 / Galaxy S4 Zoom / Galaxy S4 Active / Galaxy S4 mini /
Galaxy Mega 6.3 / Galaxy Mega 5.8 / Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) / Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) / Galaxy TabPRO (12.2/10.1/8.4)

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The Samsung Gear 2 - Product Review

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Match the Samsung Gear 2 with your style and mood with more color options to show off your individuality! It also allows you to decorate your own customized screen. Choose and change styles and designs of your clock, wallpapers, and font.

The Samsung Gear 2 allows you to make and receive calls and read more on a large sAMOLED display making communication smooth and seamless. It enables you to receive instant notifications from your phone and apps plus a variety of 3rd party apps which you can view clearly on a sAMOLED screen.

With the built-in camera, Gear 2 equips you to easily capture

and record day to day moments as they happen with its FHD stillshot and 720p video recording. It provides personalized real-time information on the progress and results of your workout by deploying the device’s optical heart rate sensor. Personalized and adaptive next workout recommendation will help you to exercise according to your individual needs.

Gear 2’s Standalone Music Player connects with Bluetooth headsets to bring musical enjoyment to your fitness routines without the need to carry around a smartphone.

Samsung Gear 2 is resistant to dust and water which is IP67 certified so that you don’t have to feel limited by rough conditions or unpredictable weather.

Samsung Gear 2 acts as a remote control as the WatchON Remote with its IrLED sensor equips you with more control over your TV and Set-Top Boxes. It is compatible with a variety of Galaxy smartphones and tablets plus a wide range of 3rd party apps enabling more connection with your devices.

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Pros:

-- Camera: The Gear's 1.9-megapixel camera also shoots 720p HD video for up to 10 minutes.

-- Display: The Gear's screen may measure a scant 1.63 inches, but the 320 x 320-pixel resolution ALOMED display is gorgeous.

-- Speakerphone: Throw in support for Samsung's S Voice command system and you have a watch you can talk to all day long.

-- Find My Phone: If it's within range (about 30 feet), the Gear can be used to set off an alarm to find the misplaced phone.

Cons:

-- Smartphone Dependent: You need to be within 30 feet of your smartphone to get those. Worse, it will only work with the new Galaxy Note 3 smartphone at first. No Note 3, no Gear.

-- No Wi-Fi: 

-- Cumbersome Charger: The charger for the device snaps on like a protective shell. It protects the Gear while it is charging, but renders much of the device useless because it obstructs the Gear's only button.

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