Samsung held its much anticipated event today at the IFA 2013 show in Berlin. As expected, the Korean tech giant unveiled the new Galaxy Note 3 and their first attempt in the smartwatch category, the Galaxy Gear. As reported by cnet.com:
“The Note 3 sports a 5.7-inch, full high-definition screen, a slight boost from the Note 2’s 5.5-inch display. But despite the bigger screen, the Note 3 is thinner and lighter, measuring 8.3mm and weighing just 168g. It’s easy to hold in one hand — in terms of weight, anyway; you can’t work the screen with one hand unless you’re the hitchhiker with the massive thumbs from that Uma Thurman film.
“The screen is as bright, colourful, and responsive as we’ve come to expect. You can do everything with your fingertip, as on most tablets, but the S Pen stylus gives you even finer control.”
The Galaxy Note 3 is a big deal, literally and figuratively, but leading up to the release, it was overshadowed by the anticipated Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Wearable technology is thought to be the next big category and we can expect watches to be a major part of that. As reported by engadget.com:
“The Gear will instead ship with a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 320 x 320. That strap-mounted camera, for its part, is designed to capture low-res shots and 10-second 720p videos, and includes a 1.9-megapixel BSI sensor and an auto-focus lens.
“The big surprise here is third-party applications support — there will be a total of 70 partner programs at launch, including sharing apps like Evernote and Path, fitness companions like RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal, and a handful of other offerings, such as TripIt, Line, Vivino and even eBay. We were caught a bit off guard by the wearable’s limited compatibility, though — at launch, it’ll only work with the Note 3 and Note 10.1, though some Galaxy S4 owners may be able to take advantage soon, after that device scores an update to Android 4.3. Assuming your handset is compatible, the Gear will serve as a companion device, enabling access to features like S Voice, Find My Device, a pedometer and third-party additions including those outlined above.”
One major drawback of the Galaxy Gear is the battery life. Samsung says it will last only one day of “regular use” which is far less than some of the fitness wearable devices that are currently on the market.
However, the Galaxy Gear is more about getting a product out there now, and updating as it goes. As many tech blogs are saying today, the first Galaxy Note wasn’t particularly great, but Samsung redesigned until it became a major part of their portfolio.
Check out videos of the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear.
