My wrist has only so much room and the Fitbit Force has won the shoving match against the mighty Galaxy Gear. by Brian Bennett October 11, 2013 8:58 AM PDT (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) I've had a love affair with high-tech watches for as long as I can remember. I still recall with fondness my beloved Casio Marlin W-300 which I cherished as a tot. I've also proudly worn some truly laughable devices out in public, much to my friends' annoyance and eventual entertainment. Remember the Pimp series from Tokyo Flash? On second thought perhaps it's better that you don't. That's why I was beside myself with shock when I decided to put down the robust Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch in favor of Fitbit's new Force fitness tracker. I know it's no true smartwatch but the Force efficiently doubles as both powerful health device and futuristic time piece. I had high hopes for Sony's first smartwatch. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) My freaky wrist gear fetish When Samsung officially gave birth to the Galaxy Gear I practically vibrated with excitement and anticipation. And when the company was kind enough to drop one of its latest gizmos into my eager hands, a long with the excellent Note 3, I was overjoyed. I should have known better though. My previous history with the nascent smartwatch product category, i.e. wrist-borne devices that tell time and talk to smartphones, has been a rocky one. Related stories Smartwatches pose real estate challenges, says Sony CEO iWatch won't be 'needle-mover,' but Apple could sell 10M in first year Smartwatches: Staying power or fleeting technology? Both the Motorola Motoactv and Sony Smartwatch had lots of potential but didn't quite deliver whether in terms of design, functionality, or runtime. That said they came a heck of a lot closer to being devices I'd actually use regularly than other clunkers I've seen. I mean the Metawatch and I'm Watch are particularly flaming trainwrecks (sorry guys nothing personal) I wouldn't bestow on my despised enemies. The Galaxy Gear's sweet hardware is undone by software limitations. (Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET) Power and style without purpose The Galaxy Gear, however, is another story entirely which makes it all the more tragic a tale to tell. It's practically a micro-computer attached to your arm. Running a modified version of Android driven by an 800MHz processor and 512MB of RAM, it has the chops to run full Android apps. The Gear is a well-crafted hunk of mobile hardware too with a bright OLED screen and metal construction. Sadly, despite its power the Gear fails utterly at what a general purpose smartwatch is supposed to do. That primary task being to screen all your digital communication so you touch your phone less. With no way to see glanceable contents of gmail and social media alerts, arguably the bulk of what most people grab their handset for in the first place, the Gear essentially becomes a geeky and expensive $300 conversation piece. The watch's 24 hour battery life, while longer than say the Sony Smartwatch's runtime of 6 to 8 hours, still means you'll need to charge it every day or so. Lastly, the fact that the Gear works with just one phone, the Note 3, is the final straw. Frankly I find the whole Gear situation a sad state of affairs because I really wanted to like this device and I still believe it has tons of potential. The Fitbit Force's combo of fitness tracking and watch abilities are compelling. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) A force I can't resist Now enter the Fitbit Force, which for $129.95 is sleek, small, light, and functions as an advanced pedometer and fitness tracker. It also can log your sleep, sync via Bluetooth with iPhones and select Samsung handsets, plus connect users to the vast analytical tools Fitbit has built online. Next throw in its bright OLED screen which displays the time and allows the Force to function as a watch, and you begin to see its strong appeal. The Force is water resistant too so jumping into the shower with it or wearing the gizmo in a tropical downpour won't give you extra stress. I also prefer committing to product that lasts for 7 to 10 days as opposed to the Gear's short 24 hour battery life. The Force's promised caller notifications (on iOS only) are icing on the cake. Let's hope these abilities migrate to Android phones one Kit Kat comes calling. Of course this doesn't mean that I won't be tempted to grab the Galaxy Gear and strap it on in the future. Far from it. If Samsung, or more likely the clever hacking community, bestow onto the Gear the gift of universal Android support (regardless of phone maker) and support for real notifications (from your app of choice), well count me back in.
My wrist has only so much room and the Fitbit Force has won the shoving match against the mighty Galaxy Gear.
I've had a love affair with high-tech watches for as long as I can remember. I still recall with fondness my beloved Casio Marlin W-300 which I cherished as a tot. I've also proudly worn some truly laughable devices out in public, much to my friends' annoyance and eventual entertainment. Remember the Pimp series from Tokyo Flash? On second thought perhaps it's better that you don't.
That's why I was beside myself with shock when I decided to put down the robust Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch in favor of Fitbit's new Force fitness tracker. I know it's no true smartwatch but the Force efficiently doubles as both powerful health device and futuristic time piece.
I had high hopes for Sony's first smartwatch.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
My freaky wrist gear fetish
When Samsung officially gave birth to the Galaxy Gear I practically vibrated with excitement and anticipation. And when the company was kind enough to drop one of its latest gizmos into my eager hands, a long with the excellent Note 3, I was overjoyed. I should have known better though. My previous history with the nascent smartwatch product category, i.e. wrist-borne devices that tell time and talk to smartphones, has been a rocky one.
Related stories
- Smartwatches pose real estate challenges, says Sony CEO
- iWatch won't be 'needle-mover,' but Apple could sell 10M in first year
- Smartwatches: Staying power or fleeting technology?
Both the Motorola Motoactv and Sony Smartwatch had lots of potential but didn't quite deliver whether in terms of design, functionality, or runtime. That said they came a heck of a lot closer to being devices I'd actually use regularly than other clunkers I've seen. I mean the Metawatch and I'm Watch are particularly flaming trainwrecks (sorry guys nothing personal) I wouldn't bestow on my despised enemies.
The Galaxy Gear's sweet hardware is undone by software limitations.
(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)
Power and style without purpose
The Galaxy Gear, however, is another story entirely which makes it all the more tragic a tale to tell. It's practically a micro-computer attached to your arm. Running a modified version of Android driven by an 800MHz processor and 512MB of RAM, it has the chops to run full Android apps. The Gear is a well-crafted hunk of mobile hardware too with a bright OLED screen and metal construction.
Sadly, despite its power the Gear fails utterly at what a general purpose smartwatch is supposed to do. That primary task being to screen all your digital communication so you touch your phone less. With no way to see glanceable contents of gmail and social media alerts, arguably the bulk of what most people grab their handset for in the first place, the Gear essentially becomes a geeky and expensive $300 conversation piece.
The watch's 24 hour battery life, while longer than say the Sony Smartwatch's runtime of 6 to 8 hours, still means you'll need to charge it every day or so. Lastly, the fact that the Gear works with just one phone, the Note 3, is the final straw. Frankly I find the whole Gear situation a sad state of affairs because I really wanted to like this device and I still believe it has tons of potential.
The Fitbit Force's combo of fitness tracking and watch abilities are compelling.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
A force I can't resist
Now enter the Fitbit Force, which for $129.95 is sleek, small, light, and functions as an advanced pedometer and fitness tracker. It also can log your sleep, sync via Bluetooth with iPhones and select Samsung handsets, plus connect users to the vast analytical tools Fitbit has built online.
Next throw in its bright OLED screen which displays the time and allows the Force to function as a watch, and you begin to see its strong appeal. The Force is water resistant too so jumping into the shower with it or wearing the gizmo in a tropical downpour won't give you extra stress. I also prefer committing to product that lasts for 7 to 10 days as opposed to the Gear's short 24 hour battery life. The Force's promised caller notifications (on iOS only) are icing on the cake. Let's hope these abilities migrate to Android phones one Kit Kat comes calling.
Of course this doesn't mean that I won't be tempted to grab the Galaxy Gear and strap it on in the future. Far from it. If Samsung, or more likely the clever hacking community, bestow onto the Gear the gift of universal Android support (regardless of phone maker) and support for real notifications (from your app of choice), well count me back in.
