My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: Samsung Galaxy Gear was not all that it promised - Wearable Computing Renaissance and smartphone and Tablet Extinction once improved

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Samsung Galaxy Gear was not all that it promised - Wearable Computing Renaissance and smartphone and Tablet Extinction once improved




As expected, the Samsung Galaxy Gear was not all that it promised to be as reported in Kelroy’s Geezam blog article entitled “Samsung Introduces GALAXY Gear, a Wearable Device to Enhance the Freedom of Mobile Communications”. The Battery life is less than the months and weeks needed to make it a hit and it’s not synchable with ANY Android smartphone…….at least not now!




Worse, it doesn’t provide any Proximity Alert functions nor does it sport any functions that’d make it a keeper. It’s just a big Dick Tracey smartphone Wristwatch as I’d predicted in my blog article entitled “Samsung Galaxy Gear Launches Wednesday September 4th 2013 - Smartwatches specs need sub-US$199 and Stellar Battery Life to make a Getaway”.

These things, albeit minor, make a lot of difference. Especially when dealing with a product that’ll have to adorn your hand and match with your clothes. So as much as the Samsung Galaxy Gear look cool, they also have to be fashionable, something Samsung may not have considered, hence their Dick Tracey plastic rubberized bands.

Samsung, apparently made them for the Geeks in mind instead of the General public. They’ve crammed so much smartphone functionality into the smartwatch that it makes synching pointless. Worse, even if it synching comes for other smartphones, it’ll still be unable to utilize most of the Samsung specific Apps available on the TouchWiz interface.
But I still have great hopes for smartwatches and even Google Glasses, both of which I’m predicting will end up making the smartphone and Tablet obsolete by 2015 as stated in my blog article entitled “Google Glass Designer Isabelle Olsson puts Leopard frames on Google Glass - Smart + Sexy = Smexy glasses Katy Perry Roar for Tablet and smartphone Extinction”.

In short, what Samsung needs to become the next viable replacement for the smartphone is the following:

1.      Smartphone compatibility with ANY Android phone
2.      Smaller form factor akin to the Nike FuelBand or Embrace+ Bracelet as stated in my blog article entitled “Kickstarter Project Embrace+Bracelet lights up for your smartphone notifications - Inspiration for our local Innovators to Shine Like a Diamond Rihanna Style
3.      Stylings and size to look like a regular wristwatch
4.      Come in a variety of Metallic Colours typical of most wristwatches
5.      Use Tizen OS instead of Google Android OS
6.      Notifications hub for SMS, email, Facebook, Twitter and other Social Networks
7.      Proximity alert to warm you if you’ve strayed too far from your smartphone
8.      Battery life measured in Months and weeks, not hours or days
9.      Removal of the need to recharge by built in self-recharging Technology


An example of this kind of wristwatch is the Nissan Nismo, a smartwatch that synchronizes with Nissan Nismo series of High Performance Cars, allowing the user to control the Car as stated in the article “Nissan races into smartwatch space with the Nismo, connecting driver and car”, September 9, 2013, By Trevor Mogg, DigitalTrends.   

This is a good example of a smartphone integration with an existing product, in this case a line of automobiles. It’s an example of how smartwatch may function in the future, that being specific to a device or product. For the smartwatch to achieve mass adoption, it has to be tied to product and be able to synch and communicate with other products via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct or any of the various communications protocols that exist.


Mass adoption can only be achieved when smartwatches not only prove their usefulness, but also blend seamlessly into everyday life. Like the Google Glass, the smartwatch has to basically become so indispensable to the point that it’s becomes inseparable from the function of many devices, bucking the trend of having smartphones.

Once the technology hurdles as described in my blog article entitled “Google Glass Designer Isabelle Olsson puts Leopard frames on Google Glass - Smart + Sexy = Smexy glasses Katy Perry Roar for Tablet and smartphone Extinction” are overcome, Wearable Computing Renaissance would be upon us. Extinction of the smartphone and Tablet would be assured.

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