Samsung Unveil Galaxy Gear

Today Samsung unveiled a smart watch called the Galaxy Gear

There are a couple of significant downsides that temper my enthusiasm for the new Gear. First and foremost is the speed and intuitiveness of the user interface — or rather, the lack thereof. There’s a tangible lag to anything you do with the Gear, while the swipe gestures are hard to figure out and do different things depending on where you are in the menus.

My thoughts are that Samsung was trying to quickly put a product on the shelf in an attempt to prevent a highly anticipated “iWatch” by Apple later this month. I think that the Galaxy Gear is ugly, seems laggy and too clunky. Personally, I think it does too much of what a smart phone does. Tim Cook has stated previously that if they were to make a new product such as a watch or wrist band, it would have to compliment the smartphone but have features that make it standout.

Update: Sept. 11, 2013

Check out Jon Rettinger’s rant on the Galaxy Gear: