Samsung announces Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches

As we told you last week, Samsung has now announced the Gear and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches with both running the Tizen OS. The utilisation of the Tizen OS has led Samsung to drop “Galaxy” from the product name.

Thew new OS is just part of the changes, though. The hardware’s been revamped as well. The Gear 2 sports a 1.63-inch (320 by 320) Super AMOLED display and it’s all powered by a dual-core processor running at 1 GHz, has 512MB of RAM and 4GB of on-board storage.

The Gear 2 has a 300 mAh battery, which Samsung says will last two to three days with “typical” usage, or up to six days with low usage.

The Gear 2 sports a 2-megapixel camera with autofocus that’ll shoot in three resolutions — 1920×1080, 1080×1080 and 1280×960. It also has the “Sound and shot” feature to give some context to your images, location tagging and signatures.

The Gear 2 Neo has no camera.

Display 1.63-inch Super AMOLED (320 x 320) Processor 1.0 GHz Dual Core Processor Operating system Tizen-based wearable platform Camera (Gear 2 only) 2.0 Megapixel Auto Focus (1920×1080, 1080×1080, 1280×960) Video Codec: H.264, H.263; Format: 3GP, MP4; HD(720p, @30fps) Playback & Recording Audio Codec: MP3/AAC/AMR/Vorbis; Format: MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG Camera Features Auto Focus Camera, Sound & Shot, Location Tags, Signature Fitness features 1. Heart Rate sensor; 2. Pedometer; 3. Exercise (Standalone Modes: Running, Walking; Companion Modes: Cycling, Hiking); 4. Sleep & Stress (Downloadable) Music Music Player with Bluetooth Headset and Speaker Watch-on Remote Remote Controller via IrLED Sensor Basic Features Bluetooth Call, Camera, Notification(SMS, E-mail, Apps) Apps Media Controller, Schedule, Smart Relay, S Voice, Stopwatch, Timer, Weather Downloadable features Calculator, ChatON, Flashlight, Quick Settings, Voice Memo Gear 2 strap options Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange Gear 2 Neo strap options Charcoal Black, Mocha Grey and Wild Orange Ruggedness IP67 Certified Dust and Water Resistant, Noise Cancellation Featured apps Banjo, BMW, CNN , Conde Nast, Expedia, eBay, Evernote, Feedly, GARMIN, Glympse, GM (Onstar 4GLTE), iControl, Line, Path, Paypal, RUNTASTIC, Volkswagen, Weather Channel, Under Armour (Map my fitness). Samsung Services Samsung Apps Connectivity Bluetooth® v4.0 LE, IrLED< Sensors Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart Rate Memory 512MB RAM Storage 4GB Dimensions Gear 2: 36.9 x 58.4x 10.0 mm, 68g; Gear 2 Neo: 37.9 x 58.8 x 10.0mm, 55g Battery life Li-ion 300mAh; Typical Usage 2~3 days, Low Usage up to 6 days Apps

Samsung has a suite of its own apps on the Gear 2t: Bluetooth Call, Camera, Notification(SMS, E-mail, Apps), Media Controller, Schedule, Smart Relay, S Voice, Stopwatch, Timer and Weather.  Other downloadable apps include a calculator, ChatON, flashlight, quick settings and voice memo.

Other available apps include:

Banjo BMW CNN Conde Nast Expedia eBay Evernote Feedly GARMIN Glympse GM (Onstar 4GLTE) iControl Line Path Paypal RUNTASTIC Volkswagen Weather Channel Under Armour (Map my fitness)

You’ll be able to use it as a heart-rate sensor, pedometer and generic exercise tracker.

There is no word of pricing but both watches are expected to be available in March. [signoff predefined=”Enjoy this?” icon=”icon-users”][/signoff]