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 â€â€Ã‚ 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]
