Samsung's latest Galaxy Gear smart watch is much more than just a device to tell the time.
It connects to a Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, Note 2 or Note 3 and will become compatible with the Galaxy S4 mini, S4 Active, Mega 5.8, Mega 6.3, and S4 zoom.
The Galaxy Gear allows you to make and answer calls and view incoming messages and notifications via the watch's 1.63-inch screen. If you want to view the whole notification, you can pick up your Samsung Galaxy device and it will automatically show new messages, missed calls, text messages or any other supported notification in full, without you touching a button.
Smart watches are more likely to enter the boardroom via consumer use cases. Thus far, all the smart watches I've seen have been aimed at early adopters. The market is still waiting for the right combination of practicality, simplicity, and style for the category to go mainstream.
There's a 1.9-megapixel camera onboard, although the photos you can expect to take on the device won't win any awards. You can also control a range of other phone features via the watch, including the music on your mobile nd measuring your activity during the day with a pedometer.
Apps can be installed on the watch, although it's pretty slim pickings at the moment.
The Galaxy Gear has been targeted more at consumers than business users, but with Apple rumoured to launch a watch in the coming months, does this mean a shift for wearable technology like the smart watch? Indeed, we saw business phone policies shift towards BYOD/CYOD as people increasingly turned to the iPhone as an all-in-one business and pleasure solution. Will history repeat itself?
Avi Greengart, research director of consumer devices at Current Analysis, thinks wearable technology and, in particular, smart watches will begin to gain momentum in the workplace.
"I can certainly imagine plenty of business use cases for wearable technology - providing alerts, physical and digital access, personnel tracking, hands-free communication, and more," he said.
"To an extent, these uses are enabled today by other "wearable" technology such as pagers and key cards."
This doesn't mean smart watches will become a business necessity though.
"Smart watches are more likely to enter the boardroom via consumer use cases. Thus far, all the smart watches I've seen have been aimed at early adopters. The market is still waiting for the right combination of practicality, simplicity, and style for the category to go mainstream."
-
Should AI PCs be part of your next hardware refresh?AI PCs are fast becoming a business staple and a surefire way to future-proof your business
-
Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI launch brace of new channel initiativesNews Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI have announced the launch of two new channel growth initiatives focused on the managed security service provider (MSSP) space and AWS Marketplace.
-
A DevOps guide to the Salesforce platformWhitepaper Learn how to ship code faster, safer, and with agility.
-
FDA approves Apple Watch app that helps people with PTSD sleep betterNews The FDA designated NightWare a Breakthrough Device, expediting its development and review
-
Trainline's new API wants to take the pain out of your business tripNews API collects rail journey data across 24 countries to book all your tickets at once
-
Can one mobile device really do it all?Sponsored The HP Elite X3 is a smartphone that wants to be your desktop & laptop, too.
-
Smartwatch security threats: The sky isn’t really fallingOpinion Wearables are too young to pose a real threat to data security, says Davey Winder
-
Apple appoints Jeff Williams as COONews Phil Schiller’s responsibilities expand to include management of App Store across platforms
-
Chinese vendors storm worldwide wearables marketNews However, Fitbit and Apple lead the charge with its wrist-mounted devices
-
Cortana: How she can help your business work harderSponsored Microsoft's digital assistant is baked into Windows 10, and she's going to help your business run better.
