Bulbs & Fittings Ideas

This is coming from someone who has a Pebble, a Sony Smartwatch 2, and the Gear 1.

http://youtu.be/TPO9ELjHMpU

I compare the Gear Neo to the Pebble there
Out of those 3, the Gear 1 actually had the best build followed closely by the Smartwatch 2. The Pebble was the absolute worst because it looks and feels like a toy. However, I use the Pebble the most because it is the most convenient and works extremely well.

That was until this Neo became the One (get it?). The Neo is the best smartwatch currently out. At it's price its only slightly more than a Pebble and it's far more useful. First off, the Neo is plastic so it's lightweight and comfortable. It's a lovely matte plastic and it looks clean and streamlined. The screen is beautiful and it took a page out of the Pebble by shutting off the screen until you flick your wrist. The watch detects the movement and the screen lights up.

One thing that really bothered me about the Pebble was the display. I actually like the retro monochromatic screen but whenever I wore polarized sunglasses I couldn't read the screen. This means while I was driving, the Pebble essentially couldnt serve its purpose. The Sony SW2 was better, but the screen was hazy and no where near the level of the Gear 1 or Neo.

I know people had concerns that Samsung moved over to Tizen instead of Android for the Gear 2 but it's actually a benefit. I'm not sure if android is suited for wearables (Moto 360 and the LG Watch may prove otherwise) but there was some lag on the Gear 1 that is no longer there.

I particularly like being able to sync songs into the watch. When I work out or go for a run, I can have the watch and a bluetooth headset. No longer do I have to strap on my Note 3 to my arm. The fact that there's a heart rate monitor, pedometer, and music player all on the wrist is unbelievably convenient.

The Neo represents the best buy out of the entire line of gen 2 Gear watches. This is the same price as the Gear Fit so I don't know why anyone would choose that unless they prefer the design. I dont think the Gear 2 is worth an extra 0 over the Neo. It has full stainless body but the camera is pretty pointless and the novelty wears off quickly (Happened on the first gen Gear).

It's pretty amazing that the Neo can be priced at 9 and have so many features built in. I think it might need a software update to fix some minor hiccups and I'll revise my review when that happens.
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So far battery life has been great. For having a bright screen, this lasts me 2-3 days. It would get more but I have notifications sets for facebook, texts, email and google hang outs.

I love that you can set specific apps that you want notifications from. For instance I get no Google+ notifications, but I get hangouts. The ability to filter what you receive is great.

One suggestion I would say if you are using this to control music in your car is to set the "double tap" option to control music. When the screen times out, you have to scroll to get back into the music app to change songs because the watch automatically goes back to the homescreen. It's dangerous to swipe constantly just to change songs.

By double pressing the center button, the app comes right up and I swipe to the song I want. Also, its easier to keep your eyes on the road when you push a physical button (one benefit of the pebble) rather than trying to find an icon out of 4 items on the screen.

Heart rate monitor also works better when you turn the watch to the inside of your wrist.

Initially I liked the Gear2. I saw no point or use case for a camera on my wrist, so I opted for the neo.

It's lightweight and easy to use. The design is OK, but it would benefit from a little more investment in in materials, like a metal bezel, but the same thing can be said of the phones (boy, Samsung loves plastics!).

However, firstly, as other reviewers note, the the heart rate monitor is totally useless in any fitness application. You have to stand totally still and not even speak. Even then it gets a heart rate less than 50% of the time. This watch is NOT going to replace your running watch and and chest strap!

I would forgive that, although their marketing is totally mis-leading (showing photos of people in active sports!), however, today, on day 17, the home key button just fell off, all on its own.

The watch only has one button, at least it could stay on!

I'm now stuck with Samsung's appalling after care service. The service manager told me they needed at least 1-2 days to investigate it, I showed him the hole where the button used to be, and pointed out it didn't need much investigation! They said it would take a week, which is totally unacceptable. After a long discussion they admitted that have no spare parts or replacements yet. They have not been allocated any supply.

So Samsung is happy to sell you a watch, but not to repair or replace it.

After an hour on the phone to the 'customer service' manager (who's main training was finding 100 ways to say 'NO'), they have promised to replace the unit, as assign as soon as can locate a new one. I pointed out that every store is selling them, so it really can take long.

I Iike the core function of getting notifications on on my wrist, and the watch does a good job of the basics, but only lasting 17 days, that is is very poor. 2 stars maybe generous?!