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The Gear fit
- Thread starter The Game 161
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OK, I'm back on the bandwagon now. It's really going to come down to this, the Moto 360 or the new iWatch.
I have the gear so part of me thinks it's pointless but as someone who likes fitness other part of me thinks it would be useful
on three it's £200 but cheaper on unlockedmobiles where it is £164.
havn't checked amazon yet though.
havn't checked amazon yet though.
I played with one today when I was at Best Buy to pick up a Chromecast for my mom and it was just kind of okay. The rubber band felt really cheap and it doesn't come across as worth $200. I was actually more blown away by the S5 than the Gear Fit.
http://www.gizmag.com/gear-fit-review/31637/
http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-gear-fit/
I just got one in today, with an eye towards giving them as birthday gifts later this year.
To my surprise, it's at least temporarily changed my mind about needing a super smartwatch that does everything.
The Fit is good looking, unobtrusively lightweight, easy to use, and it's subtly luxurious to get gentle vibrating mail / call / weather / etc notifications while I sit a few feet from my phone, which is just out of reach in its charger on another desk.
I'm not a health nut, so I can't speak to the pedometer, heartbeat counter, or exercise and sleep analyzers, but they look okay to me. It also has a timer and stopwatch.
It doesn't have third party apps like my larger smartwatches, so I don't sit there and diddle with it all the time. It just does what it does, simply and with some style.
The only thing I might wish, is that it would switch between landscape and portrait somehow automatically instead of just letting you set it one way or the other. Hmm. Also, you can tell the phone to answer, but it'd be nice if it automatically could go into speaker phone mode. Maybe there's a way.
You've got me wanting to bite the bullet and pick this up. I almost want to bite the bullet and just get a Gear 2. I figure I can sell it later if something better comes out. Hmmmm.
Let me see if it really lasts 2-3 days like they say. I think that's why I'm liking it compared to my "real" smartwatches that only last a day. Who knows, perhaps I'll dislike it again when I have to charge it. lol
Let's see. I didn't charge it at all before using it. (It came with about 95%.) It's been almost 24 hours and it's at 68%... after my playing with it a bit at first, and having it count my steps yesterday, and watch my sleep last night.
And yeah, I too would swap this for the Moto 360... as long as the latter lasts a few days.
My birthday is coming up...
Doc, I hear it's also nice to GIVE presents on one's birthday
I do wish it was half the price (I paid $190 on eBay and got it the next day).
--
Oh, and something else I meant to mention. I'm using it with my work phone (Note 3) from Verizon. When the Fit powers up, it wants to link to the Gear Fit Manager on your phone. You get that app from the Samsung Apps store... which apparently Verizon deleted when we got the last Note update.
So first I tried to reload the Samsung Apps app, but that didn't work. Eventually I found the apks I needed (Manager and Heatlh app) elsewhere, and all was well:
Article here: How to make the Fit work with other Android phones.
(Look for the links in the sentence: "All you’ll need is a copy of the official Samsung Gear Fit Manager to side load onto your handset, with the Fitness with Gear apk installed as well. The downloads can be found here and here.")
I did try those apks with my old Galaxy Nexus, but they didn't work.
Had it for two days - works well
I have had the Gear Fit for a couple of days now, and it works seamlessly with my Note 3.
I tried the previous Gear once (the new ones are more or less the same size), and it was simply a bit too large and clunky for me even though I would like the extra functionality (voice search, camera, using it for phone calls, IR-blaster that can control your TV and so on) that it offers. Size and battery capacity counts against it for me right now - but maybe next generation...
The Fit is more basic, but you get notifications when e-mails, texts and phone calls arrive. You can also control media playback and volume (not only the stock music player but also Spotify, podcasts and so on) from it, which is a good thing.
The heart rate monitor seems to work well, the step counter is a bit off and counts rather optimistically. I have seen this mentioned in several reviews, and it will probably be adjusted in an update. After all, counting steps from a device mounted on your arm is probably quite a challenge to get exactly right. The ideal solution would of course be to calibrate it to each person in some way - e.g.: "touch to start calibrating and then walk 100 steps in your usual manner"
All in all the Fit is a cool little device - and it looks great. I am on the third day now since the first charge and it still shows 27% left, so with normal use (I have fiddled a lot with it now in the beginning) it will probably last at least 3 days.
FYI: I posted something very similar as an answer to a question in the Note 3 thread a few minutes ago, but thought the majority of it fit(!) here as well.
I have had the Gear Fit for a couple of days now, and it works seamlessly with my Note 3.
I tried the previous Gear once (the new ones are more or less the same size), and it was simply a bit too large and clunky for me even though I would like the extra functionality (voice search, camera, using it for phone calls, IR-blaster that can control your TV and so on) that it offers. Size and battery capacity counts against it for me right now - but maybe next generation...
The Fit is more basic, but you get notifications when e-mails, texts and phone calls arrive. You can also control media playback and volume (not only the stock music player but also Spotify, podcasts and so on) from it, which is a good thing.
The heart rate monitor seems to work well, the step counter is a bit off and counts rather optimistically. I have seen this mentioned in several reviews, and it will probably be adjusted in an update. After all, counting steps from a device mounted on your arm is probably quite a challenge to get exactly right. The ideal solution would of course be to calibrate it to each person in some way - e.g.: "touch to start calibrating and then walk 100 steps in your usual manner"
All in all the Fit is a cool little device - and it looks great. I am on the third day now since the first charge and it still shows 27% left, so with normal use (I have fiddled a lot with it now in the beginning) it will probably last at least 3 days.
FYI: I posted something very similar as an answer to a question in the Note 3 thread a few minutes ago, but thought the majority of it fit(!) here as well.
there is no such things as for the sake of it. you could always sell your Gear 1.
Could do
I love my fitness so maybe it is a good buy from me.
I'm. Interested if the steps is more accurate than it is on the gear
I went to my local Best Buy to buy a Gear Fit and they were sold out. There was another Best Buy that had 2, but it wasn't worth the drive though rush hour traffic to try and pick it up. I'm going to keep trying. For $200 it seems totally worth it to me. I'll probably check AT&T or Verizon next to see if they have any.
Well, I kind of got my wish. I just noticed that there's a little circular arrow icon on each notification entry, that let's you rotate the screen back to landscape to make it easier to read long emails, texts, or phone call entries. Neat!
I keep finding little extra menus and details that show that someone put some thought into this thing.
Btw, 36 hours so far, and 49% battery left. (I did drop the brightness down a notch, figuring it might help.)
I bought mine from this eBay Buy It Now for $185 with free shipping. I got it the next day in NJ. The seller has sold over 200 of them. Best deal around.
Let me see if it really lasts 2-3 days like they say. I think that's why I'm liking it compared to my "real" smartwatches that only last a day. Who knows, perhaps I'll dislike it again when I have to charge it. lol
Let's see. I didn't charge it at all before using it. (It came with about 95%.) It's been almost 24 hours and it's at 68%... after my playing with it a bit at first, and having it count my steps yesterday, and watch my sleep last night.
And yeah, I too would swap this for the Moto 360... as long as the latter lasts a few days.
Doc, I hear it's also nice to GIVE presents on one's birthday
I do wish it was half the price (I paid $190 on eBay and got it the next day).
--
Oh, and something else I meant to mention. I'm using it with my work phone (Note 3) from Verizon. When the Fit powers up, it wants to link to the Gear Fit Manager on your phone. You get that app from the Samsung Apps store... which apparently Verizon deleted when we got the last Note update.
So first I tried to reload the Samsung Apps app, but that didn't work. Eventually I found the apks I needed (Manager and Heatlh app) elsewhere, and all was well:
Article here: How to make the Fit work with other Android phones.
(Look for the links in the sentence: "All youll need is a copy of the official Samsung Gear Fit Manager to side load onto your handset, with the Fitness with Gear apk installed as well. The downloads can be found here and here.")
I did try those apks with my old Galaxy Nexus, but they didn't work.
Lol, I'll have to buy some gift wrap.
But I've been considering the Fit instead of the Gear 2 lately. I wear a nice watch, of course just for the sense of fashion, and am kind of reluctant to give it up. I can see wearing a Fit on the other wrist mainly for the phone notifications so I can keep my huge Note 3 in my pocket.
Yeah, that's actually what I did at first... wore both my regular watch and the Fit... but only for a few minutes.
It quickly dawned on me that I didn't need the watch any more. It has temporarily at least, joined my other nice watches in my leather watch box.
At the same time (ugh no pun intended), I've always liked to be prepared. Meaning, I like having a regular watch that I can count on.
The longer this Fit lasts, though, the less worried I am. It's been 48 hours now, and it's still at 41%.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331172291638?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
You can get it for $185.99 + free shipping from this person. So tempting to get it.
You can get it for $185.99 + free shipping from this person. So tempting to get it.
Yep, that's where I got mine. (See post #121 above)
Came the next day, which surprised me, even though I'm just one state over.