MWC First Look: Samsung Galaxy Gear Fit

MWC First Looks: Samsung Galaxy Gear Fit.

Wearable tech is really going to take off this year. Last year we so the Galaxy Gear burst onto the scene and though it didn’t get quite the reception it was looking for, it did make us all sit down and seriously contemplate the future of wearable tech. Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest tech shows of the year, and what better place to show off the next in a line of devices bound for glory.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Fit

Fitness bands are really growing in popularity, at CES 2014 we saw a slew of them show up and show out. The LG Lifebands, The Razer Nabu, and the Fit bit Force all made huge splashes at CES this year. Now Samsung is jumping into the ring with the Gear Fit.

The Gear Fit features a curved AMOLED display and also a heart rate monitor. The device will sync with Samsung’s S health application and other 3^rd party fitness tracking apps, while simultaneously syncing with the S5 for control of music answering calls and receiving other notifications from your phone.

This is probably my favorite device to come out from Samsung at MWC. I’m starting to get on the fitness band train and I can’t definitely see their usefulness since I’ve started working out more. Hopefully when I can get the device and use 3^rd party software to integrate it with my Moto X but that’s doubtful and probably a long way off. Still, mad props to Samsung for that little trinket.

If you have any questions or comments leave them below! Thanks for reading!

 

MWC First Looks: Samsung Galaxy S5

The Samsung Galaxy S5 was unveiled as MWC kicked off in Barcelona this week. The Twittersphere was buzzing and from the look of some of the videos I’ve seen, everyone was clambering to catch a look at the next gen galaxy device.  Here is my first impressions of the device.

Samsung Galaxy S5

The long wait is over for all of you Galaxy lovers. The S5 is here sporting a shiny new 5.1 inch 1080p display. The have upgraded the memory to 16 GB and 32 GB and if that’s not enough they have given you a microSD slot for memory expansion.

New to the list of features is Water resistance. Apparently, the new flagship device can handle being submerged in water up to a meter for up to a half an hour. Now that doesn’t mean can take it with you when you do a few laps in the pool, but in the event that you have rowdy friends like mine, the occasional, “accidental”, push into the pool is bound to happen,  and at least you won’t have to get a new phone.

Quite possible the most interesting new feature is the heart rate monitor located on the back next to the flash. You simply open up the S health app and put your finger on the small area next to your LED flash and it shows your pulse on screen with your heart rate and other useful information for those fitness nuts out there.

To combat the super popular fingerprint scanner of the IPhone 5s Samsung incorporated its own fingerprint scanner into the home button of the S5. All you do is swipe your finger across the home button and the device unlocks. It also allows you to make PayPal transactions.  

Those of you who know me know that there is no love lost between me and Samsung and this is no different. I don’t hate the galaxy line and I do think they are top of the line as far as the spec sheet goes. They are simply “not my cup of tea.” The few added features don’t really do much for me. In fact I’m more interested in Samsung’s new sportsbands and wearable tech, than I am there flagship phones.

I’ll give a full review of the Galaxy S5 when it hits stores this April. Let me know what you think so far of the list of new features. If you have a questions please leave them below! Thanks for reading!

Its almost time! MWC!

Mobile World Congress will be full boar next week and I’m looking forward to all the coverage. While I would love to be there in person, I cannot. To much going on at school and I think I am still recovering from my birthday shenanigans.

Anyway, the tech world is ablaze with rumors that sure to be put to rest after MWC is over.  Not to mention the unveiling of the latest editions of some of our favorite handsets. Here is just a short list of what I’m looking forward too as MWC approaches.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Last month Samsung addressed the tech world in an interestingly ambiguous fashion. A simple “save the date went out into the tech world that solidified, well, something. The “Unpacked 5” campaign is set to take off Monday February 24^th during the MWC kickoff. The assumption is that Samsung will show off its new flagship the Galaxy S5 and we will finally be able to answer some very interesting questions about the phone. The wait is almost over.

HTC One

I’m personally hoping that the new HTC one design shows up at MWC. Rumors have been flying around about the new redesign and I’m really hoping that some of them, like the slimmer bezel are true. The HTC one was a smashing devices because of its original unibody design, the employment tiny of beats audio speakers on the top and bottom and the UI redesign. Not to mention its hardware helped it fly, and I mean FLY, though processes. I’m not a huge Samsung fan so to see some powerhouse competition in the building would be music to my ears

Curved Devices

In the final quarter of last year we saw curved displays and devices begin to emerge. Samsung and LG both delivered their first respective bids into the curved television market and even put a couple of curved handsets out there, the Samsung Galaxy Round and the LG G Flex. There was a lot of talk about them but as the year came to a close, I don’t think the devices gained a lot of traction with consumers. I, myself, think that while the idea of curved devices is interesting, there is really no demand for it. I like my flat Moto X screen the way it is and don’t really see the point in changing the viewing angles.

Never the less, we could see a few curved and flexible devices at MWC 2014. Maybe the other OEM’s like Nokia, or Motorola, have been keeping things extra quiet and they have some trick up there sleeve that will change my mind.

It’s not just the tech the geeks me up over MWC. The environment and the happenings are such a huge part of the experience that is Mobile World Congress.

Fira De Barcelona

Fira de Barcelona is one of the biggest trade show venues in Europe, over the course of a year. Over the years it has added over 70 annual, biannual, and biennial to the venues portfolio, bringing together over 30,000 companies and around 2.5 million visitors. It has two exhibition centers, Montjulc and Gran Via, the latter of which MWC centers around. It’s a beautiful area and I’m supremely jealous of anyone who gets to go.

Coverage

Some of my favorite tech bloggers and tech companies are all going to be under the same roof! Relaying their coverage of these exhibitions and tradeshows can be difficult and taxing. I really enjoy not only hearing about the new tech all the companies are showing off, but I also really enjoy when my favorite video bloggers show their fans how they make it through a whole week of day in and day out technologic sensory overload. They show off their essentials packs and sometimes there are some really cool things in there. A couple of years ago I saw a backpack that a video blogger used to carry his gear all day and I thought it would be good to have on campus going from class to class. So I bought it. I still use it to this day and it by far is one of the best backpacks I’ve ever owned.

This next week is going to be huge and I cannot wait. I’ll try to keep up with news and relay it as I find out but there is a huge possibility that I will be distracted by tests and papers due (ewwww) the same week as MWC. If my job were to read and watch coverage of MWC I would make stacks of money. The only thing better would be to live at such an event for a week. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my coverage, of the coverage, at Mobile World Congress. Any questions or comments leave them below! Thanks again!

Windows Phone Staying is Staying Out of the Ring Next Week

Android is looking like it’s going to be the front running OS next week at mobile world congress. All the prime players (LG, Samsung, Sony and Acer) will be poised to unveil their latest and greatest devices. In a somewhat puzzling move, Nokia, who employs primarily windows os on its devices, is holding a separate press conference where it will reveal its brand spanking new Nokia X. Nokia X will be the first premium smartphone built by the company that uses android and not windows.

Nokia is the biggest partner for windows in the handset market, but they aren’t the only manufacturer.  Heavy hitters Samsung and HTC both make windows phones and neither of them have prepared anything for this event using a windows OS.

I guess I’m just surprised. Windows phone OS has made drastic improvements and I do enjoy the UI very much. It’s odd that for one of the biggest trade shows for handsets this year that they would have nothing in competition for best in show.

Thanks for reading and be prepared to be slammed with news and coverage from MWC next week! I’ll try to minimalize my excitement to just the important stuff! Any questions or comments you can leave them below. Thanks again!