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After owning HTC phones now for over 3 years, when will HTC start listening to people on forums like this one and htcpedia.com, then start making phones with the features that we are asking & waiting for. And just as important when will they start making accessories for these phones. Now owning a Touch HD for over a year I was looking at getting the new HD2, but it appears the mini usb port still does not support music or porting video through it (this is also true on the Touch HD yes I was disappointed when I found out). I would also like to have a built in FM transmitter. I think HTC are missing out on a great future for their phones.
Jez
P.S come on HTC sit up and take notice.
Contact HTC, if there are enough requests, they'll perhaps listen to you. Better than crying here .
Livven said:
Contact HTC, if there are enough requests, they'll perhaps listen to you. Better than crying here .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Livven
Not crying just disappointed with HTC and thinking maybe it’s time to change, to a phone producer that is listening ,it appears that’s exactly what apple are doing. Been in touch with HTC direct about a month after I got the Touch HD asking them to include certain things on the next model and a year later the HD2 was launched which appears to be a big screen HD with no more capabilities.
Cheers jez
I got tired of HTC's short-sightedness and bought an iPhone. It's a nice phone but it doesn't have nearly the feature set of a WinMo phone and Apple is a total pain in the ass. I'm still not thrilled about HTC so I just bought the LG Expo and, as I write this, I'm boxing it up to return it to AT&T. The hardware specs look pretty good but there are just too many things wrong with this phone that can't be overlooked. To start with, the UI is just awful. The bland, painful Microsoft stock UI is actually easier to deal with, in my opinion. It takes a dozen taps to do almost anything and you really need a stylus to get anything done. Which leads to problem #2...the stylus. It's like a little tube of lipstick which also means it's not attached to the phone. I wonder how many days would take before it got lost? You can attach it via a little string but it's beyond stupid that this got past QA. Then there's the GPS. It comes with AT&T's GPS app but I have my own that I've used for quite some over on a variety of phones without a problem. It will not recognize the GPS in the Expo, however, and therefore won't work. Strike three, you're outta here. So as I mentioned, I'm boxing it up and taking it back either for a refund or, if they'll do it, a trade for the Tilt 2 or something from...sigh....HTC. Despite some of the dumb things they do on occasion, HTC is still the best WinMo phone manufacturer I know of.
Hello markgamber
I know where you are coming from I had the Samsung Omnia last year for a month and sent it back because it was crap, it had the same idea for the stylus as well, a piece of string to attach it to the phone. Maybe Iphone is not the way to go then. It’s I’m getting politely frustrated with spending a small fortune on phones that do only half of what I want it to do. That’s the thing, these manufactures forget these phones aren’t cheap to us, it just seems to me they are thick and they think they know what we want . I know what I want on my phone
1. winmo
2. gps for satnav
3. fm transmitter
4. tv out.
5. usb port to play music through using a docking station
6. 3.5mm headphone socket
7. a 5+ meg pixel camera that actually works
8. gprs thats is quicker than the old 56k dial up
And so the storey goes on. Hopefully someone from HTC will read our thoughts and do something about it for the next model. If they do read these comments email me HTC and I will let you know what we want from our £500 phones. Bloody hell more money for a phone than a high spec laptop
markgamber said:
I got tired of HTC's short-sightedness and bought an iPhone. It's a nice phone but it doesn't have nearly the feature set of a WinMo phone and Apple is a total pain in the ass. I'm still not thrilled about HTC so I just bought the LG Expo and, as I write this, I'm boxing it up to return it to AT&T. The hardware specs look pretty good but there are just too many things wrong with this phone that can't be overlooked. To start with, the UI is just awful. The bland, painful Microsoft stock UI is actually easier to deal with, in my opinion. It takes a dozen taps to do almost anything and you really need a stylus to get anything done. Which leads to problem #2...the stylus. It's like a little tube of lipstick which also means it's not attached to the phone. I wonder how many days would take before it got lost? You can attach it via a little string but it's beyond stupid that this got past QA. Then there's the GPS. It comes with AT&T's GPS app but I have my own that I've used for quite some over on a variety of phones without a problem. It will not recognize the GPS in the Expo, however, and therefore won't work. Strike three, you're outta here. So as I mentioned, I'm boxing it up and taking it back either for a refund or, if they'll do it, a trade for the Tilt 2 or something from...sigh....HTC. Despite some of the dumb things they do on occasion, HTC is still the best WinMo phone manufacturer I know of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi Mark
I hear your frustration about the eXpo....I bought a IQ from Telus (the Canadian version of the eXpo) and really didn't like the UI AT FIRST. But the phone has really grown on me. Maybe you should consider keeping it for a couple of weeks, and then giving it back if you still want to.
1) I now find I am figuring out the UI and I am starting to like it. Using Throttle Launcher(free) or Spd Shell($) are both options that are very similar to the TF3D or Sence UI if you really find you want to abandon the S Class UI but I would say try it for a week or two and you may like it...there are things you can do faster than TF3D as well as slower.
2) The stylus situation really sucks. No argument. I have found that after I set my phone up, I can get by without one especially when you figure out how to use the optical mouse functions.
3) GPS I am on Telus, so maybe AT&T has screwed you, but my Garmin Mobile XT software works just fine on my Telus phone. I did have to play a bit though. I installed the Garmin software, and it couldn't find the GPS. I then went into the windows settings, and set up the phone to use COM port 4, and then went into the Garmin setup and selected COM4. STILL no joy. But I then changed the Windows setting back to controlled by windows, and the Garmin software found a "GPS Intermediate Driver". Works great! Locks FAST, and no lag like when I used the Garmin Mobile XT on my Touch Pro.
I have installed Opera Beta 2U, and it with the HSPDA data and the snapdragon it is simply is the best mobile internet experience I have ever used or seen.
Good luck with you Phone hunting,
Hi jez.stix
I have a similar list to you...I got a Telus IQ (Its a Canadian eXpo)
How the IQ compares to your list:
1. winmo
YUP 6.5 (21868)
2. gps for satnav YUP - but check into this (See above ATT may have locked to there software)
3. fm transmitter YUP....sorry! Read this as receiver, Has a FM receiver but no transmitter to go to your car stereo..
4. tv out. YUP
5. usb port to play music through using a docking station ...not sure what you mean here..if you mean like all the docking stuff they sell at Walmart for IPhones..NOPE..of course it has a USB connection.
6. 3.5mm headphone socket NOPE
7. a 5+ meg pixel camera that actually works YUP..works quite well with flash
8. gprs thats is quicker than the old 56k dial up YUP OH YAH BIG TIME
The real down side is that it is not a HTC unit so XDA won't support it the way they do a HTC product. I decided I could live with that but that was the hardest pill to swallow. The build quallity is heads and shoulders above my old HTC Touch Pro
good luck in finding your dream phone.
jez.stix said:
Hello markgamber
I know where you are coming from I had the Samsung Omnia last year for a month and sent it back because it was crap, it had the same idea for the stylus as well, a piece of string to attach it to the phone. Maybe Iphone is not the way to go then. It’s I’m getting politely frustrated with spending a small fortune on phones that do only half of what I want it to do. That’s the thing, these manufactures forget these phones aren’t cheap to us, it just seems to me they are thick and they think they know what we want . I know what I want on my phone
1. winmo
2. gps for satnav
3. fm transmitter
4. tv out.
5. usb port to play music through using a docking station
6. 3.5mm headphone socket
7. a 5+ meg pixel camera that actually works
8. gprs thats is quicker than the old 56k dial up
And so the storey goes on. Hopefully someone from HTC will read our thoughts and do something about it for the next model. If they do read these comments email me HTC and I will let you know what we want from our £500 phones. Bloody hell more money for a phone than a high spec laptop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone is actually pretty nice, I just had a couple technical problems with it and, being a dev, I grew really tired of Apple dictating what I can and can't do with my phone and my apps. The most notable thing about the iPhone is that it's fast. When you start a program, it's up and running in short order and stays fast unless it has to do something really intensive or relies on a slow network connection. This being opposed to WinMo where it can sometimes take forever to do anything. This is, of course, because the iPhone doesn't do much real multitasking but if that's not an issue, then the iPhone probably warrants a look. Another problem I had was that most of the world uses WMV/WMA for streaming audio and video and the iPhone not only doesn't support it, Apple has stated that it won't approve anything that does support it. Sometimes you can get around that using Orb but not always and that leads to the third big problem I had with the iPhone, Apple's little tinpot dictator attitude. I've been using Slingplayer for years on WinMo phones and yes, AT&T says you can't use it but the practical side is that as long as you're not an a-hole about it, they don't really care. The bottom line is that I can make the choice about whether or not I want to use it. iPhone's Slingplayer simply doesn't have the option to work over 3G. In fact, the only app of that kind which did was Orb and, as I hear it, Orb Networks just removed it on orders from AT&T and Apple. Technically yes, you can jailbreak the iPhone, install a hack that fools programs into thinking 3G is wifi and those various programs work, but it's a hack and not something you can count on working with the next system update since Apple is working hard to prevent those kinds of hacks from working. Plus they're starting to be exploited by hackers of a less than friendly nature. The iPhone also didn't support what I considered some basic functionality such as cut/copy/paste, MMS and bluetooth audio, for quite some time. When Apple finally decided to include that functionality, they acted as though they invented it. That continues today with the lack of quite a bit of multimedia types, refusal to allow Flash or any browser other than Safari, any kind of advanced bluetooth functionality, multitasking and so on. Again, if you don't care about any of the above, you should probably take a look at the iPhone if only for comparison. It's also *VERY* finger friendly, much moreso than WinMo, and you don't like having to wield a stylus at all, I'd definitely take a look at the iPhone.
I don't know why these WinMo companies are so slow to adopt things that seem like basic functionality to many users but they do improve their products, albiet slowly at times, and they're still a magnitude better than the competition, in my opinion. The HTC Titan sold by Sprint was, without a doubt, the worse piece of garbage I ever owned. HTC actually had the balls to put a measly 128mb of ram in there, put WinMo 6 on it and then let Sprint add all it's worthless slop to it. The bottom line was that it took half a day to boot and when it was finally done, it left somewhere between 8 and 12mb free...not even enough to run Slingplayer. Sprint charged $600 for that chunk of s*it and when I raised hell about it, Sprint not only refused to take it back, they wouldn't even cut me a break on what I had to buy to replace it. That's why I'm now with AT&T. So HTC (and other companies) do improve their products. One valuable thing about the Titan was that I learned to buy a phone for what it can do, not what it's capable of doing.
That's my main problem with the Expo and why I returned it. On paper it's a nice phone and there's a lot of potential in the hardware that is either unrealized or lost in the mess LG slapped together. Hopefully LG improves the system over time but right now it's pretty awful, in my opinion, and no update will ever help that poorly implemented stylus and, most likely, the poor battery life.
htc response
thanks for your email. You are correct, The HD and HD2 do not have TV out. Only the Touch PR line of devices has TV out for using with presentations and the like. The TV Out function was not highly requested in the market research that we did, so we concentrated on what the request were mostly for...larger screen, multitouch, standard 3.5mm jack etc. TV out was very far down on the list of wanted features. As for the music abilities, the only thing i know of that was removed on the HD2 was the remote control. This has returned on the HD2 as we needed to develop one that worked with the standard 3.5 jack that the majority of our customers wanted. This was the only thing removed from the HD. We think we must be doing something right as we are selling more handsets than ever, and winning lots of awards for our handsets as well. However, obviously you cannot please everyone, and if we have failed to meet your needs then i apologise, and hope that whatever device you choose, whether it be one of ours or not, i hope that you will be happy with it and it is everything you want. Best regards, Pete W HTC
I once contacted HTC about their lack of attention to this site.
The response i got made a lot of sense sadly.
Because of all the ROMs made on here and all the software that we reverse engineer from them and others, they cannot associate themselves with us at all due to illegality.
But still, this being the case, I think they could still use this site as a good place to do market research upon. Just because xda-devs is the largest collection of winmo users in one place that I know of, it seems to be the perfect place for them to go to see what their end users want.
I am a designer myself and it seems stupid to ignore the biggest resource of research and ideas.
Hey guys, I am pretty much here to express why the Gear 2 was such a good idea on paper but terrible in reality. The fact of the matter is the Gear 2 sucks. The apecs are great the screen is beauitful the design isnt half bad if you ask me. But the sheer lack of apps is what makes the smartwatch so gimmicky. Yes I can pick up calls but I mean we can do the same thing with a pair if $20 headphones; so why did i buy a $300 'smart'watch? Well, here us the answer. I though it was better than android wear. For some reason I thought "hey, samsjng makes great products!" Which in reality it does, but Tizen was not the way to go. The sheer lack of apps makes this app a brick if you ask me. Also the lack of compatability! (What were they thinking?!) I mean have you seen how fast android wear is developing?! Its absolutely insane. I guess this a call to action if anythjbg for Samsung to either open up tizen or port Android Wear to the Gear 2 or make it incredibly easy for devs to use Tizen because if it doesn't itll suffer the same fate as any other OS besides Android or Apple (not a threat LOL.)
Post your ideas below.
adr14ng said:
Hey guys, I am pretty much here to express why the Gear 2 was such a good idea on paper but terrible in reality. The fact of the matter is the Gear 2 sucks. The apecs are great the screen is beauitful the design isnt half bad if you ask me. But the sheer lack of apps is what makes the smartwatch so gimmicky. Yes I can pick up calls but I mean we can do the same thing with a pair if $20 headphones; so why did i buy a $300 'smart'watch? Well, here us the answer. I though it was better than android wear. For some reason I thought "hey, samsjng makes great products!" Which in reality it does, but Tizen was not the way to go. The sheer lack of apps makes this app a brick if you ask me. Also the lack of compatability! (What were they thinking?!) I mean have you seen how fast android wear is developing?! Its absolutely insane. I guess this a call to action if anythjbg for Samsung to either open up tizen or port Android Wear to the Gear 2 or make it incredibly easy for devs to use Tizen because if it doesn't itll suffer the same fate as any other OS besides Android or Apple (not a threat LOL.)
Post your ideas below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, the potential is extraorinary with this watch, but Samsung is failing to use this potential. I really hope we get an android wear update some day.
Interesting but I just bought a Gear 2 after selling two Gear Neo and trying Android Wear and also a Sony - for me the simplicity of the Gear is just right.
It's a notification device not a replacement for your mobile.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Free mobile app
Guys I know you might not want to here this but after coming full circle back, I setup my Gear today (this time the Brown/Gold), absolutely loving it.
The grass always seems greener ...
But guess it depends on expectation.
had the original gear then the sony but once wear came out I grabbed myself a lg g watch which i liked but missed the camera all the way through all of them. Picked up a gear 2 changed the strap for metal one and could not be happier Love the camera which is a major need for me and function wise its fine although I'll admit the notifications are not on par with my lg but I prefer a peep to a vibrate too
In short .... I love mine and trust me it turns heads when people notice it.
it might be good on paper but it depends on how someone use a device. I got a free Gear 2neo when I bought my Tab S 8.4, sold the neo and bought myself a gear 2 basically for the camera, and the love-love (no love-hate here for me) relationship began, installed fleksy keyboard and i never have to pull out my tablet when travelling (i commute to one of the most dangerous place in the world LOL) added a few needed apps by editing my tab S build prop so I have the latest gear app list. answering calls with this looks a bit odd but awesome to others, although you hate it when people eavesdrop, so got me-self a gear circle, paired everything up and im a happy man.
camera wise, 2mpxl is enough for those quick snaps, like when a cool lambo stops beside you and you want a quick snapshot.
in the end, it all boils down on how you use it, it may not have all the bells and whistle that other platform has, still.. worth every penny i invested in.
As an owner of the gear 2 neo I feel this device is nearly useless. Unfortunaltey, I couldn't choose the smartwatch as it was a present..
Right now I'm just using it to quickly check notifications, nothing else. Why? Because I hate Touchwiz so:
I don't use their email app -> can't use email feature on the gear
I don't use their sms app -> can't really reply to any message if not through SVoice (but that doesn't work that good)
Can't reply to most of the messages on whatsapp/telegram: maybe with flesky you can but since I'm not english mothertongue, I need to write into another language and I read it's a pain replying this way (if possible, haven't tried).
SVoice is SLOW: you ask for something, it spends too many seconds processing; try google now and you'll see the difference.
Now I'm using a touchwiz based custom rom on my GS4 to take advantage of the little things I can do (read notifications, check calendar, use svoice for replying to sms, check time!) but TW is sluggish and it's just not a good experience.
Also the total lack of any useful app for this smartwatch make it even more useless if possible.
Months have passed since the release of this product and there is no real development, so to me this is a dead product.
OP is partially right, if Samsung ports this to android wear we can still save something, otherwise Tizen isn't going anywhere and this watch will be just junk...
Kwbmm said:
As an owner of the gear 2 neo I feel this device is nearly useless. Unfortunaltey, I couldn't choose the smartwatch as it was a present..
Right now I'm just using it to quickly check notifications, nothing else. Why? Because I hate Touchwiz so:
I don't use their email app -> can't use email feature on the gear
I don't use their sms app -> can't really reply to any message if not through SVoice (but that doesn't work that good)
Can't reply to most of the messages on whatsapp/telegram: maybe with flesky you can but since I'm not english mothertongue, I need to write into another language and I read it's a pain replying this way (if possible, haven't tried).
SVoice is SLOW: you ask for something, it spends too many seconds processing; try google now and you'll see the difference.
Now I'm using a touchwiz based custom rom on my GS4 to take advantage of the little things I can do (read notifications, check calendar, use svoice for replying to sms, check time!) but TW is sluggish and it's just not a good experience.
Also the total lack of any useful app for this smartwatch make it even more useless if possible.
Months have passed since the release of this product and there is no real development, so to me this is a dead product.
OP is partially right, if Samsung ports this to android wear we can still save something, otherwise Tizen isn't going anywhere and this watch will be just junk...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think everything is relative. I love my Gear 2 Neo. I initially was not so sure (have also a pebble) - but now, after wearing it for a couple of days I will be selling the Pebble.
I love the amazing screen - with long battery life (do not want to charge daily - like android wear), the very fast notification; the good selection of useful apps (IR remote; remote view of phone camera; calendar; fitness apps; simple games; many many good watchfaces etc.); the ability to take a quick call on the watch itself...
Also, being able to send SMS messages directly from the watch is in many cases very handy.
I have shown the watch to a few colleagues of mine - now they also want one...
I understand you dont like it - I do. So do people I have showed mine to. ( I do not use Svoice - see no need for it; so I cannot comment on how good or bad it is)
Android Wear may have more apps - but the short battery life and lack of some features (use the watch as a phone, IR blaster etc.) - make Android Wear (for me) quite inferior to the Gear 2 Neo
If Samsung would port Android Wear to the gear 2 neo, so we can keep the features we have AND have the more apps: that would be of course best. But I would think that Android Wear would bring us the "feature" of needing to charge once per day - and that is not a feature I would want
adr14ng said:
Hey guys, I am pretty much here to express why the Gear 2 was such a good idea on paper but terrible in reality. The fact of the matter is the Gear 2 sucks. The apecs are great the screen is beauitful the design isnt half bad if you ask me. But the sheer lack of apps is what makes the smartwatch so gimmicky. Yes I can pick up calls but I mean we can do the same thing with a pair if $20 headphones; so why did i buy a $300 'smart'watch? Well, here us the answer. I though it was better than android wear. For some reason I thought "hey, samsjng makes great products!" Which in reality it does, but Tizen was not the way to go. The sheer lack of apps makes this app a brick if you ask me. Also the lack of compatability! (What were they thinking?!) I mean have you seen how fast android wear is developing?! Its absolutely insane. I guess this a call to action if anythjbg for Samsung to either open up tizen or port Android Wear to the Gear 2 or make it incredibly easy for devs to use Tizen because if it doesn't itll suffer the same fate as any other OS besides Android or Apple (not a threat LOL.)
Post your ideas below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see the point you are making, you expected a james bond type watch and got somthing far from it. but your conclusion for it terrible is because of your expectations. I see i a lot of people saying lack of apps is a factor that gear 2 is no good, have you seen android wear it does not have any apps, it only works as an extension to your existing apps. the only thing good about the android wear is the OK Google hot word, and as much as it sounds and looks good in the videos it just doesnt work when you want it to.
Also what do you want from a smart watch, give me an example of an app that is so badly needed on the watch and it does not exist?
and finally its a watch you are not suppose to spend time on it its just there to make little things easier, you dont want to be engaged with it for more than 10-20s.
Also as far as my knowledge goes gear 2 fit perfectly in the middle of being a long lasting eink watch (pebble) with very little things and the android wear that has the "ok google" thing and always on display but last at max 2 days). my experience with gear 2 has been 5 days of use and i am very happy with it.
I see it as something of a conversation starter among friends and keeps my phone in the pocket to experience the real world more.
here are examples of some apps you might like,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-2/themes-apps/nownotifier-development-t2914013
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wearablewidgets
I agree with Wear, but it is still great for me!
I love my Gear 2. I do agree that Wear is probably better in many ways, and I may go for a Wear next time, but this is far from useless. I use it for:
Shows my next appointment when I look at the time - this is the most used and useful of all IMO.
Notifications of email and SMS
Possible reply to SMS (rare)
Control of media (often, and it avoids the need to take the phone out or keep it out when travelling)
Locking my phone if I leave or lose it
Finding my phone or watch when I lose them
To Do list (not that useful, sometimes as a short shopping list)
Voice memo - great to record fleeting ideas
Remote for TV in case I lose it
Turning off TVs in public (without being obvious) - I love that!
Simple Italian phrases with sound - a quick and easy reminder
answering the phone without getting the phone out and missing the call (all too often)
answering my phone from the pool - I love being able to do that!
I have tried a lot of other apps, all sorts of games and drawing/writing apps, but the screen is too small. I use the camera occasionally, but not for much. I like it for what it is and am more than happy with it. Battery life is amazing, too. I get the feeling that some people just expect too much from smart watches.
My first post here, and I'd like to express some frustrations with the Gear 2 as well. I got it as a xmas present from my wife and initially, I really liked it.
After a couple of updates though, it seems like Samsung has made this "smart" watch a bit less smart. I was once able to tell S-Voice not to "talk" after giving it a command, but now that's no longer an option and can only reduce the volume down to "1".
Instead of increasing the level of tweaks in the app, they've removed a lot of them (running it on an S5).
Every time there's a software update, some of the apps stop working and I have to re-install them.
Creating tasks on the watch works great, but I only get reminders on my phone.
Does anyone know if there are plans to continue developing the Gear app for this watch? It almost seems like they're abandoning it as far as I can tell.
OTOH, I realize these types of devices are still in their infancy, so I'm not expecting this to be perfect, but my point is that in the last four months that I've had this thing, it keeps getting less and less useful after every update!
LuiFranco said:
My first post here, and I'd like to express some frustrations with the Gear 2 as well. I got it as a xmas present from my wife and initially, I really liked it.
After a couple of updates though, it seems like Samsung has made this "smart" watch a bit less smart. I was once able to tell S-Voice not to "talk" after giving it a command, but now that's no longer an option and can only reduce the volume down to "1".
Instead of increasing the level of tweaks in the app, they've removed a lot of them (running it on an S5).
Every time there's a software update, some of the apps stop working and I have to re-install them.
Creating tasks on the watch works great, but I only get reminders on my phone.
Does anyone know if there are plans to continue developing the Gear app for this watch? It almost seems like they're abandoning it as far as I can tell.
OTOH, I realize these types of devices are still in their infancy, so I'm not expecting this to be perfect, but my point is that in the last four months that I've had this thing, it keeps getting less and less useful after every update!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately they moved to Android wear, and you're right in thinking they basically abandoned tizen development. My issue is that the three key "bonus" features for me were : speaker phone, ir remote, and camera and I can't find those things on any other device! Otherwise only looks seem to set apart the other watches
I agree .... I loved my gear 2 with all its camera goodness but had to move onto wear when I changed to a nexus 6 still miss her even though I would change my nexus for anything .....
Since this update I got a 360 and honestly. Wear does notifications better. They have the whole thread of messages and it doesn't get mixed up no matter what client you use. I'll admit I miss the tizen battery life. But I will say both are giving me issues with fitness tracking, the fit app is incompatible with my s5 and s health is always a mess if you ask me.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app
I entirely agree with you.
adr14ng said:
Hey guys, I am pretty much here to express why the Gear 2 was such a good idea on paper but terrible in reality. The fact of the matter is the Gear 2 sucks. The apecs are great the screen is beauitful the design isnt half bad if you ask me. But the sheer lack of apps is what makes the smartwatch so gimmicky. Yes I can pick up calls but I mean we can do the same thing with a pair if $20 headphones; so why did i buy a $300 'smart'watch? Well, here us the answer. I though it was better than android wear. For some reason I thought "hey, samsjng makes great products!" Which in reality it does, but Tizen was not the way to go. The sheer lack of apps makes this app a brick if you ask me. Also the lack of compatability! (What were they thinking?!) I mean have you seen how fast android wear is developing?! Its absolutely insane. I guess this a call to action if anythjbg for Samsung to either open up tizen or port Android Wear to the Gear 2 or make it incredibly easy for devs to use Tizen because if it doesn't itll suffer the same fate as any other OS besides Android or Apple (not a threat LOL.)
Post your ideas below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am happy that you wrote it.
Worse thing i did with my life is probably buying this watch. After using it a few months I threw it away. Its sitting in its box. I bought a LG G Watch for 70€ (was on discount for 1 day) it has 5000 times more features you can use
kadeve said:
Worse thing i did with my life is probably buying this watch. After using it a few months I threw it away. Its sitting in its box. I bought a LG G Watch for 70€ (was on discount for 1 day) it has 5000 times more features you can use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"5000 times more features" bit of an exaggeration and purely your opinion, if that is the worse thing in your life then you must have a great one or sit at home doing nothing.
For the added advantages of android I saw none that made me want to change, major one was lack of camera.
jeffnz said:
"5000 times more features" bit of an exaggeration and purely your opinion, if that is the worse thing in your life then you must have a great one or sit at home doing nothing.
For the added advantages of android I saw none that made me want to change, major one was lack of camera.
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with all due respect jeffnz but I think you are an entry level user. Even the comparasion between Tizen and Android Wear is unfair. Tizen is stuck with poor SDK and HTML5 only support. If your user experience has been limited you wont see the difference because you are using the smartwatch just as a regular watch.
Android Wear has Tasker support and by using AutoApps you end up having infinite amount of features. But again I think you are an entry level user. I have a server and a raspberry pi that I use for my projects and home automation.
Just a few simple examples so you could maybe understand.
- When a video is played on computer lights go off, ambient light is set to match the video (ambilight) , Watch gets a Controller screen that has basic play/pause next fullscreen etc. buttons on low level brightness.
- When phone is charged , I get a notification and the smart wallplug cuts off the electricity that feeds the adapter. This is done by a raspberry pi with 433Mhz Receiver/transmitter kit ( which allows me control wall plugs individually)
check youtube for AutoWear app and you will understand better what you are missing.
I am an mechanical engineer, electrical engineer and a programmer. I am trying to make use of my skills at home as well as my professional life. Yeah android wear cant take a goddamn photo but I can give chain voice commands to start the freaking oven downstairs meanwhile the amblight is in disco mode...
kadeve said:
with all due respect jeffnz but I think you are an entry level user. Even the comparasion between Tizen and Android Wear is unfair. Tizen is stuck with poor SDK and HTML5 only support. If your user experience has been limited you wont see the difference because you are using the smartwatch just as a regular watch.
Android Wear has Tasker support and by using AutoApps you end up having infinite amount of features. But again I think you are an entry level user. I have a server and a raspberry pi that I use for my projects and home automation.
Just a few simple examples so you could maybe understand.
- When a video is played on computer lights go off, ambient light is set to match the video (ambilight) , Watch gets a Controller screen that has basic play/pause next fullscreen etc. buttons on low level brightness.
- When phone is charged , I get a notification and the smart wallplug cuts off the electricity that feeds the adapter. This is done by a raspberry pi with 433Mhz Receiver/transmitter kit ( which allows me control wall plugs individually)
check youtube for AutoWear app and you will understand better what you are missing.
I am an mechanical engineer, electrical engineer and a programmer. I am trying to make use of my skills at home as well as my professional life. Yeah android wear cant take a goddamn photo but I can give chain voice commands to start the freaking oven downstairs meanwhile the amblight is in disco mode...
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Thanks for telling me all about yourself but isn't necessary as I stand by what I said it is purely your opinion and to you it may be 5000 times better in your mind but to most a gross exaggeration.
Also please don't try and guess what i am as you do not know me and it is clouding your judgement ven if you prefix your post with "all due respect" which is usually the opposite.
oh and I know tasker but just because you cuan run on Android wear doesn't mean it is a great reason to dis Tizen, once again that is the way you use your watch not all will do that. One size does not fit all
I recently bought the Gear S2 after using my Gear 2 Neo daily for almost a year.
I used my Neo for:
- Occasionally taking calls via Bluetooth when my hands were otherwise occupied (e.g. carrying stuff).
- Occasionally controlling the TV via IR blaster
- Tracking my sleep habits, how much I was getting and how much tossing/turning I did that night
- Timekeeping
- Notifications
For reasons I can't really fathom, the Gear S2 only does the latter 2. I can't really understand why Samsung would remove those features from their flagship smartwatch line. What's more, I REALLY can't understand why this watch is getting ABSOLUTELY RAVE reviews across the board. It's almost like people didn't know the Gear 2 Neo even existed.
I guess it has something to do with the fact that sleep tracking, IR device control, and accepting phone calls via bluetooth are things MOST watches are incapable of for various reasons, so it's not much of a drawback from a reviewer's standpoint when those features are removed. As someone coming from the Neo to the S2, I have a hard time getting past the fact that I have an older, cheaper device that is far more capable sitting in a drawer unused. :/
Don't get me wrong, though. What the S2 can do it does do very well. The screen is gorgeous. The rotating bezel is brilliant. This version of Tizen is lightning fast and very intuitive. The "always on" feature is great, and notifications are handled much better. But I can't really escape the feeling that, while the Neo was a smartwatch, the S2 is just a $300 watch that can send text messages and receive email.
Am I missing something here?
Oh, and for some reason I can't get mine to vibrate when text messages are received. Calls only.
I sold my lovely Gear 2 in readiness for the S2 thinking it would finally get better app support and a better UI on top of the camera and ability to make and receive calls.
What a disappointment, apps are worse or as bad as the prior 3 watches, no camera or calling !!!
If you get a 3g model then it will have a speaker...therefore allowing for calls over bluetooth even if you don't have a sim card for the watch. On the sport models there is no speaker though. For the other functions like ir blaster, I guess they figured people don't use it as much and they had to cut something out to include new things like a different form factor, NFC, etc. Not defending, just saying they evolved to something else. Personally, I love my original gear s which basically has everything but the new round size of the S2.
Yeah it's pretty crazy our Gear 2's are the still the most capable smartwatches on the market.
Tends to happen when you strap a phone on your wrist instead of a watch.
JazzMac251 said:
...I have a hard time getting past the fact that I have an older, cheaper device that is far more capable sitting in a drawer unused. :/
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I don't understand. You say you have a more capable watch sitting in the drawer unused, yet you recently bought a new S2 that is less capable and you are using it. Why not return the S2, use your Neo and save $300 bucks. Just because the S2 is out now, doesn't mean that your Neo can't be used again.
I had a Moto 360 V1 and Gear Fit, I returned both of them after a while because I didn't like them for one reason or another. No point in keeping unused depreciating assets like phones and wearables IMO, it's not like a classic Bugatti or classic Rolex that you can pass on or will gain value.
As far as the S2 is concerned, I think it will outsell all other Gear watches combined easily. The general public just doesn't want the whole entire kitchen sink in their watches. This is evident by previously poor Gear sales. Sure, they will lose some previous Gear customers, but they are gaining many more. That's the way business works unfortunately, maximum unit sales for maximum profits. I will say though that the BT version of the S2 really needs a speaker and Google voice recognition.
supersoulfly said:
Tends to happen when you strap a phone on your wrist instead of a watch.
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Ha, you cannot stop the inevitable. That point that most of the posters in this thread are making, is that Samsung DROPPED a lot of features and that didn't go over well with a segment of Samsung smartwatch users. I was in the thread where they were saying the S2 was selling out in Korea.. Wow, I figured that was just plain sales talk or there must be users that don't care about the PAST features that were on past Galaxy Gear Watches. Gear 2 was nice, but I even went for the Gear S, I am fully independent of my Note 4 if I choose to be.. They have put the S2 out there without a speaker, and they downsized it..
People are not talking against the S2 just to be talking, that's for sure..
Back to your comment, why don't Samsung just make a PLAIN WATCH, and leave all Tizen, email, and small tech stuff that you can do on the S2 alone?
Get the S2 3g model if you want an independent experience. (why do people keep acting like this model doesn't exist and doesn't address most of the complaints prior S users have?)
As far as making a plain watch? I might consider wearing that before the monstrosities Samsung has put out before. Gear 2 and Gear S, lots of cool tech, but the only place I'd be seen wearing one is if I went to a Star Trek convention.
This thread reminds me of a book I read years back: "Crossing the Chasm." It's about the challenge technology companies have selling to different kinds of customers: technology enthusiastic early adopters vs. the pragmatic broader market. According to the author, Geoffrey Moore, the former are an important way to launch an product in a new space, but represent a very small market. The latter are a much larger market but are not going to buy a product until it reaches a level of maturity, refinement, and clarity of purpose.
I usually consider myself an early adopter, but I gotta say, I really like the S2, but I had no interest whatsoever in the Gear 2 or Gear S. But for those who like that sort of product, hopefully there will continue to be options in future.
I get that there's a lot of "can't please everyone" talk going on here, but here's why the removal of these features is kind of nuts to me:
The single driving complaint the public has with this type of wearable technology is that it's pointless. The iPad and the iPhone were brilliant because they were able to fill a niche solving problems in people's lives that they didn't know existed. People argue that the physical form-factor limitations inherent with smartwatches makes them redundant at best and extravagantly wasteful at worst. The problem is that this characterization is largely correct.
For smartwatches to break out of that mold, I think the key is for them to be as Swiss-army-knife as possible. Can't find the remote, got it. Can't answer call because its impractical (hands full, can't find phone, doing chores, etc), got it. Would like to evaluate sleep habits, got it. Need to make NFC payment, got it. Want to track your heart rate, got it. The second you start dumping features is the second you move the device even more into the realm of "$300+ dollar device to check your email". The rotating bezel is super cool, but the primary concern people have with smartwatches is that they're pointless, not that they need to be easy to use.
The point I was trying to make is that I was one of the few people for whom Samsung successfully created a product that actually DID fill a unique little niche in my life. As they're trying to expand their product base, it seems the last thing they would want to do is create a flagship device that has absolutely 0 appeal to someone that is already super into smartwatches anyway.
This is actually the first time I've ever upgraded a piece of technology to find it woefully inadequate to what I already had. As a technophile, that's a really strange concept to me. The technology in device is great - I love the hardware, the software, and the implementation. Unfortunately, this device really is a $350 way to read text messages on your wrist and that's all it is, which is why I'll be returning it ASAP.
Also, I have to say, it kinda looks feminine. I much prefer the squared off look of the Gear 2. That's just personal preference, though.
JazzMac251 said:
I get that there's a lot of "can't please everyone" talk going on here, but here's why the removal of these features is kind of nuts to me:
The single driving complaint the public has with this type of wearable technology is that it's pointless. The iPad and the iPhone were brilliant because they were able to fill a niche solving problems in people's lives that they didn't know existed. People argue that the physical form-factor limitations inherent with smartwatches makes them redundant at best and extravagantly wasteful at worst. The problem is that this characterization is largely correct.
For smartwatches to break out of that mold, I think the key is for them to be as Swiss-army-knife as possible. Can't find the remote, got it. Can't answer call because its impractical (hands full, can't find phone, doing chores, etc), got it. Would like to evaluate sleep habits, got it. Need to make NFC payment, got it. Want to track your heart rate, got it. The second you start dumping features is the second you move the device even more into the realm of "$300+ dollar device to check your email". The rotating bezel is super cool, but the primary concern people have with smartwatches is that they're pointless, not that they need to be easy to use.
The point I was trying to make is that I was one of the few people for whom Samsung successfully created a product that actually DID fill a unique little niche in my life. As they're trying to expand their product base, it seems the last thing they would want to do is create a flagship device that has absolutely 0 appeal to someone that is already super into smartwatches anyway.
This is actually the first time I've ever upgraded a piece of technology to find it woefully inadequate to what I already had. As a technophile, that's a really strange concept to me. The technology in device is great - I love the hardware, the software, and the implementation. Unfortunately, this device really is a $350 way to read text messages on your wrist and that's all it is, which is why I'll be returning it ASAP.
Also, I have to say, it kinda looks feminine. I much prefer the squared off look of the Gear 2. That's just personal preference, though.
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Agree with everything you wrote except for the part where you said you think the watch looks kinda feminine. ?
Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk
supersoulfly said:
Get the S2 3g model if you want an independent experience. (why do people keep acting like this model doesn't exist and doesn't address most of the complaints prior S users have?)
As far as making a plain watch? I might consider wearing that before the monstrosities Samsung has put out before. Gear 2 and Gear S, lots of cool tech, but the only place I'd be seen wearing one is if I went to a Star Trek convention.
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, Gotta give the Star Wars Crack was a good one.
However, if the S2 was so much a winner, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Instead we all would be breaking or necks to get one. As you can see that is not the case. A lot of users that WOULD be breaking their necks to get on are instead turned off by the new design and features.
You can't ignore that, just read some of the comments.
Since I am a Samsung Fanboy, I will wait for the S3 and Note and see what happens!
I am a Star Wars fan, now I'm addicted to Guardians Of The Galaxy.
I'll gladly sale my gear 2 neo to anyone reading this.
IR blaster went away on phones and watch, just didn't make the cut for usability. I played with ir for the first day to show off then never used it again myself.
Camera in a watch was another one. Apple watch will sale a **** ton without these features for more money. It's not needed by enough people.
Speaker, u just bought the wrong model, but they should have put it in all models. I agree on that part.
Other problems are app issues and tizen is always gonna behind google wear, they are trying to swim upstream and I'm afraid they will never catchup in shear amount of apps.
The 3G model is not coming to all markets the UK being one.
Samsung is just a Apple sheep soon as the Apple watch fan boys like the whole making and taking calls Samsung will do the mother of U turn and the S3 gear will be out this time next year if not earlier.
My Gear 2 was great battery and did the notification basics and handy calling features but the lack of apps was a killer and here we are again the same crap this time 1000 apps at launch.
I think the Neo was a massively underrated device and I'll be keeping mine.
That said, the additional functionality versus the S2 were largely novelty items for me... it's core functions of time, notifications and step tracking were all I used on a daily basis. I can understand the frustration if you used these regularly.
The form factor (s2 is a beautiful watch in its own right) and the bezel navigation are worth the price of admission IMO.
I agree with JazzMac about the S2. I have had the original "Galaxy Gear", Gear 2, Gear S, and then picked up a Gear S2. After 2 days I returned it. Loved the round form factor and rotating bezel, but realized I wanted at least the receive & talk capability on the watch. I would wait for the 3G version. I have had the 3G version for about 3 weeks now and absolutely love it. Does almost everything I want, has great battery life, and I enjoy the freedom of leaving my phone for runs and other quick trips and still being connected.
Hi,
I finally got a gear S2 classic today and loving it so far except the lack of apps. I'm just wondering if it will ever take off or are app developers too interested in Android wear and apple watch to not want to put time into developing for the S2? Seems a shame because there is so much potential with the use of the bezel and I'd love to have apps like Shazam and some kind of LiFX smart bulb control as well but no one seems to be developing for it. Sadly I can't code to save my life else I would do it but would like to see more big name devs making apps for the S2.
Do you guys reckon it'll eventually catch up closer to android wear and the apple watch?
You have no idea how much I wish it did. I don't understand why...I had the first gear and the second. I sold them because of lack of apps, i told myself next time its android wear, then the S2 was announced and it was way better looking than anything else, and yet, we still lack support from official apps. The problem are not the devs themselves, its the major companies. Its also the fact that Apple has some many non-tech people that use their products and buy whatever they sell with their mouths wide open that the market is easier for anybody coding. If you ask me, the apple watch is a disaster, it looks old fashion, it lacks any feature that makes it envious from others, it barely is able to make it though the day, and it lags. And yet, it outsold any other MUCH better watch.
For some reason, the market just doesn't respond to Samsungs efforts in wearables. They have always had watches that were different, they had a camera, a IR blaster, a 3G/4G standalone version, a curved version, now a rotating bezel... Is it Tizen? Is it the lack of a good SDK? Or not enough to gain from spending money to code an app? All i've learned from the past years smartwatches is they are still a very primitive accessory, it just doesn't offer too much to anybody...Apple, Google, or Pebble, it simply is an extension of the smartphone and until it can do something different, I wont see any advancement. I love my S2, but I'm always an early adopter, a tech lover, and most people that wear smartwatches some at some level similar. I guess a watch is just not as exiting as a VR headset, which by the way is absolutely mindblowing and I have no doubt a lot of people will switch from who ever to Samsung until other companies start to play catch up. until them, Samsung have a HUGE head start and they better make something of it
It's a shame Samsungs watches have never had a lot of dev support. I've only owned a Sony Smart watch first gen (MN2) which while not the best looking watch, it still had a pretty good app selection though that said not as much as the S2 though it did have a app for controlling sphero (an RC ball) by tilting the watch, an app I can't get on the S2.
I've been talking to the dev who made TaskS2 and a big problem according to him is that Samsung have bad API documentation and devs have to know Java. Where as android wear uses similar coding to Android phones and I'll assume the apple watch is the same. I'm hoping it'll take off when Samsung make it iphone compatible but doubt it'll have many features except to have notifications. If samsung has any sense they'll make sure it works 100% with non samsung androids and iphones making it more appealing to different people. There is so much potential in the bezel though to create some pretty cool apps that use it but so far doesn't seem like it's going to get much dev support.
I also feel that the gear store is a let down. Doesn't feel as well polished as the Iphone app store or Google play and I reckon if Samsung would let gear S2 apps be downloaded from the play store it might receive more attention. They should also recode tizen so it's easier for devs to make apps. I hope Samsung doesn't let the S2 go under like previous Samsung watches that too had potential but Samsung didn't seem to do everything to really kick it off.
If samsung watches pick up market share then it will be more lucrative for devs. Otherwise devs will continue to focus on apple and, to a lesser extent, android wear. People just aren't seeing a need for smartwatches (because currently there really isn't one). As hardware and functionality improve this could change, but smartwatches in general are not yet really generating enough public interest to warrant more devs jumping on board. I love my Gear S2 classic, but mostly for the look and customization options, not because of the functionality or because I "need" to have it. My phone is always with me anyways, and is much easier for browsing, texting, emails, etc. As a watch though my Classic is unique
So I am a first gen moto 360 user till this day. Unfortunately the battery, fragile band and overall watch is seeming to show its age to me finally. I am currently using a nexus 6p and have no intention of jumping over to a samsung device as I dont quite enjoy touchwiz or the update cycles outside of direct google devices. While shopping around for options I keep finding myself drawn to this watch which doesnt seem out of the ordinary since they are pretty difficult to come by outside of ebay here in the states at the moment. I do have some questions since I do use a few of what I consider the basics of the google ecosystem daily and the samsung reps at the few bestbuys I visited were less than helpful in solving my problems (surprising I know).
- I am a big google now user with my moto 360 and phone, I know s voice doesnt come close but how does it react with commands like "what time is **** open until" or "call **** on 123 main street". Specifics like that are what I love. Or simply the reminder feature based on location and not simply time.
- I am also worried about how it will handle or if it can even handle the notifications and controls for my google music or google messenger since from what I gather anything outside of samsung apps can be a bit spotty.
- I just read in another thread that google maps does exist on the samsung app store so if thats true would it sync up with my phone navigation or work independently (I dont plan to get the lte model or if I do, I dont plan on using it stand alone since I am on verizon).
I find myself at a crossroad since I really enjoy the idea of samsung pay on my watch since that is one of if not the main feature I am jealous of the samsung devices for, but to give up all the other android wear features I seem to live with seems like more cons than pros at this time. I dont seem too thrilled with any of the other android wear watches and with their future looking grim I fear the pickings are becoming more and more slim as time progress'.
My first smart watch was the original Moto 360 as well. Like you, I was hesitant to move to a Tizen based smart watch. After owning the Fro tier for almost a month now, I can say this watch is a significant upgrade over the Moto 360, and the Tizen operating system has several advantages over Android Wear.
1. Battery life is significantly better. I can get two days with AOD on, and 3-4 days with AOD off.
2. Samsung Pay alone is worth the upgrade.
3. The UI and rotating bezel are superior to Android Wear.
Cons:
1. S Voice isn't as good as Google Now. I am not able to to the things you like to do with Google Now. To be honest, I didn't use Google Now as much as you do. While I may not be able to find out when a particular place closes, it is adequate enough to send a text or call someone using my voice. As a side note, I changed my command to respond to "Hey Google." I wanted to make it different than my phone, so I wouldn't trigger both.
2. Boy, I can't think of anything else. Just get the Gear S3. You won't regret it.
ttown said:
My first smart watch was the original Moto 360 as well. Like you, I was hesitant to move to a Tizen based smart watch. After owning the Fro tier for almost a month now, I can say this watch is a significant upgrade over the Moto 360, and the Tizen operating system has several advantages over Android Wear.
1. Battery life is significantly better. I can get two days with AOD on, and 3-4 days with AOD off.
2. Samsung Pay alone is worth the upgrade.
3. The UI and rotating bezel are superior to Android Wear.
Cons:
1. S Voice isn't as good as Google Now. I am not able to to the things you like to do with Google Now. To be honest, I didn't use Google Now as much as you do. While I may not be able to find out when a particular place closes, it is adequate enough to send a text or call someone using my voice. As a side note, I changed my command to respond to "Hey Google." I wanted to make it different than my phone, so I wouldn't trigger both.
2. Boy, I can't think of anything else. Just get the Gear S3. You won't regret it.
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Appreciate the input. How about the maps navigation connection? Also I see they are just now getting Spotify to work but it seems more stand alone. Know if other apps like Google play music work well enough with controls?
NyPlaya513 said:
Appreciate the input. How about the maps navigation connection? Also I see they are just now getting Spotify to work but it seems more stand alone. Know if other apps like Google play music work well enough with controls?
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Google maps doesn't work (at least not right out of the box), but there is an app you can download. I thought I would miss this since I use my phone for navigation, but I haven't missed it one bit. Now that Android Auto works on the phone, I have been using that. I think I used the Motorola 360 for navigation while I was walking twice in two years.
I haven't tried Spotify because I use Google Play Music. The controls for GPM work the same they do on the Moto 360. The music is played through the phone, not the watch just like in the Moto 360.
One more thing that was a concern for me before buying. I use Verizon Messages+ instead of the Samsung Messages app and was concerned I wouldn't be able to reply to messages. I am able to reply and create texts from the watch using Verizon Meaages+ without an issue. I created a thread walking you through how to make this work. It is very easy.
Alright well you talked me into it. Luckily today Best Buy got both models back in stock. I ordered the classic to be here on Friday and although I like the grip on the bezel for the Frontier Model better, I do like the stylish and more professional look in my opinion of the classic Model. Luckily if I don't like the classic after a few days I am a silver member and can simply swap with the frontier LOL.
Coming from a Moto360 1st gen too.
Owning a Nexus 6p too!
Heavy Google Now user too!!!!
So I guess we share something.
I was also hesitant but finally decided to buy it. So now I own a Gear S3 Frontier.
1- S Voice? Almost useless. I am so disappointed about this. My only hope is that software related issues eventually get a solution.
2- Notifications and control handling is superb. Not only for Spotify (recently added to Tizen market) but Google Play music or whatever you may be streaming to your Chromecast.
3- Maps? I still don't see the point using a map on the wrist. Never used it on my Moto360 (probably due to the overwhelming battery drain issue).
That's what I can tell after a month.
Sorry if I am late and I hope you find my comments useful.
flasflus said:
Maps? I still don't see the point using a map on the wrist.
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As wrist based GPS for pedestrian use is very useful for directions when waking around on foot. It's better than walking around holding your cellphone out in front of your face in order to refer to directions.