Samsung Galaxy Gear: Time To Watch, Not Buy

Sept. 5, 2013 — -- I grew up desperately wanting to be Inspector Gadget's niece. Even if she was always being kidnapped and having her wacky uncle come to her rescue, Penny was Inspector Gadget's sidekick and had some of the coolest gadgets, including a high-tech wristwatch that made video calls and helped her out in tough situations. It was her most useful gadget.

The watch worked well, though. Navigating the menus was smooth and I was able to do a lot of the things Samsung talked about in its presentation. When paired with the Galaxy Note 3, which is the only phone it's set up to work with now, I was able to make a call using the small number pad on the touchscreen. Just like Penny, but without the video calling. But again, when and why would I ever do that? Holding your arm up to your ear and talking looks and feels uncomfortable.

But the best feature of the watch seems to be the notifications it puts on your wrist. I really like the idea of getting text message or e-mail alerts on my arm, instead of having to pull out my phone or secretly try and check it at dinner or a meeting. That's one of the benefits of the whole new category of wearable computers, including Google Glass: you can more easily see notifications and alerts and not have to be constantly looking at your phone.

But as I've said before about Google Glass, if I am going to wear these glasses, or any piece of technology for that matter, I want it to offer something different from my phone, something more than just notifications.