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Samsung has announced that sales of their standalone Gear S smart watch will begin in the United States starting in November. The earliest known availability is from AT&T, who will have the smart watch on November 7th. [Update]: Sprint has also confirmed November 7th availability.
For AT&T it’ll run you $200 on a two-year contract, and the watch can be added to a Mobile Share plan for just $10 more than what you’re currently paying. T-Mobile and Verizon are also confirmed to be carrying the smart watch, though we’ll have to wait for word regarding those individual carriers’ plans.
Unfortunately its status as a standalone smart watch doesn’t change the fact that you’ll need a Galaxy smartphone to use it, such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S5. Needless to say, you’d basically be wasting $200 if you don’t already have one.
Should you be fully involved with Samsung, though, the smart watch will enable data without the need to be paired with a smart phone so you can use all your data enabled apps even if you leave your smartphone behind. It also enables calling and texting that is routed through your smartphone so you can get all of your communication without having to have the phone on you. Not a bad set of functions at all. Let us know if you’ll be grabbing one once they’re finally available.
[via Business Wire, AT&T]
T-Mobile lists compatibility w/the NOTE3/S5/S4.
I’m guessing the omission of the NOTE4 is nothing more than a SNAFU on T-Mobile’s behalf…………
No thanks, Samsung.
200 on a 2 years contract lol. it should be 200 or less no contract
Only 200? I would easily pay upwards of 300-400 for the functionality alone. Voice calls, SMS, 3g data, accelerometer, GPS, the ability to actually insert my Sim from my note 4 so I can leave my phone home, 2inch curved touchscreen display, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Show me any comparable product on the market today that comes in at your 200 dollar price point and I will happily write that my ideas of what I consider to be the best “bang for my buck” are completely wrong and that I’m stupid for being willing to pay for real innovation. And I’m serious. PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG. PLEASE SHOW ME A BETTER PRODUCT WITH THE SAME FUNCTIONALITY.
You are proposing that Samsung take this smartwatch which is the equivalent of buying the 2013 moto g, developing the technology needed to shrink it to 1/5th of the size and selling it at the same price. That doesn’t sound ludicrous to you? Let me know when you find a 2015 Tesla for the price of a 2013 Scion……
Still looks like a Gear Fit after an eating binge.
IMHO – DOA!
That is one ugly watch.
Actually no it`s not. I find it quite appealing looks wise.
So you’re paying 10$ a month buy still need to pair with a Samsung phone? That’s like asking someone to buy a car with the stipulation that you can only drive it if your safety, registration and insurance is current, the vehicle is running on gas and you’re in neutral being towed by a tow truck.
waiting for omate x
Hmm.. so there isn’t a non-SIM version for those of us who don’t want to pay $10 a month to wear a watch?
One of the reasons Samsung is losing money is their live trial and error releases..This is like their 5th watch in a year…and none have been big sellers..design it, R&D, Test it…then release it…Don’t just release it, then every 2 months release another with refinements and so on. I don’t see why Samsung is bucking against android wear when it is clear that is the platform android has chosen…Samsung innovation is great, so how about designing a really nice androidwear device instead of creating these franken-watches that will be orphaned in a few months!
Didn’t think samsung watches could get uglier. I was wrong.
These negative comments remind me of the ill advised and misinformed complaints and hostility towards the Note 1 a few years ago: too big, too ugly, etc. A scant 3 years later and even mighty Apple has abandoned the criticism and joined the phablet movement. Samsung’s Gear S will begin the trend towards wearables becoming the primary device for voice and text and fitness, while the cell phone increasingly replaces the tablet as our primary mobile media and computing device. And, like the Note, in 3 years or less, the Gear S will be remarkably thinner, with better battery capacity, while providing a more attractive and flexible screen using Samsung’s YOUM technology. People, you ain’t seen nothing yet and I doubt Apple will give Samsung the same kind of head start they conceded with the phablet.
And btw Edge, imo the real problem with Samsung is not their live trial and error releases. Their products aren’t bad and Samsung technology is among the best in the business and leads the competition in several significant areas. In fact, more folks are using Samsung devices than ever, and the Samsung is the leading brand in several major world markets. The real problem is that the markets where Samsung has the strongest presence are heavily saturated, leading to a fall in sales, and technological breakthroughs in the smartphone area are slowing down. Consequently, folks aren’t motivated as in the past to upgrade every new edition cycle…the model to model changes just aren’t that great. To me, this is what is driving Samsung in the wearable market…the sky is the limit on sales, but you’ve got to get products out there until the public latches onto something….like the phablet 4 years ago. Does this make sense?
So does anyone know if once you get it started do you still need a Samsung phone to use it? For example; I charge up my retired Note 3 get the wqtch up and running then using the same SIM switch to my HTC M8, Will I still get notifications and stuff?