MWC 2014 - Samsung unpacked event

Hey readers, what's up? Did you watch the Samsung Unpacked 5 event tonight? Wanna know what i think about it? You do, right?

Before i start, let me please share some thoughts about the new trend that is emerging and that actually dominated the MWC event.

The fitness business

It is becoming quite apparent to everyone that all manufacturers are heavily focused on what i call the fitness business. Through hardware and software they want to keep us healthy and fit and of course take our money. 

Personally speaking i think that this fitness orientation is mainly a good thing that could actually help mobile tech users become and stay healthy. Of course, Samsung has overdone it again. All the Gears as well as the S5 sport an HR sensor. On the Gears it certainly is a good thing to have but on the damned phone? Come on, Sammy you know it's just a gimmick. I do not need this on the phone and i am only going to be using it once or twice a year (if i am lucky) or a minute (if my compulsive obsessive disorder syndrome really kicks in). So thank you, but no. 

Back to the business, uhmm, fitness i mean. Let me assure you here and now that in the future you will be carrying more fitness sensors than you care about and still be carrying these extra kilos of fat on your belly. Pedometer? Check. GPS? Check (not on the Gear though and this is driving me mad). HR sensor? Check. Temperature/Humidity sensor? Check. All we need is a stupidity sensor so that we can mingle with people who also believe that all this sensor overdose will move us from fat to fit in no time.

Yo, manufacturers, take it easy. The average Joe will not work out anymore than he already does or get off the couch just because he carries a handful of fitness oriented gadgets. Not that you actually care of course, but i can sympathise with you: It is this God damned time of year that you are supposed to innovate. 

I do admit that people who are already exercising may benefit a little from the new fitness trend, but keep in mind that for example even moderately serious runners with no tech background are already using a GPS watch. And they may not be willing to change.

The S5

Looks

Galaxy S5 inspiration candidate #1

Oh my God. Why does it look so much like the S4 and the S3 and the S1? Why? (By the way, why is  the iPhone 5S 95% identical to the iPhone 5?) WHY? I do quite like this "perforated" look people are already joking about. But, plastic? Again? Really, Samsung? It feels like a horror movie where someone wakes up each day trying to forget the terrors of the night before and it is only getting worse. Hey, Sammy CsmthO's please please please do your company a favour and fire your Galaxy S phones'  design department. ALL OF THEM. And God help us, if they find another job in the same industry,

Size

Galaxy S5 inspiration candidate #2

Of course, it is too big. Of course, the screen got a little bigger. Of course, it cannot be used by regular people with regularly sized hands. The IP67 rating also contributed in the increased size of the S5. I know there are those among us who seem to like these giant phones, but i have to disagree. For me 4.5 inches (not widescreen ala iPhone 5, mind you) are the ideal (screen) size which combined with a marginally thin bezel could result in a great tradeoff between screen real estate and overall phone size. 

Specs

No need to tell you anything. Android flagships' hardware has been a total overkill for a long time and of course the S5 continues the tradition.  But wait, is that an HR sensor under the camera lens or are you just glad to see me?

Bloatware

Some definite improvement here. Maybe that deal with Google to dial back on customisation has started showing results. This is a good thing, of course.

Camera

Should be more than very good. The blazingly fast autofocus is indeed a great feature! Thumbs up for this one!

Should you get it?

Do you need a fingerprint and a heart rate sensor on your phone? If yes, go get it. It is the only phone in the world that has them both. If not, stick with your S4 or your iPhone or your whatever it is that you carry for the time being.

The back side is more interesting than the front one. And it comes in four (as expected two-word) colours.

The Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo

Gear 2

I have already told you what i think about the twins. Sadly they incorporate no GPS. For God's sake why not? It would be an almost perfect device that could also replace my MotoACTV when i go jogging. But no, Sammy had to (apparently) spoil this one too. Why?

Regarding compatibility, the twins work with 17 Galaxy phones and this is a good thing, but what about other Android phones? What about WP and the iPhone? Huh?

Gear Neo

Aside from the above two though, i really love the Gear 2 and the Neo. The battery will be more than adequate (and trust me on this one), the design is great, the build quality is fantastic, the options (with/without camera - metal/plastic) are enough. All that remains is the pricing. If Sammy really wants people to get on the Gear bandwagon they have to be fairly priced. We shall see about this, however...

The Gear Fit

The front

This was a total surprise for me, as well as for everybody else i think. It offered one of these rare moments of true ecstasy for gadget freak tech heads like me when we saw smth officially presented that had not leaked in the near past. I almost pissed my pants!

It is a good looking device that is absolutely fitness oriented but completely trumps all other fitness bands so far with each extra smartwatch notification functionality. It sports a curved sexy OLED screen as well as the same HR sensor Samsung will soon be giving away when you buy a giant pack of potato chips, it is very lightweight at 27g, the battery life is more than adequate at four days and you can have it on your wrist all the time because it is water resistant and is supposed to be hypoallergenic (unlike the Fitbit Force).

The back

If only it had a GPS hidden somewhere in it's minuscule brain, it would be PERFECT. But it doesn't, or we would have been told, right? Also, what about compatibility? Again only with 20 (this time) Samsung  phones? What about the other 17 million devices out there? as well.

Still it is an original and quite innovative device that looks very promising to my eyes and to most tech reviewers' eyes

The Gear software

Just as a side note, there was no mention of Tizen OS that runs the GEAR twins (the Fit is running a custom OS, i think). It seems that Sammy is trying to make the switch from Android as transparent as can be. 

Last but not least, the SDK is going to be available to devs very soon, which may be exactly what the whole smartwatch industry needs in order to take off.