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Qualcomm Toq vs Samsung Galaxy Gear vs Sony SmartWatch 2 — which will you buy? [Poll]

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So most of the big gun smart watches have finally been officially introduced. Sony’s SmartWatch 2 has had quite the head start when it comes to offerings from major OEMs, but a couple of viable options have sprouted since then. I’m talking about Samsung’s Galaxy Gear and the Qualcomm Toq, two smart watches which were actually announced on the same day last week.

We’ve been able to get our hands on both of these wrist dwellers, and while a full opinion can’t yet be given on either of them, we know just about enough to decide which one will be getting our money once they’re all finally available. Read Edgar’s perspective on the exciting unveiling of the Qualcomm Toq smart watch here, and be sure to watch Rob’s hands-on of the Galaxy Gear.

Let’s take a quick look at all of these — and more viable options — right here! Later, we’ll want to hear what you’ve decided to put your money on, so be sure to visit us at the bottom for the poll and a healthy discussion in the comments section.


Qualcomm Toq

Qualcomm wasn’t who we expected to come to market with one of the more interesting smart watches of the year. The chipset maker introduced the Qualcomm Toq, a Mirasol-equipped smart watch that is promising 3 days of battery life. With battery life being one of the most frustrating things about today’s smart watches, the promise of having one that last for three days is seen as a bit of a game changer.

Toq-11

The Mirasol display provides a low-powered, touch-enabled experience that displays color and can be seen in low light. Its low-powered nature means the display can stay on at all times, circumventing the need to press a button to turn it on.

Beyond all that, the smart watch will obviously connect to your smartphone and enable you to get information about calls and messages without having to take your phone out of your pocket. To top it all off, it’ll come packaged with wireless headphones and a wireless charging pad for easy battery charging. It’s a bit on pricey side with the price tag expected to be around $300 to $350, but for all you’re getting it definitely seems like a decent value.


Samsung Galaxy Gear

Samsung’s big Galaxy Note 3 day was capped off by the unveiling of the smart watch that will be accompanying it to retail. It’s called the Samsung Galaxy Gear, a device which doesn’t do much in the way of design but is promised to be every bit as functional as anything else out there.

Samsung galaxy gear on wrist

Just take a look at these specs to see what we’re talking about:

  • 1.63-inch screen
  • 1.9MP camera with auto-focus for photos and video
  • Microphone for voice calls and audio recording
  • 800 MHz Processor
  • 4GB internal Memory
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 315 mAh battery
  • Bluetooth 4.0

Of course, Samsung’s promising the heaviest of functionality with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at first, and you can bet the Galaxy S4, Note 2 and others will get software upgrades to enjoy similar functionality down the line. Samsung is only promising up to 17 hours of battery life here, though that’s still a great deal more than the 10 or so hours we are used to for this form factor.

And the inclusion of a camera? That’s pretty wild, and will allow folks to get their James Bond on whenever they need to snap a quick photo and ship it back off to MI-6.  All of it should be coming to us for $300, with Samsung saying to expect the device to launch September 25th.


Sony SmartWatch 2

Sony’s SmartWatch 2 is a pretty decent upgrade over the original, though it’s still one of the more straightforward watches out of the bunch. Sony’s implemented NFC and is making the most of Bluetooth 4.0, but the company is especially proud of the sleek, stylish design they’ve put together.

11_SmartWatch_2

 

The ability to change between standard-sized 24mm wrist straps means you can style it up however you please. And unlike Samsung, Sony is allowing any and everyone to get full functionality with their smartphones, no matter which company makes them.


Others

We’ve got Pebbles, Agent Ms, and i’m Watches abound! All of the Kickstarter and IndieGoGo sensations are all in play, as well. Pebble is the most established, obviously, with a system based completely on e-Ink. The Agent is not yet a reality, though its Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded with 10x more funds than the creators initially asked for.

And don’t forget we’ve got rumored projects from the likes of LG, Google, and even “that-which-we-do-not-discuss” (aka, Apple). There are a lot of options already, and even more are coming down the line.


Vote!

We want to know which smart watch will have your heart (and, most importantly, money) in the weeks and/or months to come. There’s a nice big poll down below to participate in, and we’d be sad if you didn’t join us in the comments section for some healthy discussion about it all. Go, go, go!

[polldaddy poll=7383304]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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57 Comments

  1. none. I’ve had enough experience being an early adopter to know that eventually the technology and features will improve to reflect the price. I really want a smartwatch, but I’m interested to see what Google and Apple have to offer in terms of usability and aesthetic feel.

    TLDR – I want a smartwatch that looks like a watch, not a mini computer strapped to my wrist.

    1. I actually want a mini computer strapped to my wrist.. that looks something like a watch. :)

      That being said, I want like you – improved technology and features AND improved priced. $300+ isn’t going to happen. Ever.

      1. yeah that’s what I meant. A super sweet smartwatch that I can check emails, text etc, that looks like a regular watch.

        1. Check out the Martian Watch, it’s the one I’m most leaning towards. It lets you wear a normal watch and you can check texts and notifications and use voice controls. For everything else you move to the bigger screen of your phone, which I imagine you’d do most of the time anyway, even if you had the above smart phones. It’s still a $300 watch, but I think it’s classier than any of the others.

      2. Seriously thinking of buying thishttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omate/omate-truesmart-water-resistant-standalone-smartwa

  2. None, until the battery lasts at least 4 days with wireless charging.

    1. The Qualcomm Toq is said to last 3 days and it does have wireless charging. Now that is a bit less than your 4-day needs, but I say it’s the best option.

      1. Anyone ever tell you, you look like Dave Navaro in your picture?

        1. LOL! I see it. No, that’s a first.

  3. thing is, i don’t want to wear anything on my wrist or on my face.

    1. I agree with the face part. The wrist part, I don’t. Because as tech progresses your watch will do much more. It’ll always be weird to wear something on your face no matter what it does.

    2. TWSS?

  4. nexus watch

    1. nexus 2 anybody? lol

  5. The Gear is the best and most polished option. But I’ll wait for the next version.

  6. Other: None of the above.

    I very much want a smart watch, but none of those are appealing to me.

  7. They are all about as gay as a bag of dicks.

    1. ROFL

    2. what are you doing with a bag of dicks?????????

  8. I wanna see Google’s pony for the smart watch horse race

    1. Sexy, but probably costs a ton of dough. Others should show design concepts like this though, looks extremely polished.

      1. yeah imagine it will cost a ton too. hell this is what the galaxy gear should have been design wise away.

    2. Very sexy, and cool concept to be integrated with your car, but I don’t think it falls into the same category as the others, yes its a smart watch but its more of a car accessory than a phone accessory

    3. YES!!!! thats awesome!

  9. Sony looks the best but none of them have a good enough battery. If the Toq can get 3 days with the display always on, whey didn’t they have an option to turn it off for even longer life?

    1. The Toq is a proof-of-concept, more of an attempt to promote their Mirasol display than anything. “Hey, look at us and our smartwatch. It lasts WAY longer then yours, and the display never turns off”, However, any kind of video or motion graphic would look HORRIBLE on the display because the refresh rates on that kind of display are currently terrible.

  10. I just walked out of Best Buy with the MN2 Sony Smartwatch. I figured for less than $100 plus $30 off in credits, it’s worth trying. Other than that, I’ll wait to see what Google does. Would love for Motorola to do a fixed version of their ACTV or whatever it was.

    1. I already own a MN2 SW, and have ordered the new SW2 due to better display (transflective LCD is always on) and better IP-rating.
      Two missing features with SW2 is scratchfree glass and wireless charging, maybe Sony will give us this in SW3?

      1. Yeah, I’ll probably end up with a SW2 even if it is just for the better looks.

  11. 300 dollars is way to much for a smart watch companion tool.

    1. Agreed. Now, the Omate Truesmart is $100 less, and is a full-fledged GSM smartphone by itself when you put in your MicroSim card. That’s looking like the best deal, both dollar-for-dollar and because you can choose for it to be either a companion or a full smart standalone.

      Because it’s waterproof, it would be the ideal fitness tool. Go running, and be able to listen to music, take phone calls, and run your preferred fitness app while leaving your normal phone safe at home on the charger. A 5MP camera and a 1.3Ghz Dual Core Processor? It may not be the greatest quality picture and a middle of the road SOC, but it’s a mile better than the current smartwatch competition!

  12. I’m already rocking a Pebble, but it’s rather limited as far as functionality. I backed the HOTwatch and am currently backing the Omate (thanks for the heads up on that, Edgar) and it’s looking like the Omate is going to be my go to smart watch if it delivers what’s promised. Of the options reviewed, I’d say the TOQ looks most promising.

  13. How about a new poll that includes the Omate TrueSmart?

    Why leave it out when it looks to surpass all these other not-so-smartwatches?

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&term=omate

    1. check engadgets about your beloved Omate…might be some shadyness behind it…no working prototype n what not

      1. You must have been reading a really old article. Plenty of videos available on YouTube showing working units. Their g+ page has tons of info as well.

        1. your prob right…i honestly dont care and have no interest in following their product so i havent

  14. put the mirasol display on the Omate for a super beast with awesome battery life!

    1. Are you kidding? The only benefit of the Mirasol is the battery life, which is from not needing a backlight. In all other aspects, it is not that good. Refresh rate, color contrast, and general quality are pathetic. This is the main reason Qualcom has to make their own watch. The technology is not quite there yet.

      1. Totally agree with you on that…

  15. Where is the Omate? This looks a bit fishy since spec wise it trumps all the others. And that is not to mention your fellow journalist just did an article not 3 days ago? What gives?

    1. heard there something fishy behind the omate according to engadgets got people worrying about it

      1. Nothing fishy. The Play store has a stipulation about minimum screen res to prevent complications for app developers. I think it is time for Google to update their TOS for the smartwatch tech which is just starting to take off.

  16. neptune pine

  17. Casio Calculator Watch

    1. The OG smart watch

    2. heisenberg!!

  18. Hot smartwatch on kickstarter. Just got funded and has some great strategies behind especially with the call being amplified to your ear drum by cupping your palm and still having it be a private conversation. It’s pure genius and the only watch that looks good enough to wear!

    1. was just about to post this…hotwatch is def the most interesting of all smart watches ive seen they actually try to do something unique…that name though(yuck)

  19. i think the nismo watch form nissan looks the best. not sure if its considerd a smart watch or not tho.

  20. I currently own a Nike+GPS, Basis B1, and a Fitbit One. I used to have a MotoActv. Someone needs to come up with a SmartWatch designed for sports/health/fitness. Based on it being for that, I’m not looking for a color display, so for someone looking for everyday wear, that’s fine, but my ideal watch is based on the purpose for tracking health stuff, so this is what I’d like to see in a single device:

    * The look/feel of Nike+GPS & the new TomTom Runner/MultiSport watches. Essentially, Eink display, double-wide/hook wrist strap. This style is the most durable I’ve had and I’ve NEVER worn out one of these straps like I have on other watches. It’s perfect for sports.
    * Ability to track multiple sports like the TomTom MultiSport. Since I only have Nike+GPS I’m “limited” to running, so if I track a bike ride or something it will mess up running stats.
    * Bluetooth 4.0 – The options are endless for accessories both sport and non-sport. For sport you could have a cadence sensor. Syncing to your phone could provide you extra stuff, but wouldn’t be required. An API could give you connectivity/control functions from your watch to the phone.
    * Step/stairs/sleep tracking like the Fitbit. Essentialy 3D accelerometer and implement it well, not like most wrist wearables (Basis and MotoActv come to mind on fail for that). I got my sis a Fitbit Flex for her bday…not sure if she has tried it yet and how accurate it is, but if a watch could do it as well as my Fitbit One, I’d be ecstatic.
    * Sensors like the B1 – heart rate monitor (light based), galvanic skin response, and skin temp. I’d like the HRM however, to be constant (unlike the B1 but more like the Mio or something).
    * GPS like Nike+ or TomTom, but it would be nice if you could sync to both Nike+ (since I’ve got so much data there) as well as have the open formats like GPX so I could sync to Runkeeper etc. GPS should be internal on the watch. I don’t want to depend on phone battery or having a phone on me necessarily for Bluetooth 4.0 to the phone’s GPS. It’s just not a viable option for battery life on a long run like a marathon. Hey, I’m not that fast!
    * Private calling – like the HotWatch. This is one thing that makes the HotWatch stand out and one of the reasons I am a backer on their Kickstarter. It’s an innovative and exciting feature.
    * NFC support – If I could tap my watch on my bike seat to kick off a bike ride tracking or tap my hydration pack for a run to track etc, that would be fantastic.
    * WaterPROOF – If I’m tracking sports, I want something that’s water proof. Highly water resistant is a minimum, but for people doing triathalons, they want water proof. I’m not a tri person yet, but if it’s a sport watch, that’s something people will want.
    * And as a few bonus features, I think people would like altimeter functionality and camera functionality options. Those aren’t as mission critical though as the other things I listed above, but if someone is going to shoot the works on design, they would be great features.

    Is that too much to ask for? Seriously, people spend bank on fitness stuff…there’s a market for it.

  21. They’re all so ugly I have zero interest right now.

    The Nike+ Fuelband has been the only thing to interest me but it’s too expensive and has too little functionality to be worth buying.

  22. My ten year old Tissot T-Touch……

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