Galaxy Gear, the first smartwatch by high-end smart phone maker Samsung, was highly criticized by users for its poor battery life and a plentitude of other technical issues. Most agreed that the device was unable to justify the price tag, which has been dropped to $249. On April 11, Samsung launched its updated Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 priced at $295 with improved features.

Most of the focus has been on the features of the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Smartwatch. Here is the updated spec list:

  • 1.63-inch Super AMOLED Display
  • 320p x 320p resolution
  • 1GHz dual-core processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 2 MP Camera
  • 720p Video Recording
  • Bluetooth 4.0 LE
  • 4 GB Memory
  • Tizen OS
  • 300 mAh Battery
  • Weight: 68 g

The new device did not get a increase in its list of compatible devices. Samsung is still locking the device down to their own smartphones, something which is limiting non-Galaxy phone users who adopt the Gear devices. The Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 is still only compatible with its special Android operating system and not with Apple iPhones.

"If Samsung made the Gear Fit compatible with the complete Android ecosystem and iOS, it would probably become the first smartwatch success story," Extreme Tech said. "The Fit would then generate more press attention, more word-of-mouth, and thus more sales. The Fit could be a really exciting product. Instead, Samsung seems content with selling more Fits than the original Galaxy Gear -- which isn't exactly hard."

As far as the other features of the Samsung Gear 2 are concerned, this device sports a GPS chip in the watch, which opens the platform to app makers since the new wearables still mostly have exercise-based functions. This time, the good battery time is expected to last for at least three days.

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