Wearables are big news right now, at least from the perspective of the manufacturers. While they still seem to be building their market, the innovations and improvements are coming quickly. Aside from the other big smartwatch announcements by Motorola and Apple, another new product to hit the news is the Samsung Gear S.

The Gear S is Samsung’s latest attempt to corner the smartwatch market and it’s nearly there. It’s still a bit chunky, but it’s now better than ever.

The design is sleek and curved, with a curved 360x480 resolution OLED screen front and centre. A thick strap with a fixed clasp holds it in place.

The Samsung Gear S is packed with technology. Underneath its two-inch screen it has GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G. It uses the Tizen OS, which runs well on the hardware and is quick to react to input. Apps include maps, an RSS reader, notifications and Nike+.

With the Samsung Gear S, you can make and take calls, send messages and use GPS independently of your phone. That’s where the market for this smartwatch lies. You no longer need to carry your phone with you everywhere you go to stay in touch, which is a big bonus for those of us who don’t like carrying around large screen phones. In fact, the only thing you do need your phone for is to load apps.

The inclusion of the optical heart rate monitor and Nike+ means it can be more than just a watch or phone. If any of the current crop of Samsung smartwatches are really going to break ground, it’s the Samsung Gear S.

Jesmond Darmanin is a technology enthusiast who has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.

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