Category Archives: Gadgets

Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch iOS compatible Soon

CES brings wonderful news each year, and 2016 is no exception.  It was announced today that the Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch will be iOS compatible later this year.

Samsung’s VP Alana Cotton stated that Samsung “plans to add iOS compatibility to Gear S2’s feature set later this year”.  Unfortunately, no specific date or time period was given.

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The Gear S2 is actually powered by the Tizen operating system, made by Samsung.  While Tizen is similar to Android Wear, it remains to be seen if Google will release an app to allow their array of watches to be compatible with iOS.

Currently the Gear S2 can only sync up with Android phones.  With iOS capability, it will give iPhone users the opportunity to use the Gear S2 if they are left disappointed with the current apple watch.  Surprisingly there are people that have an iPhone that would like variety.
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Last August, the Gear S2 was introduced to the masses.  It sports a round-face, similar to that of Motorola’s Moto 360, and has a rotating knob like Apple’s watch.  The Tizen operating system includes fitness tracking, heart rate monitor and alerts.  It also has Samsung Pay for purchases on the go.  That poses an interesting question, if you have an iPhone and a Gear S2 Smartwatch, which pay system would you prefer?  Would you use Apple pay with you iPhone?  Or would you bust out the watch and use Samsung Pay?  This could cause a headache for users to setup 2 separate payment methods with their gadgets.

 

It will be interesting to see if Samsung creates an app for the iOS.  I think it is great that the two large companies are starting to overlap.  The ability to choose any watch regardless of your phone is a win for the consumer.

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CES also revealed a rose gold platinum color that seems to be all the rage this year.

Gadget Gifts for under 100 bucks

It’s black Friday, and people are racing to the stores to get deals here in the United States.   Yesterday, I was coming home late from a party, and I noticed lines of people waiting in the cold for a deal at the closest electronics shop.  While today can bring a good deal, there are several gadgets you can get for under a hundred dollars.  Here are some great gifts that you can buy this season for a gadget lover without breaking the bank.

#1.  Illuminated LED charging cable ($15):

illuminated cable

This has to be my favorite gadget accessory of all time.  Whenever I have it in my car or at my house, people cannot believe how cool it looks.  Gimmicky yes, amazing… yes.

Here it is for 15 bucks at amazon.

#2. Roku 2 ($70)

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For about 70 bucks you can get a Roku 2 box.  I love my roku 2.  I stream netflix, hulu, vevo, and even movies from my computer with it to the big screen.  No need to spend copious amounts of money for unnecessary options like 4K streaming.

Here it is for 66 bucks at amazon.

#3. Jawbone Up2 ($90)

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Fitness trackers are getting more stylish.  Pickup the Jawbone up2 for under a hundred bucks at amazon.

 

#4. Samsung Gear VR ($100)

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I love the Samsung Gear VR.  If you already have a compatible Samsung phone, you can immerse yourself in virtual reality.  Checkout my full review of the Samsung Gear VR here on Bapgo.com

Grab it at Amazon here.

#5. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite ($100)

paperwhite

While you can read Amazon e-books on your phone/tablet, having a glare-free screen really helps.  Grab the new Paperwhite at amazon.com

If you have any great ideas for gadgets under 100 dollars this holiday season, please comment.

Samsung Gear VR is Awesome

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I can vividly remember buying Nintendo’s Virtual Boy back in the 90’s.  I ran home, un-boxed it with some friends, and started to play.  I was immediately disappointed.  The tennis game looked horrible.  There was some depth, but with the extreme red and white color contrast I got a headache right away.  The next day I took it back to the store.  If my Super Nintendo games looked so good, why couldn’t virtual reality look good?
It’s been 2o years, and dare I say, quality virtual reality may be just around the corner.
If you already have a compatible Samsung phone, for just 99 bucks you can immerse yourself in virtual reality.
Currently, there are sparse games and 360-degree movies that you can toy with. However, being that it is one of the first systems on the market, it may be your best option to use virtual reality before the holidays.

The Gadget:

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If you’ve been following the hardware saga, the Gear VR used to be a very bulky headset.  Thankfully, with each iteration, it has come down dramatically in size.   Simply use the Velcro straps to place it on your head, and it’s ready to go.

There is soft padding around the nose and eyes to make a comfortable fit.  If you wear glasses, the head-set actually does as pretty good job at accommodating your eye ware.  Contact lenses may be preferred.  Also, if you are over 40 years old, you might run into troubles with your prescription due to presbyopia if you are farsighted.  Progressive lenses may distort your viewing, so I recommend getting single vision glasses or contact lenses before you start your experience.  A great positive aspect is that there is a focus wheel at the top that you can use to adjust the clarity to match your vision.

Of course, when it comes to using the Gear VR, you need the cell phone.  It is a lot like using google’s Cardboard, but the Gear VR has more bells and whistles; a gyroscope and proximity sensor.

Getting Started:

The following phones currently work with Gear VR: Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and the Note 5.  I’m hoping that the Gear VR will have longevity.  Hopefully  the next phones that they release will still fit.

To get started, just place the phone onto the from of the Gear VR, then plug in the USB.

Sound:

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It makes the most sense to use headphones with the Gear VR to get the full experience.  Unfortunately, these aren’t included.

Controller:

Some games require a controller.  Unfortunately, no controller is included with the Gear VR.   A separate controller can be added and used with Bluetooth technology.

Using the Gear VR:

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Oculus Home launches and you’re ready to go.  You can get apps/games and immersive movies.  There are already over 100 apps available.  If you are a developer, this could be a good time to jump into the wildwest of VR coding.  Great time to make money in a new frontier.

Things to watch out for:

Nausea: A lot of people are reporting nausea.  This is to be expected with VR.

Battery life:  The battery goes pretty quick while using VR, and once it’s dead, you are also out a phone.  That makes it a bit inconvenient.

Overheating: While playing, the phone does get pretty hot.

Positive Aspects:

It’s available now.  Several other solutions are soon to come out including the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.

The price tag: At just under a hundred dollars, this is a great way to jump into VR without breaking the bank if you already have a compatible phone.

If you’ve had experience with VR, please let me know in the comments.