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Samsung Galaxy Gear Tops 30% Return Rate

By - Source: Tom's Hardware US | B 21 comments
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The Samsung Galaxy Gear is rumored to have return rates of over 30%, according to Geek.com.

Many are in a hurry to update their lives with the latest gadgets and tech. NFC, Bluetooth cars and GPS have all revolutionized the lives of the average person in the developed world. Unfortunately, Samsung's latest bid to make things just a bit easier on us isn't going too well.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear is rumored to have return rates of over 30 percent, according to Geek.com. The smartwatch was released this September to middling reviews. (See our sister site LAPTOP's review.) Syncing with the user's phone to streamline the experience of taking photos, making calls and more all from the wrist, the Gear seemed like one of the better options on the market.

Samsung is partnering with its reps in Best Buy to try and isolate the problem.

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Top Comments
  • 12 Hide
    Vladislaus , October 29, 2013 9:01 AM
    So they launch a device that is compatible with almost nothing, it's heavy, has poor battery life, and on top of that it's ugly. What were they expecting?
Other Comments
  • 12 Hide
    Vladislaus , October 29, 2013 9:01 AM
    So they launch a device that is compatible with almost nothing, it's heavy, has poor battery life, and on top of that it's ugly. What were they expecting?
  • 0 Hide
    bystander , October 29, 2013 9:03 AM
    This tech definitely has drawbacks. It won't be for everyone, and is not surprising it has a high return rate. You'll be force to go Bluetooth or go speaker phone. That in of itself is problematic for most, I imagine.
  • Display all 21 comments.
  • 1 Hide
    finder , October 29, 2013 9:10 AM
    it's just samsung - wasting loads of cash on developing and marketing just to keep their revenues coming, in a worst case their company will be crowned as pioneer, in the best - market leader
  • 5 Hide
    Murissokah , October 29, 2013 9:13 AM
    It surprises me that people return it because it means they bought it on the first place. One quick research would have prevented that decision. Currently, this device is clearly more trouble than anything else.
  • 0 Hide
    DragonChase , October 29, 2013 9:22 AM
    ITS too expensive...and im guessing a big chunk of the remainder of the people return it after finding out it only works with samsung phones.

    Better yet, only galaxy S4 etc not even S3...dont know if this is still actual right now, but nevertheless...why was it even actual.
  • 0 Hide
    sykozis , October 29, 2013 9:35 AM
    Samsung needs to get rid of their useless "reps" in BestBuy stores. The "reps" at my local store have no idea what Samsung even sells aside from TVs and smartphones.
  • 2 Hide
    Spac3nerd , October 29, 2013 10:48 AM
    My "obsolete" watch lasts 36 hours on a full wind, and then winds itself if I wear it. Sad that the most basic function of the Galaxy Gear is eclipsed by 18th century technology.
  • 0 Hide
    ipwn3r456 , October 29, 2013 12:29 PM
    30%?! That's almost every customer out of three are returning it... well samsung must do something about this. ..
  • 0 Hide
    ap3x , October 29, 2013 12:29 PM
    Not sure if this is them being a pioneer. I guess in the literal way yea but this has largely been looked at in the industry as them rushing to market with a product to try and beat Apple to the market with the rumors iWatch. Problem is that it is just a rumor. There has not been an official announcement. This was just bad strategy on their part. Now they have opened the market up and compu watches are coming out of the wood works. Until someone does it in a way that everyone expects the entire market will remain very niche and not go anywhere.
  • -2 Hide
    stevejnb , October 29, 2013 12:31 PM
    Quote:
    My "obsolete" watch lasts 36 hours on a full wind, and then winds itself if I wear it. Sad that the most basic function of the Galaxy Gear is eclipsed by 18th century technology.


    Does it have Bluetooth?
  • 0 Hide
    deftonian , October 29, 2013 12:56 PM
    The main reason I wont get it is because of the price. 300 bones is quite a bit for a watch that doesn't offer much accept syncing to a device that is usually within hands reach anyways. If the watch was 100 - 150, it'd be more practical as an accessory to the phone but with it being as expensive as a tablet, it just seems like they're gouging the consumer at this point.

    That said, I did take my Note III to best buy and sync to one of the watches for a test run. It has a "neat factor" to it but nothing that said to drop 300 on it.
  • 3 Hide
    teh_chem , October 29, 2013 1:10 PM
    Hey Samsung: What you should be looking for is a high rate of return on your investment; not a high rate of return of your products.

    But seriously; people actually wanted to buy these in the first place?
  • 6 Hide
    HiTekMuppet , October 29, 2013 1:44 PM
    Of course they wouldn't do a good job. They didn't have a market leader to copy from.
  • 1 Hide
    stevejnb , October 29, 2013 2:14 PM
    Spaceballs, I can't comment on the Ford issue or concerning Tom's coverage of the XBOX 360's defective rate, but from NBC to Gamespot to IGN, the defect rate of the XBOX 360 was covered *copiously* by the American media for the first several years of the system's life when it was a significant issue.
  • -1 Hide
    fuzzion , October 29, 2013 7:46 PM
    I have the gear. Could not live without it. But you need to understand it was really designed forr the note 3 and the battery life can only last a max of 2 and half days or 1 day with very heavy use. Charging is easy because u just put it in a clam shell and thats it. No pluggin in , nothing. For the price, the watch is good.
  • 0 Hide
    alyoshka , October 30, 2013 12:38 AM
    It's a Samsung.....
  • -1 Hide
    Solandri , October 30, 2013 2:17 PM
    Quote:
    Not sure if this is them being a pioneer. I guess in the literal way yea but this has largely been looked at in the industry as them rushing to market with a product to try and beat Apple to the market with the rumors iWatch. Problem is that it is just a rumor.

    I suspect this is something they felt they had to get to market first to avoid another $1 billion infringement decision against them in the future. The judge specifically prohibited them from showing the jury touchscreen phone prototypes they were working on before the iPhone (because they missed a filing deadline). That's why the Samsung attorney said "what's the point of even having this trial?" if that evidence were disallowed. So they needed to protect themselves in a way that was judge-proof and technicality-proof. If they're first to market, that's incontrovertible.

    If you think about it, computers are going to continue to get smaller. For a while (since the PDA days, before the iPhone) I've been saying that your PC was going to shrink down to something you can carry around in your pocket. If you project it even further into the future, your PC is going to shrink down to something you can strap to your wrist or wear as a ring. So while the first attempts may be clumsy and not very impressive, this is the direction PCs will be going in the coming decades.

    (Yes I know the screen is too small. Fortunately people have been working on transmitting the screen contents to a remote display over wifi or widi. My prediction is that in the future, your PC will be in your pocket or on your wrist, and your "tablet" will just be a display which connects to it wirelessly. Your "laptop" will just be a display and keyboard which connect to it wirelessly.)
  • -1 Hide
    sykozis , October 30, 2013 3:42 PM
    Quote:
    Not sure if this is them being a pioneer. I guess in the literal way yea but this has largely been looked at in the industry as them rushing to market with a product to try and beat Apple to the market with the rumors iWatch. Problem is that it is just a rumor. There has not been an official announcement. This was just bad strategy on their part. Now they have opened the market up and compu watches are coming out of the wood works. Until someone does it in a way that everyone expects the entire market will remain very niche and not go anywhere.


    Samsung is far from being the first to market with a smart watch. They were beat by Sony and several Chinese companies by a couple years. This is simply another case of Samsung copying other companies.
  • 0 Hide
    sykozis , October 30, 2013 3:45 PM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    Not sure if this is them being a pioneer. I guess in the literal way yea but this has largely been looked at in the industry as them rushing to market with a product to try and beat Apple to the market with the rumors iWatch. Problem is that it is just a rumor.

    I suspect this is something they felt they had to get to market first to avoid another $1 billion infringement decision against them in the future. The judge specifically prohibited them from showing the jury touchscreen phone prototypes they were working on before the iPhone (because they missed a filing deadline). That's why the Samsung attorney said "what's the point of even having this trial?" if that evidence were disallowed. So they needed to protect themselves in a way that was judge-proof and technicality-proof. If they're first to market, that's incontrovertible.

    If you think about it, computers are going to continue to get smaller. For a while (since the PDA days, before the iPhone) I've been saying that your PC was going to shrink down to something you can carry around in your pocket. If you project it even further into the future, your PC is going to shrink down to something you can strap to your wrist or wear as a ring. So while the first attempts may be clumsy and not very impressive, this is the direction PCs will be going in the coming decades.

    (Yes I know the screen is too small. Fortunately people have been working on transmitting the screen contents to a remote display over wifi or widi. My prediction is that in the future, your PC will be in your pocket or on your wrist, and your "tablet" will just be a display which connects to it wirelessly. Your "laptop" will just be a display and keyboard which connect to it wirelessly.)


    Samsung still isn't safe, as they're not the first to produce or market a smart watch. They're just the most expensive. I'm sure if Sony looked hard enough, they could probably find somewhere that Samsung infringed on one of their patents this go round....
  • 0 Hide
    rwinches , October 30, 2013 10:37 PM
    YaHoo!
    Can't wait till these show up a Big Lots!

    Nah it really holds no interest for me.

    Maybe if the tiny screen could flip up it would be worth the eye strain to watch a video on it...Hmmm...Still no.
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