Samsung and its carrier partners announced availability and pricing details for the Gear S smartwatch today. AT&T and Sprint will offer the device starting November 7, but T-Mobile won’t sell it until November 9. Pricing for the wearable varies by carrier.
The full retail price is $350. AT&T is offering it for $200 with a two-year contract and $10 monthly service charge. Sprint says customers can get the Gear S with $0 down followed by 24 monthly payments of $16. Sprint’s Gear S plan also costs $10 per month.
T-Mobile is selling the Gear S for $0 down followed by payments of $14.58 for 24 months. T-Mobile’s Gear S service plan costs $5 per month. Verizon has yet to announce its pricing and service plan details.
The Gear S requires a service plan because it can access 3G networks and make voice calls independent of a smartphone. The Gear S is based on Samsung’s Tizen platform and features a 2-inch, curved Super AMOLED display with 360 x 480 pixels. In addition to 3G, the Gear S includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Samsung says it can transition between cellular and Bluetooth connections seamlessly. It includes Samsung’s S Voice service for voice commands, and has an on-screen keyboard for composing messages. Other features include Samsung’s S Health and fitness apps, music player and gallery apps, and the ability to receive notifications from a variety of services.
The Gear S is powered by a dual-core 1.0GHz processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. It has a 300mAh battery, which Samsung claims provides for two days of usage per charge.
