Samsung Galaxy Gear has got its first functional custom ROM from a developer on the XDA forum. The custom ROM titled “null” has been developed by fOmey, a senior member of XDA. His custom ROM based on the MK7 ROM is an attempt to overcome the limitations of the smartwatch. One of the most important features of this release is Bluetooth tethering which lets you browse web pages on your Galaxy Gear by using the data connection of your Galaxy smartphone. Apart from that, the custom ROM includes Nova Launcher which lets the user to play with custom grids and animations. The video recording duration has been increased from 30 seconds to 60 seconds. The ROM contains all the native Android apps and it lets you access Google Play to download apps. Running full fledged apps is going to be quite difficult considering the hardware specs and 1.6 inch touchscreen of the Galaxy Gear. If you own a Galaxy Gear and are willing to take the risk of installing this hack on your $300 smartwatch (voiding its warranty) head over to the #-Link-Snipped-# which has a detailed list of features and instructions to install the custom ROM.


The release of the ROM might be a sign of the popularity of the smartwatch which was earlier criticised for its limited functionality and steep pricing. Earlier today, Samsung Electronics had informed the news agency Samsung Elec says Gear smartwatch sales hit 800,000 in two months that it has managed to sell 800,000 units of the Galaxy Gear. But there seems to be some confusion with these figures as #-Link-Snipped-# claims that these figures show the number of shipments to retailers and not actual sales figures. Additionally, we also have to consider the fact that most of the units were bundled for free with the Galaxy Note 3.

Source: Samsung Galaxy Gear gets its first functional custom ROM - Android Community & Samsung defies critics, ships 800,000 Galaxy Gear smartwatches in two months - The Verge