The Galaxy Gear S, another Samsung wearable among many, will be available in the U.S. on Nov. 7 and unlike its other Gear siblings, the S can have its own data connection. Unfortunately, it looks like carriers will make you pay for this thing (and potentially any other data-enabled smartwatch) as if it were a data-enabled tablet.
Over at AT&T, you're able to snatch up the Gear S for $200 on contract but you'll need to pay $10 in monthly fees to add the wearable to your current mobile plan. Meanwhile, Sprint will be charging you $384 spread out over 24 months for the device, in addition to a $10 per month charge. However, that fee will be waived until December 2015 as long as you have a family plan with 20GB or higher.
T-Mobile will be charging $5 a month for a "new wearable rate" plan, which is at least cheaper than other plans out there, but you'll have to pay for the device outright for $350. The Galaxy Gear S will also be coming to Verizon though the carrier has yet to make a pricing announcement.
Let's just forget for a second that this wearable is a.) expensive b.) only works on Samsung phones and c.) places you in the walled-garden that is Samsung's Tizen operating system. You'll now have to pay a monthly fee to make phone calls and receive texts via a smartwatch. But how often do you not have your phone on you? Even Samsung says the watch isn't meant to replace your phone.
But if you're going to cosplay as Dick Tracy, this could be just the thing.