At Samsung's Unpacked event in Berlin, the company announced its Galaxy Note 3 phablet and also its entry into the smartwatch market with the Galaxy Gear.
It appears that the smartwatch is "the next big thing" in the mobile world. Companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are all rumored to be working on smartwatches of their own, but Samsung has beat all of them to the punch when it unveiled its Galaxy Gear smartwatch during a press event at the IFA 2013 trade show. The smartwatch runs Android 4.3, includes the ability to run different applications, and can pair with Samsung Galaxy devices.
"Samsung's ongoing smart device innovation leadership reflects our commitment to listen to our consumers, who want their daily lives to be easier and more enjoyable. Samsung GALAXY Gear benefits consumers by integrating smart device technology even deeper into their everyday lives, and bridges the gap between the mobile device and fashion worlds to create truly wearable technology," said JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung GALAXY Gear frees users from the need to constantly check their smart devices while maintaining connections. It provides what we call 'smart freedom,' by allowing users to choose how, why, when and where they are connected."
Samsung GALAXY Gear allows users to live in the moment while staying connected to their Samsung GALAXY devices. It notifies users of incoming messages such as calls, texts, emails and alerts, delivers a preview of those messages and creates the opportunity for users to accept or discreetly ignore those notifications. When an incoming message requires more than a quick glance, users can simply pick up their Samsung GALAXY devices and the Smart Relay feature will instantly reveal the full content on the screen.
The Galaxy Gear features a 1.63-inch 320 x 320 Super AMOLED display and runs a modified version of Android 4.3. It uses a single-core 800MHz Exynos processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. It has a 1.9-megapixel camera with autofocus built into its strap and is capable of recording full HD video. It includes NFC, Bluetooth 4.3 LE, gyroscope, pedometer, and accelerometer. It's packing a 315 mAh battery that Samsung says will be provide enough power to last a full day of "regular use." The company would not provide details on how long it will actually last, but it sounds like the rumored 10 hours of use is about right.
The Galaxy Gear uses S Voice to allow users to issue voice commands that can create new alarms, dictate new messages, initiate phone calls, and more. The smartwatch will initially work only with the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1, but Samsung says that support for Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 will be added in the future. The company expects to have over 70 apps available for the Galaxy Gear when it launches the smartwatch later this month.
The Galaxy Gear will be available in the U.S. in October for $299 and will come in choice of Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green.
