AT&T has announced that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch will be available online and in its retail stores starting on Oct. 4.
The highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch are about to hit the U.S. very soon. The Galaxy Note 3 is the latest flagship phablet in Samsung's Galaxy Note series. It offers a fresh new design that is both thinner and lighter than the Note 2, even though Samsung has increased its display to 5.7-inches.
The Galaxy Gear smartwatch, meanwhile, is the company's first Android smartwatch and has been designed to be the perfect companion to the Galaxy Note 3. Users will be able to pair the smartwatch with the phablet and initiate calls, read messages, set reminders and more, directly from their wrist. The Galaxy Gear runs a modified version of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Samsung claims there will be over 70 apps available to run on the smartwatch at launch.
AT&T has announced that it will begin offering the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch online and in retail stores on Oct. 4., i.e. less than a week from now.
The AT&T Galaxy Note 3 features a 5.7-inch 1080p Full HD Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 386 pixels per inch (ppi) and runs Android 4.3 with Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top. It is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, an Adreno 330 graphics processing unit (GPU) and 3GB of RAM.
Its camera capabilities include a 13-megapixel illuminated rear camera with "smart stabilization" and a 2-megapixel front facing shooter, with both cameras able to record 1080p HD video. It will include 32GB of internal storage and have a microSD expansion slot that will support up to 64GB microSD cards. Its wireless connectivity options consist of a 4G LTE radio, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC, and an IR blaster to turn the Note 3 into a universal remote control and also features a dedicated program guide. Samsung has packed a large 3,200 mAh removable battery and enhanced S Pen functionality.
When it comes to Samsung's first Android smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear will feature a 1.63-inch 320 x 320 Super AMOLED display and run 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 is packing a 315 mAh battery that Samsung says will be provide enough power to last a full day of "regular use." The Galaxy Gear uses Samsung's S Voice to allow users to issue voice commands to the smartwatch to create new alarms, dictate new messages, initiate phone calls, and more.
Interested customers can purchase the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for $299.99 when signing a new 2-year contract with the carrier, and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch will retail for $299.00. Both devices will be available online and in AT&T retail stores on Oct. 4.
