There has been much interest recently in wearable technology as many people see it as the next big potential market.
Devices like Nike’s Fuel Band and the Google Glass project show that there is a good deal consumer interest in this sector. However, many tech observers seem to think that the smart watch could revolutionize the wearable tech space.
As a result, there have been reports of companies from Sony to Apple all working on versions of a smartwatch concept.
Samsung is reportedly going to beat everyone to the market with its concept.
Bloomberg.com is reporting that Samsung will unveil a smartwatch called the “Galaxy Gear.”
According to bloomberg.com:
“Samsung will introduce a wristwatch-like device named the Galaxy Gear next month that can make phone calls, surf the Web and handle e-mails, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“The Galaxy Gear will be powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system and go on sale this year to beat a potentially competing product from Apple Inc., the people said.
“The device will be unveiled Sept. 4, two days before the IFA consumer electronics show begins in Berlin, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private.”
Although there’s a lot of speculation swirling around this announcement, from what Bloomberg is reporting, Samsung’s smartphone watch won’t be anything revolutionary. In fact, it isn’t anything that we haven’t seen before.
As reported by techcrunch.com:
“What’s weird about reporting on the potential introduction of smartphone watches is that they actually aren’t anything new – every few years it seems some OEM comes up with a wrist-mounted phone that makes for an interesting demo but doesn’t go anywhere, like the LG GD910, for instance, the talk of CES 2009.”
To be fair, there would be some differences between what LG released and what Samsung is proposing.
Also pointed out in the Techcrunch article: “What’s changed between 2009 and now that makes the Galaxy Gear a more potentially interesting product than the LG GD910? Well, Android for one. LG’s phone was essentially a dumb phone that you wore on your wrist. Samsung’s Gear should have some tricks up its sleeve thanks to Google’s smartphone OS.”
Although the Samsung’s Galaxy Gear may not be a revolutionary product, it is a smart strategy for them to be first to market this go around to prevent Apple from defining the smartwatch market.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear will be released on Sept. 4, the same day Samsung is scheduled to release its new phablet, the Galaxy Note 3.
