The technology world never stops turning, and the smartphone portion is more fluid than most, which means it's no surprise to anyone that Samsung is hard at work making the Galaxy Gear 2 so soon after the first version hit stores alongside the third generation Galaxy Note.
Samsung has been in quite a bit of hot water lately. As well as dropping two Galaxy S4 Gold Edition right after the launch of the Gold iPhone 5s, the company was then found to be severely cooking the books with certain flagship handsets in order to yield favorable results in benchmark tests. Now, it would seem the Korean giant is up to another one of its old tricks - copying Apple - and as you'll see below, the ad for its Galaxy Gear smartwatch is very much the same as that of the original iPhone.
Amid the unprecedented turnout for the iPhone 5s, the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 has certainly found itself playing second fiddle, and although the Korean company is also the first of the big names to come through with a smartwatch, even the new wearable gizmo has scarcely managed to get a look in. But today, at least for consumers in the United Kingdom and 58 other countries, both the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear are now available to purchase, and if you were thinking of purchasing Samsung's two latest exports as a bundle, there are some pretty decent savings to be had.
Whether smartwatches are going to be a real growth market or something of a damp squib remains to be seen, but that isn't stopping Samsung from jumping into the arena with both feet. By announcing the Galaxy Gear at today's IFA briefing in Berlin, Samsung has not just launched a new product, but it's also managed to pip Apple to market. With the iPhone maker repeatedly tipped to have a smartwatch of its own in the works, getting there first could be a major coup for Samsung.
Samsung is busier than most when it comes to releasing new devices, but while the South Korean company offers dozens of smartphones and tablets, the main topic of conversation right now pertains a supposed smartwatch effort. The Twitter handle @evleaks, famed for getting hold of snaps and information about new products prior to their showcasing, has done it once more with the alleged Galaxy Gear smartwatch, releasing what appears to be a screen capture of the Android interface of the device's "Galaxy Management" companion app.
One of Samsung's top executives in the their mobile division has slipped out news which we have all been waiting for. Lee Young-hee, who operates as Vice President of Samsung's mobile arm, has confirmed in an interview with local press that the South Korean company will indeed by introducing the world to two new products as part of their Samsung Unpacked 2013 media event. As we expected, the third-generation of the gigantic Galaxy Note will make an appearance, but it's perhaps the confirmation regarding the existence of the Galaxy Gear smart watch that will manage to capture most attention.
Phablet fans will undoubtedly already have September 4th penciled into their diaries, for it is the date when Samsung will be unveiling the Galaxy Note 3. But while we're pretty sure the device will borrow its design (and a large portion of its hardware) from the flagship Galaxy S4, the prospect of the Korean company unveiling its very first smart watch effort has us even more excited. The so-called Galaxy Gear, which would be the first smart watch to market from any of the 'big' names in tech, remains rather elusive, but based upon some early patent drawings, T3 has come up with a rather beautiful concept of the wearable gizmo.
Earlier this month, Samsung sent out invites to an Unpacked 2013 event on September 4th, and at the time, we pondered whether the so-called Galaxy Gear smart watch would make an appearance alongside the inevitable Galaxy Note 3 announcement. A recent SamMobile report appears to corroborate this ongoing notion, with the blog stating that the wearable gadget will be given the model number SM-V700.
