14 DAY TRIAL // Smartwatches have been making the news a lot over the past months, despite there being none actually on sale. Now, though, the time has come for them to finally debut in the flesh. Samsung made sure it got the first cut.
The Galaxy Gear watch is one of the three products that Samsung revealed at its pre-IFA press conference, here in Berlin, Germany.
The others are the new version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, which possesses most of the former's capabilities, especially Air Command.
The Galaxy Gear watch isn't as advanced, although it's no surprise considering how much smaller it is and, thus, the less space for cramming hardware.
The 320 x 320 super AMOLED screen is actually impressive under those circumstances, especially since it's the least of its assets.
First off, the Galaxy Gear automatically links to Galaxy smartphones (Bluetooth 4.0) and picks up calls, shows message and social media notifications, etc.
There's actually no need for earphones to use the call function. Samsung included a small speaker in the buckle of the belt for that. Users will just have to raise their wrist to their ear, or just talk while working if they so wish.
Another thing the Galaxy Gear can do is take photos. Whereas the aforementioned speaker is in the buckle on the underside of the wrist, the 1.9 MP camera is on the side facing outward. Just point the wrist at anything of interest and voila! Instant photos. Apparently, video in 720p is supported too.
Then again, with an 800 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB storage, that's not as shocking as it might seem at first glance.
That said, Galaxy Gear should recognize voice commands as well (not unlike the Google Glass eyepiece).
Finally, the Galaxy Gear smartwatch is water- and dust-resistant, has 2 microphones, uses 1 speaker, and comes with a gyrometer and an accelerometer.
That leaves software. Buyers will find a pedometer (walking meter), Auto Lock, Stopwatch, Timer, Music Controller, Find my Device, and a way to get emergency assistance: in case of an emergency, users can press the power button 3 times continuously to immediately transfer the person's location information to the saved contacts with messages.
Samsung said the Galaxy Gear would get its own app store, so content will never be an issue.
Sales of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch should start this month in Europe, and by October 2013 throughout the rest of the world.
Note: Sebastian Pop and fellow editor Ionut Arghire are on the floor at IFA 2013 and are bringing you pictures and live reports on the latest products and previews. Find them all here.
