14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung is gearing up to announce the Galaxy Note 4 just in time for one of the biggest tech fairs of the year, namely IFA 2014, which takes place in September.
But the folks over at SammyHub have received a reliable tip claiming wearable fans will be treated with something for their pleasure, too.
Remember Samsung’s standalone watch which made rounds online some time ago? The rumor mill dubbed it the Gear Solo and the very same device is said to be making a debut in Berlin as soon as next month.
This will be Samsung’s smartwatch bearing number five and in all possibility the Korean tech giant will choose to maintain the tradition established last year when it unrolled the original Galaxy Gear device at the same device.
Since then, Samsung has widely diversified its smartwatch portfolio, including the Tizen-enhanced Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo (plus the health-centric Gear Fit). Google’s I/O brought forth another specimen going by the name of Gear Live, which takes advantage of Google’s own wearable platform, Android Wear.
And now, to complete the one-year cycle, Samsung is said to launch a premiere in the smartwatch domain. Well, a premiere while brand vendors are concerned. We’re going to explain that a little bit later.
Anyway, most smartwatches on the market today have to be coupled with smartphones or tablets in order to be of any use at all. But that’s not going to be the deal with the Gear Solo. This smartwatch will come equipped with 3G and will allow customers to place phone calls right from their wrist.
In theory, it seems like customers might be able to forsake smartphones altogether and rely only on their smartwatch, but who knows if this is actually a viable scenario in real life.
For the time being, we don’t know anything about the pricing of the Gear Solo, but Samsung has been known to sell its smartwatches for quite a lot. For example, the Gear 2 can be grabbed for $299 / €224 while the Gear Live sells for $199 / €149 (it doesn’t have a camera).
Yesterday, we told you the Neptune Pine smartwatch started shipping out to customers after a year and a half of wait. We bring this product into discussion for one reason: the device can also be used to place phone calls, so the Gear Solo won't be the first to bring this functionality along.
The caveat is that it sells for a very high price – namely $349 / €260. Hopefully, Samsung won’t do the same and shock us with a $300 / €224 price tag.