BackSamsung to introduce smartphone-like wristwatch in September
The Galaxy Gear will be powered by Android and can make phone calls, surf the Web and handle e-mails
Premium(The device will be unveiled on 4 September, 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. Reuters)
Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co. 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 on 4 September, 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.
Asia’s biggest technology company is racing other electronics makers, including Sony Corp., to create a new industry of wearable devices as the market for top-end handsets nears saturation. The global watch industry will generate more than $60 billion in sales this year, and the first companies to sell devices that multitask could lock customers into their platform, boosting sales of smartphones, tablets and TVs.
The Galaxy Gear being released next month won’t have a flexible display, though the company is continuing to work on developing a bendable screen, one person said. It will be unveiled the same day as Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3, a combination smartphone and tablet computer.
Apple watch
Apple had a team of about 100 designers working on watch- like device, two people familiar with the matter said in February. The Cupertino, California-based company is seeking to introduce its device this year, one of the people familiar said at the time.
Samsung became the world’s largest smartphone maker last year, overtaking Apple. The Suwon, South Korea-based company had about 33% of the global smartphone market in the second quarter, while the iPhone maker fell to a three-year low as more consumers chose inexpensive handsets from Chinese makers, according to researcher Strategy Analytics.
Samsung released its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone in April and plans at least two other high-end handsets this year, including a device using the Tizen operating system.
Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, said in a March interview that the company is working on a watch device.
IFA runs from 6 to 11 September. BLOOMBERG
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