Samsung announces the Galaxy Gear smart watch

BY Kelly Hodgkins

Published 4 Sep 2013

Galaxy Gear press shot

Samsung kicked off its Unpacked event with three quick announcements that confirmed the highly anticipated Galaxy Gear smart watch along with the Note 3 phablet and a new Note 10.1 2014 tablet. The Galaxy Gear is more like the Pebble smart watch, than the Fitbit Flex fitness tracker and includes the features of a smartphone packed into a device that fits on your wrist.

The wrist-watch device has a 1.63-inch, 320 x 320 Super AMOLED touchscreen and a flexible band. Samsung’s Smart Relay feature allows you to receive messages, while voice control lets you make and receive calls. To answer a call, all you have to do is hold your watch to your ear. The speakers and microphone have been positioned strategically in the band for talking. You’ll also be able to take pictures with the 1.9-megapixel autofocus camera, which has a macro mode and Full HD video recording.

There are also dual microphones with noise cancellation and a speaker embedded into the adjustable wristband. Besides its built-in software, the watch will include third party apps like MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper and Path. Some of these apps will interact with the parent apps on your Galaxy smartphone or tablet.

Along with the Note 3, the Galaxy Gear smart watch will go on sale starting September 25th in more than 149 countries and will roll out worldwide in October. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have announced they will carry the device when it launches in the US. It’s expected to be priced at $300.

[Via Samsung]