We’ve been hearing a number of rumors circulating around Samsung’s upcoming smartwatch product, which is being called the Galaxy Gear. One such rumor is when Samsung is getting set to announce the device, which is expected to occur on September 4 prior to IFA. Today, we’re learning a bit more regarding the Galaxy Gear. (more…)
Galaxy Gear Rumored To Come In Multiple Color Options original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Yes, it’s another crowdfunding campaign for a smartwatch. The latest competing for your backing dollars comes from upstart Omate, which has today launched its TrueSmart watch on Kickstarter. The hook here is that the watch will work as standalone device without a smartphone, letting you make calls, send texts or, as the company suggests, even pair it with Google Glass for some fully-wearable computing. As with other smartwatches, though, it can also act as a smartphone companion to serve up notifications and the like, and the company is hoping that developers will tailor their apps and create new ones specifically for the device; it’s simply running Android 4.2.2 underneath Omate’s custom launcher, which the company notes is rootable for those so inclined.
As far as the hardware goes, you’ll get a 1.54-inch color display (240 x 240 resolution), a 1.3GHz dual-core Cortex A7, a built-in 5-megapixel camera, 4GB of memory (with up to 32GB supported via microSD), a micro SIM card slot for 3G connectivity, and an IP67-rated water-resistant design (available in black only). Those on board will have to pony up at least $179 to back the device, which is expected to ship in October or November.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: Omate TrueSmart, Kickstarter
LG looks like it might be about to spread its bets around the table, according to a new interview with Bulgarian LG communications executive Dimitar Vulev. The interview from Dnevnik.bg (via Engadget) offers up an unusually transparent look at LG’s upcoming product plans, as Vulev details what the company is working on both for the end of the year and beyond.
The comms director says that LG is keenly aware of the phablet phenomenon, as evidenced by the Optimus View and Optimus G Pro, and adds that next year there will be “an even bigger phone.” This is also seen as a transition to the company focusing on larger-screen tablet devices, including a device to be launched “probably” by the end of the year. LG had previously shuttered its tablet efforts, but Vulev says it’s time to re-enter since it’s a “growing market” that has become much larger in recent years.
Android remains the primary focus of LG’s efforts in mobile, he said, but Windows Phone devices are also in the pipeline, though likely not on tap for this year. When and if we see a Windows Phone LG smartphone make it to market depends on how Microsoft develops the OS, Vulev explained. This mirrors what LG India Managing Director Kown Soon said back in July about Windows Phone 8. LG previously made Windows Phone 7 devices, but like its tablet efforts, production was put on hold after shipment shortfalls.
LG is also working on a Firefox OS phone, diversifying its software picture even further, Vulev said. So far, the open, web standards-based Firefox OS mobile platform hasn’t really had a champion among the core, big-name smartphone OEMs, so LG releasing one in early 2014 (if Vulev’s information is correct) could really help boost its presence and visibility.
Vulev also said that LG will be releasing a smartwatch, perhaps sometime next year, to debut first in the U.S. market. It could come with a flexible display, and while he admitted that LG’s previous GD910 watch phone was not successful, he suggested that the market is much more primed now for such a product than in the past.
While most companies aren’t so candid about future unreleased products, LG’s regional execs have a history of being rather more forthright than most, so it’s likely this is a genuine peek behind the curtain. Whether it’s a smart, systematic bet on a number of different horses, or a scattershot attempt at relevance, will only be proven out by the quality of these products when they do actually arrive.
LG’s mobile communications head in Bulgaria, Dimitar Valev, has laid out some of the company’s key plans in an interview with Dnevnik.bg. For starters, he confirmed that the company will fire up its temporarily mothballed tablet lines with a new model, likely the 9.8-inch V500 we saw at the FCC earlier today. On the smartphone side, LG will trump its 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro model with a 6-inch handset and release a Firefox OS device early next year. Most intriguingly, he said the company would give the smartwatch category another kick at the can, despite indifference to LG’s GD910 Watch Phone model several years ago — adding that the device might use flexible LCD tech. We’re not sure if Mr. Valev was speaking out of turn, but if accurate, it’ll be interesting to see how the new hardware pans out — especially LG’s take on Firefox OS.
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Tablets, Wearables, LG
Via: Phone Arena
Source: Dnevnik.bg
Apple clearly loves Nike when there’s Nike+ support across many iPhones and iPods, but that affection appears to be growing even deeper. Both 9to5 Mac and AllThingsD report that fitness expert Jay Blahnik, who consulted with Nike during the FuelBand’s development, joined Apple earlier this month. While the new hire hasn’t outlined his role, it’s easy to see him working on wrist-worn devices given Tim Cook’s professed interest in the category. We’ve reached out to the company for more details, and we’ll let you know if we learn more. Whatever Blahnik’s exact duties, his career move suggests that fitness plays an important role in Apple’s device roadmap — fans may want to lace up their running shoes.
[Image credit: Nggcali12, Wikimedia Commons]
Source: 9to5 Mac, AllThingsD
Samsung has spread its Galaxy Gear smartwatch in multiple versions and form-factors to developers ahead of the official launch expected on September 4 it’s said, promising tight integration between timepiece and smartphone to make data consumption seamless, though may demand users opt for other Samsung hardware. The Galaxy Gear will rely on Samsung’s own App […]
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Samsung’s smartwatch ambitions look more and more likely to result in a launch at IFA in early September, with new sources claiming the digital timepiece – believed to be the Samsung Galaxy Gear – will be able to make calls and access the internet. The Android-based smartwatch will be revealed at Samsung’s September 4 event, […]
![Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch To Be Unveiled On September 4 [Rumor]](https://i0.wp.com/cdnrss.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/samsung-galaxy-gear.jpg?resize=640%2C476 "Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch To Be Unveiled On September 4 [Rumor]")
We’ve been hearing a lot in regards to Samsung’s possible smartwatch as we’ve heard in the past it may include a flexible screen may be called GEAR and will possibly launch alongside the Galaxy Note 3 during a September 4th event. Apparently, those last two rumors seem to have some legs as Bloomberg is reporting the Samsung Galaxy Gear is expected to make its debut on September 4.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear will be powered by Android and will able to make phone calls, surf the Web and handle e-mails, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Galaxy Gear is expected to go on sale some time this year, which Samsung will be attempting to have it available prior to Apple’s rumored smartwatch product.
Bloomberg’s report also claims the device will work independently of your smartphone, although just how independent it can be is yet unknown considering just how much the device will act as a companion to your smartphone. Either way, we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes out for any upcoming announcements from Samsung in the coming weeks. Until then, you should practice all of your cool Dick Tracy lingo to prepare yourself for if / when the Galaxy Gear is announced.
Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch To Be Unveiled On September 4 [Rumor] original content from Ubergizmo. 
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What’s weird about reporting on the potential introduction of smartphone watches is that they actually aren’t anything new – every few years it seems some OEM comes up with a wrist-mounted phone that makes for an interesting demo but doesn’t go anywhere, like the LG GD910, for instance, the talk of CES 2009. Samsung readying a smartphone watch for a September 4 unveiling, as Bloomberg reports, then seems a bit like déjà vu.
The so-called Galaxy Gear from Samsung would be an Android-powered smartwatch that sounds like it can operate independently of a connected smartphone device to make calls, browse the web, send and receive emails and more. The Gear won’t use Samsung’s fledgling flexible display technology, however, as that’s not quite ready for prime time, and is still in the crowdsourced contest phase of development.
Samsung will introduce Gear on September 4, a couple of days ahead of the IFA consumer gadgets show, alongside the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung’s next giant tablet/phone mashup monstrosity. Bloomberg doesn’t say much more about the Galaxy Gear or what it will look like, but we’ve already seen some hints in previous trademark and patent filings from Samsung.
So besides the fact that Samsung and LG are very different companies, what’s changed between 2009 and now that makes the Galaxy Gear a more potentially interesting product than the LG GD910? Well, Android for one. LG’s phone was essentially a dumb phone that you wore on your wrist. Samsung’s Gear should have some tricks up its sleeve thanks to Google’s smartphone OS.
Of course, working with Android on a non-standard screen size brings its own issues. The open-source OS is highly customizable, as Nvidia’s SHIELD project proves, but that device is much more similar to a phone than what a smart watch would presumably resemble. Will Gear have access to Play Store apps? How will those apps behave? Will Samsung be applying a heavily customized skin on top and supplying its own limited stock of apps? The last seems most likely, as even with a super high resolution display, Android apps operating on a smaller screen would have tiny visual elements and touch hit points.
Note also that this specifically isn’t a device that requires a smartphone to operate if Bloomberg’s sources are correct, but a “wristwatch-like smartphone,” so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of integration between smartphone and smartwatch Samsung builds in. I’m betting there has to be some kind of connection, since that’s another advantage that modern devices have that weren’t necessarily available to the GD910 and other similar devices.
If this really is a full-fledged smartphone, however, it will likely be priced with one, especially if it boasts decent specs. That could make its initial appeal limited, but maybe for Samsung being first to market (especially ahead of Apple, which is said to be developing its own smartwatch) in this space that everyone’s watching was the top priority.
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