- The Galaxy Gear smartwatch is set to launch in Berlin this Wednesday
- Leaked images suggest the first version will not have a flexible display
- Samsung's launch will beat Apple's rumoured iWatch but analysts predict a slow take up of the technology
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Samsung is set to unveil its Galaxy Gear smartwatch in Berlin on Wednesday, but doom-saying analysts are already predicting poor sales and a lack of enthusiasm for the technology.
The Korean company will be the first major smartphone manufacturer to release a device that resembles a smartphone worn on the wrist, although other, similar devices such as the Pebble and Androidly are already on sale.
By being the first to launch, Samsung will beat Apple's iWatch - rumoured to be coming out in Spring next year - to the market, yet experts are divided on whether this gives it an advantage or poses a risk.
Images leaked by technology site VentureBeat claims to show a prototype Galaxy Gear, pictured with a 3-inch touchscreen, a 4MP camera in the strap, voice commands, preloaded Android apps for tracking fitness, health and connecting with social networks as well as call logs when synced with an Android phone
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE GALAXY GEAR?
Rumours about a Samsung smartwatch began towards the end of last year and earlier this month a patent filing for the Samsung gadget was uncovered.
According to the filing Samsung's Galaxy Gear range will be 'wearable digital electronic devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls.'
It continued that the wristband will also be used for 'storage and/or transmission of data and messages and for keeping track of or managing personal information; smart phones; tablet computers; portable computers.'
Images leaked by technology site VentureBeat claims to show a prototype Galaxy Gear, pictured with a 3-inch touchscreen.
The site also claims it has a 4MP camera in the strap, voice commands, preloaded Android apps for tracking fitness, health and connecting with social networks as well as call logs when synced with an Android phone.
Engineer and tech expert Sami Mughal from OxGadgets told MailOnline: 'As far as timing goes, it is everything. It won't be easy for many rivals to bring out a competitor watch a few months from now based on the lessons learnt from the Galaxy Gear.
'They can make adjustments, but you can hardly expect a whole new product. Apple are Marmite at the moment; you either love them or hate them.
'Most Android fans fall in the latter category, and they'll probably go straight for anything that comes with the Samsung badge on it.'
Annette Zimmermann, an analyst at research firm Gartner, told CNBC: 'In Gartner's device forecast we have an assumption built into our model that says that less than 3 percent of consumers replacing their smartphone will replace it with a smartwatch in 2017.'
She added that although the device will set Samsung and Apple apart, the take up is likely to be slow.
Other analysts have claimed that the technology won't become mainstream until Apple launches its own version of the device: 'It worked for the iPad, and it worked with smartphones (the iPhone) as well, so there may be some calculated truth to this prediction,' continued Mughal.
This has been dubbed by Jonathan Gaw, research manager at IDC, as waiting for an 'iPod moment' - where the market needs to be ready for a device and the hardware, software and design is just so to make the gadget popular and far reaching.
A 2009 concept of a Samsung smart watch: The firm's mobile bosses confirmed in March it is working on a watch and it is thought the Korean company is about to announce it at an event in San Francisco
Rumours about a Samsung smartwatch began towards the end of last year and earlier this month a patent filing for the Samsung gadget was uncovered.
According to the filing, Samsung's Galaxy Gear range will be 'wearable digital electronic devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls.'
It continued that the wristband will also be used for 'storage and/or transmission of data and messages and for keeping track of or managing personal information; smart phones; tablet computers; portable computers.'
Lee Young-hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business, told The Korea Times last week: 'We will be introducing a new wearable concept device called Galaxy Gear at our own event in Berlin on Sept. 4.'
However, he admitted the first version won't have, as predicted by many experts, a flexible display.
'The Gear won't have a flexible display. The new device will enhance and enrich the current smart mobile experience in many ways. It will lead a new trend in smart mobile communications.'
Images leaked by technology site VentureBeat confirm this solid screen. The images purport to be of a prototype Galaxy Gear sent to developers and partners.
It has a 3-inch touchscreen, a 4MP camera in the strap, voice commands, a handful of preloaded Android apps for tracking fitness, health and connecting with social networks as well as call logs when synced with an Android phone.
Apple is believed to have 100 people working on its iWatch, according to recent rumours, but is hiring new members because the existing team have been unable to solve issues with the design and engineering. Here is MacUser magazine's mock-up of what the iWatch could look like
Experts believe both technology giant's watches will link to mobile phones and offer largely similar functions, such as the ability to show emails and download mini apps.
'We've been preparing the watch product for so long,' Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business, told Bloomberg during an interview in Seoul.
'We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them.
'The issue here is who will first commercialise it so consumers can use it meaningfully,'
Young-hee also hinted that more wearable gadgets were in the pipeline.
'We have intellectual properties for patents related to the next wearable devices. Those are concepts for future products.'
The gadget will also compete against Google's Glass wearable computer, which is expected to go on sale to the public next year.
Samsung is also expected to launch a new version of its Note 'phablet'- a combined phone and tablet - at the event.
Samsung announced earlier this year it is 'investing heavily' in wearable computers and revealed it is even developing systems for stick on patches to monitor health. Samsung's watch concept, pictured, shows a solid wooden band, and the watch face can be simply slipped out and put in a pocket when running, for example
Shares in both Samsung and Apple have taken a hit as the world's top two mobile device manufacturers keep underwhelming consumers with their latest smartphone models.
Samsung shares dropped nearly 5 percent, or around $10 billion, in just two trading sessions after it launched its Galaxy S smartphone in March, partly hit by concerns that its flagship product lacks the 'wow factor' and may not live up to expectations.
The Galaxy S4, unwrapped to much fanfare in New York to challenge Apple's iPhone on its home turf, offered some incremental evolutionary improvements, but media reports have since suggested these features may not be sufficient to excite buyers in an industry that lives and dies by innovation.
The global watch industry is expected to generate more than $60 billion in sales this year, and rather like the mobile phone market, firms are expected to try and 'lock' consumers into their own ecosystem of apps and other downloads.
Samsung became the world's largest smartphone maker last year, overtaking Apple. Samsung had 29 percent of global smartphone unit shipments in the fourth quarter, compared with 21 percent for Apple.
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