(via Archos)
As the clock ticks away to 2014 and with just a few days separating us from the start of CES, a new competitor is throwing its hat into the smartwatch category. Archos, a company that doesn’t quite elicit the same name response as Samsung or Apple will be “unveiling a selection of smartwatches starting at under £50 or $82 US dollars.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8nJKWJTsUg&w=600&h=400]
For a moment there I didn’t think I would find a creepier marketing spot than Nokia’s Lumia 2520 “mullet.” Well, Samsung has gone and taken “creepy marketing spot” to a whole new level with “Are You Geared Up?” The 2.5 minute features two guys, one with the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch, the other with just a run-of-the-mill smartphone and of course the bombshell blonde.
There was little question at some point, somewhere in their roadmap Pebble’s smartwatch was going to get a dedicated appstore. That day has arrived as a new company blog post indicates the new developer portal is now open. The app store will launch to the public in 2014 and be the “first-of-its-kind wearable application directory.”
It will come as little surprise that Samsung is working on a successor to the Galaxy Gear and that a Galaxy S 5 on the horizon. However, a new rumor courtesy of etnews via SamMobile indicates the Korean giant is looking to launch both the next-generation Gear and S 5 at the same time. Realistically, that seems logical so while this is a pure rumor for now, it’s certainly a rumor that makes sense.
While the debate still rages about just how many units Samsung has actually sold of the Galaxy Gear, software updates are coming this week. According to a brief Engadget report, Samsung has heard the complaints about the lack of notification support and will push updates this week to help rectify the matter.
Look, don’t get me wrong as I’m totally on board with wearables and smartwatches as a new part of the industry. However, I’m still having trouble swallowing Qualcomm’s $349 price tag even if they promise a significantly better display…
As Samsung beats back rumors of poor Galaxy Gear sales, it made me wonder what buyers really want to see in their ideal smartwatch? The world may be waiting to see what Apple unveils in the wearables category, but that hasn’t stopped companies like Sony, Qualcomm, and Pebble from trying to capture just a small sliver of this up and coming market.
Samsung has announced that it has temporarily withdrawn the update to Android 4.3 for the Galaxy S3 after users complained about multiple problems, reports the BBC.
These included faster than normal battery drain, some apps refusing to work and alarms failing to trigger […]
“Samsung keep telling us that they will let us know as soon as they find a fix, but in the meantime I am left with a phone that is next to useless,” wrote one owner, Dylan Barlow …
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With a reporting yesterday indicating that Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch had “flopped” with only 50,000 units sold, the manufacturing giant is refuting that report. However, even as Samsung speaks to the media regarding the Galaxy Gear as a successful product, there is some confusion about whether or not the company has “shipped” or “sold” 800,000 units …
Update: Samsung wasted no time in refuting this report with a statement provided by an exec that claims the company has “sold” more than 800,000 units. Hit this link for the full update.
A new report courtesy of Business Korea indicates that Samsung’s Galaxy Gear has fallen well below initial sales expectations. According to the publication, Samsung’s first go at the smartwatch market has sold less than 50,000 units and is moving only 800-900 units per day.
Qualcomm’s first foray into the smartwatch category with the Toq is now set to hit retail shelves on December 2nd. Qualcomm’s just issued press release announces a price tag of $349 along with the December release date.
Smartwatch maker Pebble has announced a software event scheduled for 10 AM Pacific on November 6th. Pebble already has an SDK for developers, but they’ll be announcing some upcoming additions to the watch’s software capabilities. The event will stream live on the Pebble website for anyone to watch.
Two members of Pebble’s developer support team will also hold an AMA on Reddit directly after the event to discuss the upcoming changes with developers and answer any questions they may have.
Pebble also says that over 400 users who backed the original Kickstarter project are still waiting on their watches, which seems like a high number considering the fact that the watch has been available in Best Buy for some time now.
Hello Pebblers!
Apologies for the radio silence the last couple months. We know it has been a long time since we shared an update, but we’ve had our heads down focusing on some exciting developments and big news is brewing.
This Wednesday, November 6th, we’ll be sharing the details. You’re invited to join our (hopefully less blue) livestream at 10am PST to hear the news first hand. Just visit www.getpebble.com Wednesday after 9am PST for a link to the event. If you’re currently developing for Pebble, or interested in creating apps for Pebble, then you should definitely tune in!
We’ll also post the news for those who can’t join and a recording of the livestream will be available immediately following the event. Eric and Pebble’s developer support team will also be available to take questions on a Reddit AMA on Wednesday at Noon PST.
Most of you have Pebbles on wrists by now, but our records show that 460 of our 68,929 backers are still waiting. If you are one of those 460, we want to hear from you! We need a correct email and shipping address so we can send your Pebble(s). Please enter your info at http://bit.ly/kswaiting and we’ll confirm Pebble shipments as fast as we can.
Thanks once again for your support, much more to follow soon!
Team Pebble
Samsung is addressing one of the biggest issues with its Galaxy Gear smart watch it introduced earlier this year: device compatibility. Several Samsung devices including its Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2, and Mega smartphones will receive compatibility via a software update in Android 4.3.
Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smart watch debuted alongside Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 smartphone and Galaxy Note 10.1tablet with support limited to those devices. Initial reviews overwhelmingly disapproved of Samsung’s smart watch offering, but widening device compatibility is surely a step in the right direction. (Full press release below)
Samsung could see itself getting priority access to new glass technologies after taking a 7.4 percent stake in Gorilla Glass maker Corning and simultaneously signing a 10-year supply agreement.
The net effect of a complex series of share swaps and cash investments, allied to a long-term procurement commitment from Samsung, is a $2B deal that will enable Corning to boost its R&D investment, accelerating the pace of development of new types of display.
With closer cooperation between the two companies, Samsung may prove well positioned to gain access to those new technologies ahead of the rest of the market …
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3qeJKax2CU
Despite the device’s universally-abysmal reviews, Samsung is continuing to market its Galaxy Gear smartwatch as the wave of the future—and the past—with two new TV ads. The first, titled “A Long Time Coming,” Samsung uses clips from some of the most popular TV shows of decades past to set the Galaxy Gear up as the long-awaited wrist-mounted computer from Dick Tracey, The Jetsons, Knight Rider, and more.
The ad has a similar feel to Apple’s “Hello” TV spot, which it launched with the iPhone 5c last month, but rather than featuring customers using the advertised product, Samsung’s ad shows fictional characters using Hollywood’s various conceptions of the smartwatch.
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Not a fan. Either show how this will make my life better or bash Apple. I don’t know what this is.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch reviews are out, and that red glow you see on the horizon is from the blushing faces at Samsung, visible all the way from Korea. The reviews are not, to put it kindly, overwhelming in their enthusiasm for the device.
A smartwatch the Galaxy Gear is not. Frankly, I’m not sure exactly what it’s supposed to be. Samsung describes it as a companion device, and the Gear is indeed chronically dependent on an umbilical link to another Samsung device, but it never left me feeling like it was a helpful companion. The notifications are Orwellian, the media controls are exiguous, and the app selection has no substance to underpin the hype. Samsung’s attempt to turn the Gear into a style icon is also unlikely to succeed, owing to the company’s indecision about its target demographic. Trying to please all tastes has resulted in a predictably charmless and soulless product.
The Gear’s camera and phone calls are both surprising and delightful, but they’re unfortunately isolated highlights. When all is said and done, I expect the Galaxy Gear will be looked back upon as a rough first draft that helped the Korean chaebol steer a better course en route to the goal of producing a real smartwatch. As it stands today, though — unintuitive, oversized, overpriced, and in constant need of a Galaxy guardian — the Galaxy Gear might have been better off staying on the drawing board …
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At UNPACKED 2013 Episode 2, Samsung just announced the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, the “next evolution” of Galaxy. The device has an on-board 1.9 megapixel camera that can take pictures and video memos, a pedometer feature, and security measures that allow you to require the Gear to be nearby when you want to unlock your Samsung phone. More highlights:
The Galaxy Gear will launch globally September 25th for $299 along with the Galaxy Note devices. It looks like leaked press images that we reported on earlier.
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GigaOM has confirmed suspicions that the leaked photos of the Galaxy Gear smart watch were indeed of a prototype device made available to developers. The actual device being launched on Wednesday will be a much more finished product.
Battery-life was also added to the things we now know about the watch.
- High quality OLED displays will show the full spectrum of colors.
- The display will be around 2.5 inches diagonally (and 3 inches diagonally including the case.)
- It will be powered by a dual core processor, probably a Samsung Exynos 4212 dual core 1.5GHz with Mali-400 MP4 GPU.
- It has a camera and a microphone integrated into the strap and even tiny speakers.
- It has Built in NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- The Gear is powered by Android 4.3, with keyboard featured turned off.
- The device won’t have a browser and will need the phone to tether to the Internet.
- It will need a Samsung device with a watch-focused app store to install apps on the watch.
- It has a built-in accelerometer and other sensors that will allow it to act has a quantified self device.
- Expect battery power to be 24 hours with modest use, but around 10 hours with more active usage …
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Samsung’s Lee Young-hee spoke with Korea Times and confirmed the rumored Galaxy Gear smartwatch will be announced at the upcoming September 4th event. The Verge posted some interesting quotes and insight:
The device will be based on Android and feature a “non-flexible” display. Lee calls the Galaxy Gear a “wearable concept device,” which raises the question: will Samsung sell its smartwatch to the mass market? Lee adds that Samsung is “confident that the Gear will add meaningful momentum to the mobile industry,” implying the device is just an early exploration of a potential market, rather than one aimed at mainstream adoption.
The idea of the device being a “concept” makes it sound like this product could be a small “test” entry to see how consumers react, just like Google Glass. It’ll only be a short time until we find out how the device operates and what the interface looks like.
Photo: knowyourmobile.com
Not content with offering the world’s largest smartphone, The Korea Economic Daily (via BGR) seemingly confirms the rumor we reported last month that Samsung is now planning to launch a 12.2-inch tablet in October, possibly alongside the Galaxy Gear smartwatch …
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Samsung Gear Patent Filing
Following a report from SamMobile last week sharing some specific specs coming in Samsung’s much rumored Galaxy Gear smartwatch, today GigaOm reports on a few more details from developers with prototypes of the device. On top of confirming a Sept.4 unveiling at Samsung’s events scheduled to take place in Berlin and New York, the report claims Galaxy Gear will include a 2.5 inch OLED display, dual core processor, an accelerometer, speakers, and built-in NFC:
It is said to be around 2.5 inches diagonally (and 3 inches diagonally including the case), is powered by a dual core processor and should have pretty decent battery life. In addition, we are told the watch has a camera that is integrated into the strap and even has tiny speakers in the clasp of the watch, plus built-in NFC to allow for bump-to-sync and authenticate. The watch uses Bluetooth 4.0 LE to connect with smartphones for connectivity… In addition, the watch has a built-in accelerometer that makes it possible to switch it on when it is moved up towards the eye. It could be a great way to wake the watch and also the apps and manage battery power. The watch screen will support the usual touch, swipe and select type gestures but will likely not have text-input.
The report adds that watch will work with a Samsung watch manager app on a smartphone and utilize apps from the Samsung App Store, not Google Play. GigaOm also claims that Galaxy Gear will support Facebook and Twitter integration at launch. The Samsung App Store integration could mean the device will only be available for Samsung device users:
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Samsung Gear Patent Filing
According to a new report from fansite SamMobile, Samsung will introduce its Galaxy Gear smartwatch during the Unpacked Episode 2 event on September 4th. The Galaxy Gear will reportedly carry the SM-V700 model number and act as a companion device for Samsung’s other Galaxy smartphones. Other details are sparse at this point, though several patent filings have given us a hint as to what we may see in terms of design. Samsung is also excepted to announce its Galaxy Note III flagship during the Unpacked event next month.
Samsung’s foray into the smartphone market comes on the heels of the Pebble being available in retail stores across the country. Many people also expect Apple to enter the smartwatch market sometime soon, as well.
No matter what Samsung announces next month, we’ll be sure to bring you all the details.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PiYolKRuY7Q
There’s been a lot of interest surrounding the wearable computing market recently, with Apple going on an iWatch trademarking binge and the Pebble being released to Best Buy locations around the country. Samsung, who you have to figure is interested in the wearable market, showed off its vision for the future of wearables at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco (via AllThingsD).
Samsung chief strategy officer Young Sohn showed a video full of concepts for wearable devices. Specifically, the video focused on the health benefits of wearable computing. It shows a women using her device to quickly send health test results to her doctor. “We think the health area is a really key area of innovation,” Sohn later said. Samsung things that, though the market for wearable devices is small at the moment, it will rise quickly when the technology is further integrated into watches, glasses, and more. The video also shows Samsung’s vision for displays and how you could be able to easily expand and compress your device to get a larger or smaller form factor.
We haven’t heard too much about a Samsung wearable device, but we have to imagine that it is in the forecast, as both Google and Apple are reportedly eying the market.
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