Samsung Electronics is hoping that consumers warm to its Galaxy Gear smart watch companion device, which, according to an in-depth account from CNET, was the result of the company moving at a breakneck pace to get the product from concept to reality in a year. The report notes that some of the gadget's key features came in part from surveys Samsung conducted more than a year ago into problems consumers were having with their smartphones, such as not being able to take a photo fast enough. Top company executives, including co-CEO J.K. Shin, were major proponents of the project, but Samsung did not get really serious about building Gear until the first quarter of 2013, the report said, citing anonymous sources close to the project. Samsung reportedly considered more than 100 designs and gave prototypes dubbed "bread boxes" to developers so they could test apps for the watch, though the prototypes were much bulkier than what Samsung wound up unveiling as the finished product. So far, reviewers have given the Gear mainly tepid reviews, and have dinged it for its $299 price tag, with PC Magazine concluding, "The Samsung Galaxy Gear advances the smart watch concept, but it's too expensive, limited, and difficult to use in its current form." Article