Report: Samsung to unveil 'Galaxy Gear' smart watch at Sept. 4 event

Samsung Electronics will unveil a smart watch called the Galaxy Gear at a Sept. 4 event ahead of the IFA trade show in Berlin, according to a Bloomberg report.

The report, citing unnamed sources, said the device will be able to make phone calls, surf the web and check email and will be powered by Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform. It's not clear if the Samsung watch will have cellular connectivity. The report added that the device won't have a flexible display, but Samsung is still working on developing a bendable screen. In January Samsung showed off a prototype smartphone with a flexible display at the Consumer Electronics Show.

A Samsung spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month Samsung sent out media invitations to an event in Berlin on Sept. 4 where it is widely expected that the company will announce the Galaxy Note III, its latest phablet iteration. The event will come less than a week ahead of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) rumored Sept. 10 event where it may unveil the next iPhone. Apple has also reportedly been working on a smart watch of its own.

"We've been preparing the watch product for so long," Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business, told Bloomberg in March. "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 smart watch market is heating up, even though most major technology companies have not yet released such products. In June Sony announced the Android-powered SmartWatch 2.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is working on its own smart watch design, according to an April report in the Wall Street Journal. Citing unnamed executive sources at suppliers, the report said that earlier this year Microsoft asked suppliers in Asia to ship components for a potential watch-style device, but it is unclear if Microsoft will move ahead with the project. It is also unclear if Microsoft's watch will have cellular connectivity. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is also reportedly developing a smart watch of its own.

In May Apple CEO Tim Cook touched on the idea of wearable computing, which Google is pushing with its Glass initiative. "I would say that the ones that are doing more than one thing, there's nothing great out there that I've seen," Cook said of wearables. "Nothing that's going to convince a kid that's never worn glasses or a band or a watch or whatever to wear one. At least I haven't seen it. So there's lots of things to solve in this space."

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this The Verge article
- see this AllThingsD article

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