The clock is ticking down to Samsung's big press event in Berlin, where everyone expects the South Korean tech giant to unveil the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.
Through an unnamed source, VentureBeat's Christina Farr says she got some hands-on time with what is apparently a prototype of the new watch. And Farr was able to snap images of the watch in action off a promotional video that was not produced by Samsung but rather with an outfit working with the company. She says she was not allowed to shoot pictures of the prototype itself.
According to Farr, the new Galaxy Gear has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth that you can use to connect it wirelessly to other Samsung devices. She reports the watch is rather large, about 3 inches measured diagonally. "Although its screen is square, large bezels on the top and bottom give it a chunky, rectangular shape, with rounded corners," she writes. "The color is fairly basic â€" dark black and grey, although it may be enhanced in the final version. The wristband is clunky and masculine, large enough to hold speakers in the clasp."
So what exactly does it do? As with other smartwatches already on the market, you can initiate or answer phone calls from your wrist, presumably a Galaxy smartphone but perhaps rival handsets as well. Galaxy Gear can exploit Samsung's S Voice technology for barking out voice commands.
You will be able to quickly glance at your email, or perhaps incoming texts, tweets, or other social networking info. With a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap, you can take pictures of some sort, though it remains to be seen what the ideal use case for the camera might be, and I'd want to try it out in the real world. Farr mentions the possibility of snapping pictures of what you eat, potentially useful if you're tracking your health. The watch runs apps like most smartphones.
There's been a lot of speculation and rumor about what the Samsung watch would be and its target audience, with your wrist expected to be the next battleground pitting Samsung against Apple. Indeed, an Apple iWatch has also been long rumored.
Already, we've seen smart watches from Sony and a gaggle of startups, with Kickstarter darling Pebble garnering most of the attention. Smart watches generally fit into the whole burgeoning wearable computer category that sports everything from Google Glass to Jawbone Up and Nike FuelBand fitness bracelets.
We'll have to wait on Wednesday's announcement for pricing, availability and other details (colors, styles, etc.). And we'll also have to wait at least a little bit longer to see what Apple has up its own sleeve â€" or wrist.
You can read Farr's account here.
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