FIRST OFFICIAL PICS OF SAMSUNG "GALAXY GEAR" SMARTWATCH LEAKED

SAMSUNG GALAXY GEAR SMARTWATCH

Leaked photos of what is claimed to be Samsung's new smartwatch set to be released this week show a watch that is capable of sending email, taking photos and monitoring people's fitness and is best suited to those with very large arms.
Tech site VentureBeat has posted images of what it says are stills from a product video for the new Galaxy Gear smartwatch, which Samsung's executive vice president of mobile Lee Young-hee last week confirmed would be launched on September 4 at the IFA tech show in Berlin.

The images appear to show the watch running a range of apps.

VentureBeat says the prototype it examined had a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap and apps, running on Android, to monitor the wearer's heartbeat and fitness tracking.

On the downside, the report says the smartwatch will only last 10 hours before the battery needs recharging, which is likely to be frustrating for those who expect their watch to be smart enough to tell the time for an entire day.

The claimed prototype had a screen measuring 3-inches diagonally, and had Bluetooth for connecting to a smartphone and wi-fi to connect to the net.

Juniper Research released a report last week predicted app-enabled smart watch shipments would reach 36 million per annum by 2018.

Apple is believed to be working on a smartwatch but its rival Samsung is set to beat it to the market with the Galaxy Gear.