Exec Confirms 4 September Samsung Galaxy Gear Launch Date

Samsung has confirmed it will launch the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch at an event in Berlin next week.

Lee Young-Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, told The Korea Times of its intention to unveil the device two days before the IFA opens and also confirmed it planned to show off the Samsung Galaxy 3 at the consumer electronics fair, although she declined to provide any details about the phablet.

Samsung had already admitted to the existence of the smartwatch, which will apparently be able to make phone calls, access the Internet and receive emails, while the Galaxy Gear name was revealed in a filing submitted to the US Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) earlier this month.

Samsung Galaxy Gear

Lee said the Galaxy Gear would not feature a flexible OLED display, but said Samsung was working on more advanced smartwatches that could use the technology as it seeks to establish itself as a market leader.

A number of companies are believed to be working on smartwatches amid fears the smartphone market is saturating, with Samsung’s chief rival Apple widely rumoured to be working on a competitor.

The so-called iWatch might not be released until late 2014, which would give Samsung a huge advantage. Speed is also considered important because many in the industry believe the first company to bring a smartwatch to market will have a significant advantage as consumers could be locked into a platform, boosting sales of other products such as smartphones, tablets and televisions.

Despite the fears of market saturation, Lee said Samsung’s smartphone and tablet business had reached a sustainable level, but said it planned to protect itself against any decline in demand. She said mobile security was an area of potential growth for the company, especially for its Android-based Knox platform.

However she said Samsung was not interested in purchasing BlackBerry, despite being linked with a move for the struggling Canadian manufacturer’s patent portfolio.

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