Samsung has unveiled a smartwatch with a colour screen that can show alerts, be used for voice calls and run apps.
The Galaxy Gear
had been highly anticipated since the firm is currently the world's
best-selling smartphone maker and has beaten Microsoft, Apple and Google
to unveil such a device.
Samsung called it a "fashion icon".
However, analysts warned that a decision to limit the watch
to working as an accessory to other Galaxy Android devices might limit
its appeal.
Samsung has previously said growth in the sales of its
handsets was slowing, so investors are eager to see if it can find
another successful product.
It unveiled the watch - which will go on sale from 25 September - at the Ifa consumer tech show in Berlin.
"The introduction of the Galaxy smartwatch comes as no
surprise to the industry, which has been expecting Samsung to beat the
likes of Apple - as well as watchmakers and other consumer electronics
companies - to market," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst
at the consultancy Davies Murphy Group.
"Consumers might be a bit disappointed to find that the
smartwatch is a partner device reliant on being paired with a Samsung
Android smartphone or tablet, rather than being the completely
autonomous media and communications device many consumers were expecting
and hoping for."
The South Korean firm's approach contrasts with that of Sony,
whose forthcoming Smartwatch 2 can be paired with any device running
Android 4.0 or higher.
But one industry watcher said Samsung's decision should not be a surprise.
"Samsung is trying to build its own ecosystem, so why do
something that brings value to somebody else?" asked Carolina Milanesi,
an analyst at tech advisers Gartner.
"Although the price of the Galaxy watch is high there's not
going to be great margins as there's lots of technology going into it."
Samsung says the Galaxy watch will cost about $300. That is
the equivalent of £190, although the firm has not announced a UK price
yet.
However, it is already clear it will cost more than Sony's £120 device.
Start-up Omate is planning to release a watch in October that
matches Samsung's in price, but its device is set to feature a 3G chip,
meaning it can make calls and work as a standalone device.
Qualcomm has also unveiled Toq, a watch using the firm's
Mirasol colour display technology, which should mean better battery life
than its rivals. It also links up to a range of Android smartphones,
and will go on sale next month at a suggested retail price of £190.
Unknown demand
The Galaxy Gear features a 1.6in (4cm) LED display, a 1.9
megapixel camera, a speaker and microphone, has four gigabytes of
internal storage and a non-removable battery.
Samsung said the watch could be used as a way to make voice
calls without having to take the phone it was linked to out of the
owner's bag or pocket.
It comes preloaded with 10 different clock options and there
will be about 70 apps available at launch including Evernote's
note-taking software, auction service eBay, the social network Path and
several fitness programs.
Sony's Smartwatch 2 is compatible with more makes of Android phone.
Gartner has predicted the global wearable computing market - which
includes eyewear such as Google Glass and activity tracker armbands -
could be worth as much as £6.5bn ($10bn) by 2016.
Tech consultancy Canalys has forecast as many as five million smartwatches could be sold in 2014.
But in truth no-one is sure how great consumer interest will be.
A new survey of more than 1,500 smartphone owners in the US
and UK commissioned by telecoms consultancy CCS Insight might temper
expectations.
It found 65% of the respondents had heard of smartwatches and more than 50% knew about wearable fitness trackers.
However, of those who already owned a smartwatch or fitness
band, more than 40% had stopped using it because they often forgot to
put it on or had become bored with the idea.
Qualcomm's Toq may help promote its Mirasol screen technology.
"Samsung has a history of latching on to the latest trends and
throwing a product into the market to try and get ahead of potential
rivals," said CCS Insight's Ben Wood.
"Galaxy Gear is the first attempt but I expect that there
will need to be several more iterations before it is something that will
will appeal to anyone other than an affluent geek."
Unappealing 'anachronism'
Ms Milanesi agreed that neither Samsung nor Sony's watches
were likely to be the breakthrough product that makes smartwatches a
mainstream product.
"Once you get a curved display you'll see more interesting
designs, but for the moment you are basically just putting a glass
screen on a wrist and I don't think that will appeal to many," she said.
"Samsung is also claiming a day's battery life with fair
usage. It's like going back to a time you had to wind your watch up
every night before going to bed.
"I don't think consumers want to do that with a watch or a
band. They want to have it on without having to worry about charging it
every day."
Research firm Forrester was equally sceptical.
Samsung suggests the watch can be used as an alternative to a Bluetooth headset to make calls.
"The wrist is the one of the most accepted places on the body for
consumers to wear a sensor device," said analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.
"[But] there are very few functions you could perform better on a watch than on a phone.
"Maybe Samsung will tap into unmet demand with this product,
disproving naysayers as it did with the Galaxy Note phone which
succeeded after many 5in competitors failed.
"But my bet is that smartwatches are sci-fi inventions that are already anachronisms in this modern world."
Samsung has beaten its main rivals to get its smartwatch out first.
But with a hefty price tag, and an inability to connect to non-Samsung
devices, the Galaxy Gear is not expected to be a game-changer.
Killer feature: Can be used to make calls when paired with a Samsung handset.
What they say: "It's too dependent on its
parent device for functionality - which will cost you a fair amount too -
and, like all other smartwatches, fails to truly live up to the "smart"
part of its name."
