Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung Electronics’ IT and mobile division, introduces 

the Galaxy Gear smart watch at the “Samsung Mobile Unpack 2013” 

event on Sept. 4 two days before the opening of 2013 IFA Berlin.

   Samsung Electronics’ first wearable smart gadget, the Galaxy Gear smart watch, made its debut at the “Samsung Mobile Unpack 2013” event on Sept. 4 two days before the opening of 2013 IFA Berlin.

The Galaxy Gear was among the Korean electronics giant’s latest Galaxy lineup that comprises the Galaxy Note 3 and the new Galaxy Note 10.1. The brand new Galaxy Note 3 is expected to take on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5S and Sony’s ambitious Xperia Z1, eyeing a comeback in the global smartphone market during the remainder of this year. 

Samsung Electronics has come up with the Galaxy Gear to beat its archrival Apple to the punch to take the lead in the emerging wearable electronics market. 

The unveiling of Samsung Electronics’ wearable smart gadget attracted huge attention globally as the venue of the event was jam packed with some 2,500 reporters from 70 countries. The event was televised live from a special stage in New York’s Times Square.

The Galaxy Gear is a kind of “companion device” linked to the likes of the Galaxy Note 3, not a standalone one. Syncing the Galaxy Gear with the Galaxy Note brings more functions and more comfort to users. The Galaxy Gear will allow users to make and receive calls. The voice-recognition function “S Voice” will enable users to check a list of incoming and outgoing calls, their daily schedules, and weather forecasts. The wearable smart watch has a function to record conservations or ideas that pop up in the user’s mind, which are automatically translated into text and stored in their Galaxy smartphone, so they can be retrieved later. The watch has a rubbery wristband embedded with a built-in camera, allowing users to take still photos and short moving images. These functions can be realized in sync with the Galaxy Note 3. A function called Smart Relay will allow users to read the full content on the screen of their Galaxy devices after notifications on incoming messages or emails pop up on the Galaxy Gear.

Samsung Electronics plans to release the Galaxy Gear to 149 countries starting Sept. 25. Samsung Electronics is the first company among the world’s smartphone leaders to introduce a wearable smart watch, a move to fortify the Korean electronics giant’s standing as a “first mover,” shedding its image of “fast follower.”   

Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung Electronics’ IT and mobile division, said at the unpacking event, “I believe it will become a new fashion icon around the world.”

The Galaxy Gear features a 1.63-inch, 320x320 display, and a built-in 1.9-megapixel camera. One thing Samsung Electronics needs to upgrade is the Gear’s 315 mAh battery, which Samsung says will last 25 hours. 

The Galaxy Note 3, more user-friendly, reinforced

Samsung’s brand new Galaxy Note 3 is 8.3 mm thin and weighs 168 g. It sports a 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED display and a 3,200 mAh battery, and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with smart stabilization and high CRI LED flash, allowing users to capture every memorable moment in their lives. 

The Note 3 is evolving further with the “Air Commander” function in which five functions are displayed whenever the S-Pen is touched to the screen. The most eye-catching function is the Pen Window function in which users can draw a box with the S-Pen to bring up another app in a small space on any other window — for example a calculator, a telephone, and an internet browser. 

Samsung Electronics President Shin described the Note 3 as a “more innovative, thinner, lighter and stronger one.”

The event coincided with the unveiling of Samsung Electronics’ 2014 tablet PC, Galaxy Note 10.1.