Samsung and LG have announced more smartwatches ahead of next week’s IFA trade show in Berlin, with an emphasis on connectivity and curvy faces.
Samsung Galaxy Gear S
Samsung Electronics announced the Gear S, its first smartwatch with 3G connectivity. Users can make or receive calls using the timepiece or get them forwarded from a smartphone, according to Samsung. That makes the Gear S one of the few smartwatches on the market that can act as a stand-alone device.
“The Samsung Gear S offers a new wearable experience with 3G connectivity and elegant curved display, expanding the smartphone experience to the wrist,” a Samsung spokesman wrote in an e-mail.
Powered by the Tizen operating system, it has a 2″, curved Super AMOLED display with a 360×480 resolution.
The Gear S has 512Mb of RAM, 4Gb of internal memory and a 300mAh lithium-ion battery that lasts two days with typical use, the company said. Its sensors include a heart-rate monitor and UV monitors. It has also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The watch will be available in phases starting from October, Samsung said, with pricing announced then.
The LG G Watch R, meanwhile, has a circular face, much like a traditional wristwatch and in contrast to most smartwatches released to date.
It seems designed to take on another round smartwatch, the Android Wear Moto 360 from Motorola.
The G Watch R has a plastic OLED display that’s the first of its kind to use the entire watch face, LG Electronics said.
LG G Watch R
Set in a stainless steel frame, the 1.3″ display has a 320×320 resolution that can boost display clarity when viewed at different angles and under bright sunlight.
The company’s earlier G Watch was criticised for its bland design and large, bulky display of 1.5″ by 1.8″, and it had an LCD screen with 280×280 resolution.
The G Watch R, which has health and fitness tracking functions and an embedded heartbeat sensor, resembles its predecessor in terms of specs. It runs on Android Wear and is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, with 4Gb of storage, 512Mb of memory and a 410mAh battery.
The dust- and water-resistant unit connects to Android smartphones via Bluetooth.
LG said it will roll out the device in the fourth quarter of 2014, but did not give a specific date, region or price.
Both the Gear S and the G Watch R will be on display at IFA, which runs 5-10 September.
IDG News Service
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