back to article Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch: Cloak lifted on secret details

Patent documents filed by Samsung have revealed details - for the first time - about what the South Korean tech behemoth's R&D department have been working on over the last few months: a smartwatch. According to a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the gadget - dubbed Samsung Galaxy Gear - falls under the " …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    bangle?

    its not going to be black with silver trim and a big red plastic block on it?

    Down and safe.

  2. QtheMisanthrope

    "Sony recently trumpeted that it was six years ahead of the pack in the race to ship a viable smartwatch"

    And Microsoft beat Apple to tablets by several years, but being first means nout in the end.

    1. Charles 9

      Not to mention that would mean Sony got a smartwatch to market all the way back in *2007*. I don't think the smart*phone* was a market item back then.

      1. Irongut

        You've never heard of Windows Smartphone 2003 then? There were smartphones long before Apple invented the dumb smartphone and convinced everyone it was the second coming.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I had a smartphone back in 2000. Nokia Communicator 9110.

    2. Steve Foster
      Alert

      @QtheMisanthrope

      And Microsoft had the SPOT watches a few years back.

  3. envmod

    lol smartwatches

    what a load of crap. going to be a total fad i'm telling you. i predit they'll be popular for 6 months, then end up in a drawer never worn again and the market will collapse.

    wearable tech ain't gonna be what people think it is.

    1. John Gamble

      Re: lol smartwatches

      Shrug. I've been wearing my Pebble for months now. It does exactly what (as an extension to my phone) I want without going overboard (I don't need an Android operating system on my watch).

      Wearable tech is fine as long as has the features you actually need.

    2. xperroni
      Paris Hilton

      Re: lol smartwatches

      [I] predit (sic) they'll be popular for 6 months, then end up in a drawer never worn again and the market will collapse.

      I'm not saying this isn't what's going to happen, but didn't we all think the same about tablets?

      I dimly remember El Reg calling the iPad a "broken oversized iPhone".

      And here we are today, desktops and notebooks are down, smartphones and tablets are up, up, up.

      Paris, because I have about as much of a clue on what the Next Big Thing (C) will be.

    3. Fibbles

      Re: lol smartwatches

      I said smartwatches would never catch on when the reg did a series of articles on them last year and, seemingly, every year before that. Every time I get downvoted by the smartwatch fanclub yet the things are no closer to being mainstream.

  4. Thomas Wolf

    Crowded market?

    That's just precious: "The market is starting to look crowded with - among others - Apple's iWatch, Microsoft's Surface Watch and now Samsung's Galaxy Gear" - you list companies that may *intend* to enter this market but aren't in it, but "forget" to list the ones already there (e.g. Sony, Pebble).

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hipsters love Pebble

    because it's crowd funded, but Sony Smartwatches are where the real decent tech is.

  6. UnauthorisedAccess

    Out of left field...

    One thing I'd love to see is a morse code app for smart-watches so that incoming emails/SMSes from nominated sources (spouse/close friends/boss) can be 'vibrated' into your wrist.

    With practice you could feel messages without having to hold the watch up to your face or painfully reach for your mobile. Great for meetings, driving, 'on the job', covert work etc.

    Please note that I don't know morse code though I'm willing to learn for this very purpose!

    1. Rob Thorley
      Happy

      Re: Out of left field...

      Or you could employ someone to stand in a room in the opposite building and semaphore your texts for you...?

      I like the idea of learning Morse specifically for this purpose :)

      1. UnauthorisedAccess
        Thumb Up

        Re: Out of left field...

        > I like the idea of learning Morse specifically for this purpose :)

        I know it sounds stupid though I would actually jump on the smartwatch bandwagon for this.

        If I find out learning morse code is actually harder than I thought then I retract all previous statements.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Out of left field...

          "If I find out learning morse code is actually harder than I thought then I retract all previous statements."

          Men are not allowed to! You chose your folly, stick to it!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Re: Out of left field...

      "One thing I'd love to see is a morse code app for smart-watches so that incoming emails/SMSes from nominated sources (spouse/close friends/boss) can be 'vibrated' into your wrist.

      With practice you could feel messages without having to hold the watch up to your face or painfully reach for your mobile. Great for meetings, driving, 'on the job', covert work etc.

      Please note that I don't know morse code though I'm willing to learn for this very purpose!"

      I suspect your one of, oh, 100's worldwide!

      1. UnauthorisedAccess

        Re: Out of left field...

        > I suspect your one of, oh, 100's worldwide!

        Very true. Worst case I'll write the app myself as a pet project. Code name: "Wrist Humper".

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Judging by their phones, Samsung's watch will be made of creaky plastic, have a battery life of 25 minutes and be the size of a dinner plate.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And there will be 500 very similar varieties, and six will come with a stylus.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    "The market is starting to look crowded with - among others - Apple's iWatch, Microsoft's Surface Watch and now Samsung's Galaxy Gear."

    You can't move for 3 competitors watches!

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wearable tech, SNNOOOOOOZZZZE.

    Wake me when its small enough to implant.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like