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Samsung will unveil Galaxy Gear smartwatch next week

Samsung's smartwatch will be unveiled ahead of Germany's IFA consumer tech trade show.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

Samsung has confirmed it will take the wraps off its first smartwatch in a matter of days.

Lee Yong-hee, executive president of Samsung's mobile business, told the Korea Times the new smartwatch will be launched on 4 September at its own event, just prior to the opening of the IFA consumer tech trade show in Berlin, where several major hardware makers are expected to launch new products. 

Lee didn't reveal much about the smartwatch except that it joins Samsung's Galaxy lineup, and will be released under the previously-rumoured brand name Galaxy Gear — suggesting the watch will be based on Android. The other tidbit is that it won't have a flexible display like the one Apple is rumoured to be working on for its upcoming wearable tech products.

Still, Lee said Samsung was "confident that the Gear will add meaningful momentum to the mobile industry".

Asked by ZDNet for further comment, a Samsung spokesperson said: "We will be able to tell you more at the Samsung Unpacked event."

Another Galaxy device will also be launching next week: Samsung has previously confirmed the Galaxy Note 3, the company's latest phablet, will debut at IFA.

Recent leaks suggest the device will have a 5.9-inch screen and a 4K Ultra HD video camera, the next step up from Full HD.  

Lee also reiterated Samsung's comments that it was not planning to acquire BlackBerry. 

Analysts speculated earlier this month that Samsung was considering buying BlackBerry as part of its wider OS development efforts. A more concrete development between the two companies however is that Samsung appears to be gearing up to bring BBM to its Android devices, with the app likely to launch in African markets first.

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