Samsung Smart Watch Rumors: 'Galaxy Gear' To Reveal Sept. 4 Alongside Galaxy Note 3?

A new report confirms rumors that Samsung will unveil its new smartwatch, the “Galaxy Gear,” on Sept. 4, two days before the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. The report also reveals a few details about what features we can expect from the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Sources familiar with Samsung and its Galaxy Gear project told Bloomberg that the smartwatch can make calls, surf the Web and handle emails. This is consistent with a trademark application filed July 29, which also revealed the Samsung Galaxy Gear name, for “wearable digital electronic devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls, electronic mails and messages.”

Sources also said the Samsung Galaxy Gear will be powered by the Android mobile operating system, like the rest of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets. Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy Note 3, its smartphone-tablet hybrid, the same day as the Galaxy Gear on Sept. 4.

Most believe that the Galaxy Gear smartwatch is not intended to operate as a stand-alone device, but rather work in conjunction with other Samsung devices, including smart TVs, smartphones and tablets. The Galaxy Gear smartwatch could be part of a strategy by Samsung to lock users into its family of products.

Samsung probably will release the Galaxy Gear this year to compete with coming smartwatches from Sony, which unveiled the SmartWatch 2 in June at the Mobile Asia Expo, and Apple, which filed trademarks for an iWatch in several countries. With so many companies in the mix, 2014 could be the year of the smartwatch, with some predicting as many as 5 million units shipping.