Samsung is set to debut its Galaxy Gear Smartwatch later today at a press event in Berlin at the IFA technology trade show. Earlier this week VentureBeat caused some waves online when it released a rundown of specs for the device citing anonymous sources close to the company. Now a new set of updates paint a possibly better and more realistic image of the Galaxy Gear as it prepares for an unveiling.
VentureBeat mentioned in its original story that Samsung often produces several prototypes that don't look exactly the same as the eventual product that they showcase. However, these prototypes typically do give a good idea of what the finished product will look like, or, at the very least, what the features the product will have.
New specs from Gigaom say the Smartwatch has no built-in browser and uses the latest 4.3 version of Android with all keyboard features turned off.
The watch comes with Bluetooth LE, which means it will work with all smartphones that use a Bluetooth option including all smartphones it the company's own Galaxy family as well as rival phones like the iPhone and HTC One. This will not only allow the watch to tell you who is calling and collect voicemails, the new specs from Gigaom show an ability to take calls.
The original specs from VentureBeat said the watch would have a battery life of more than ten hours. Now the new specs are saying it will last for more than 24 hours with modest use. More drastic use will bring the battery life closer to the original ten hour battery life.
As for social media integration, none of the prototypes work with the functionality right now. However, the systems are built in.
Here is a rundown of the latest features of the Galaxy Gear Smartwatch courtesy of Gigaom.
-High quality OLED displays will show the full spectrum of colors.
-The display will be around 2.5 inches diagonally (and 3 inches diagonally including the case.)
-It will be powered by a dual core processor, probably a Samsung Exynos 4212 dual core 1.5GHz with Mali-400 MP4 GPU.
-It has a camera and a microphone integrated into the strap and even tiny speakers.
-It has Built in NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 LE
-The Gear is powered by Android 4.3, with keyboard featured turned off.
-The device won't have a browser and will need the phone to tether to the Internet.
-It will need a Samsung device with a watch-focused app store to install apps on the watch.
-It has a built-in accelerometer and other sensors that will allow it to act has a quantified self device.
-Expect battery power to be 24 hours with modest use, but around 10 hours with more active usage.
