Seoul: Samsung Electronics has introduced its first wearable smartwatches powered by its Tizen platform in its latest attempt to distance itself from Google Inc and enhance its software and services.
Named the Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, both devices offer a lightweight design. A Camera is equipped to a main body instead to strap, making the Samsung Gear 2 a sleek companion. The Gear 2 Neo does not have a camera.
Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo are compatible with more than dozens of Samsung Galaxy smartphones at launch. Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will be available around the world starting from April.
Users can now express their mood or coordinate with their outfit with modern and sophisticated strap colour options including Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange for Gear 2 and Charcoal Black, Mocha Grey and Wild Orange for Gear 2 Neo. The home screen background, clock face and font are also customisable to reflect their personal taste.
The Gear 2 and Gear 2 allow users to accept or ignore incoming calls and messages, and providing instant notification options based on a user's activity and habits.
Samsung has jointly developed its Tizen mobile platform with Intel Corp, as the dominance of Google's free Android software, which Samsung uses for its Galaxy line of products, continues to grow and is now used in almost 80 percent of the global smartphone market.
The South Korean has unveiled its two new smartwatches in less than six months after it introduced the Galaxy Gear wristwatch. The Galaxy Gear wristwatch has been criticized for its clunky design and difficult-to-use features.
The launch also underscores Samsung's desire to come up with new products to revive slowing momentum in its mobile business, the tech giant's biggest earnings driver, as sales of high-end smartphones have eased in many advanced markets.
For the new Galaxy Gear 2 and Neo 2, Samsung has not significantly upgraded the hardware on offer.
Instead, it has moved a camera to the watch's main body from the strap and added a couple of enhanced software offerings such as remote TV controlling, a fitness features like heart rate monitoring, and a standalone music player function, Samsung said in a statement.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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