Asus ZenWatch Will Have Voice Command, Says CEO Jerry Shen

It is highly expected that Samsung and LG will reveal their new smartwatches next week in IFA 2014 but, they have new competitor in line also. Samsung and LG have already unveiled their device as Gear S and G Watch R respectively however, Asus is waiting for September 3 and the company will reveal its first smartwatch then. Jerry Shen, CEO of Asus, has revealed a bit about their upcoming device and it has been named as Asus ZenWatch.

As reported by Focus Taiwan, ZenWatch would be available in less than $199; this report was confirmed by the company’s CEO, the source reported. The expected release month of the device is said to be of October in US and other places of the world.

Some sources reported that ZenWatch will have the price tag of $99, but some suggested it to be $149 which seems more realistic price for the device. But when compared with its competitors, the device is still cheap.

As said by the CEO of Asus, their upcoming device will have voice command feature. In start, it will only have English detecting voice recognition. At the start of this year, there were also the rumors about the device having gesture controls but no authentic source has confirmed this news.

The video below depicts that the Asus ZenWatch has a bit of curved display but this curve is not as much as the curve of the Samsung’s Tizen-based Gear S.

Asus ZenWatch Will Have Voice Command, Says CEO Jerry Shen

Samsung announces curved Gear S 3G smartwatch

Samsung officially unwraps its Gear S, its billionth smartwatch device launching this year. The Gear S has a few trademarks that set it apart from the crowd, including a curved 2-inch Super AMOLED display with 360×480 resolution, and a built-in 3G modem. It can let the wearable receive notification and messages, and even make and receive calls without any smartphone involved.

The Gear S is basically a wrist-mounted smartphone, which is not something new to the industry. Samsung’s innovative strength is Tizen-powered Samsung Gear 2 and Gear Neo devices, and also has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, in addition to its cellular communication. The Gear S’s hardware design is more impressive, as we’re finally able to see displays that wrap around the contours of the wrist, rather than sticking out as a traditional flat surface.

On the software side, the Gear S has HERE navigation offered by Nokia, as well as Spritz speed-reading. It also contains GPS sensors, an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, barometer, UV detection and a heart rate monitor. In terms of specifications, it’s packing 4GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM with a dual-core 1.0 GHz processor. It has IP67 dust and water resistance, and a relatively small 300mAh battery, which Samsung promises to get it 2 days of usage under normal conditions.

Samsung is also launching the Gear Circle headset alongside the new wearable. The device pairs with a smartphone, using Bluetooth, to allow you to take calls, listen to music, and make voice commands. A vibrating alert tells you when a notification or a call is coming through, and a magnetic lock clips around the users neck when the Gear Circle is not being used.

“Samsung is leading this exciting and rapidly developing wearable category through progressive innovation. The Samsung Gear S redefines the idea of the smart wearable and the culture of mobile communication. It will let consumers live a truly connected life anywhere, anytime.”–J.K. Shin, CEO, mobile communications at Samsung.

Both the Samsung Gear S and Samsung Gear Circle will be available starting in October through the usual Samsung retail channels beginning in October. Pricing has yet to be announced. The Samsung Gear S will be available in black and white variants.

 

Samsung announces curved Gear S 3G smartwatch