SAMSUNG HAS STOLEN a march its biggest competitor by becoming one of the first big tech companies to unveil a smartwatch.

At a highly anticipated event in Berlin tonight, the mobile giant showed off the Galaxy Gear watch, which comes complete with most of the capabilities of the average smartphone. However the watch is more of a companion than a replacement – it has to connect to a phone via Bluetooth to work.

Users will be able to make hands-free calls and check notifications for emails, text messages and alerts without having to look at their phone. The watch also has a 1.9 megapixel camera, and there are around 70 apps compatible with the device.

Samsung Mobile said that users will be able to “draft messages, create new calendar entries, set alarms and check the weather” on the watch.

The technical specifications of the watch are impressive: it has an 800 MHz processor, 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. It also has a microphone built in for making calls over a Bluetooth smartphone connection.

However – and there was always going to be a ‘but’ with a product as new as this – the watch will only work with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 phone. It looks likely that it will in the future work with other Samsung phones – including the popular Galaxy S III and S4 – but it does not look like it will work with other phones.

The battery of the watch is believed to last for about one day’s worth of use. It takes a charge from a dock via a micro-USB.

The watch, which is available in six colours, will be launched on 25 September around the world but the price is not yet known (although Bloomberg has estimated that it will be $300 – around €227).

People watch the unveiling of the smartwatch in Berlin this evening. (All pics: AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

So that’s what it looks like and what it does – what do you think? Would you get one?

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