Consumers who were wowed by the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch at its unboxing on Wednesday, Sept 4, in Berlin, Germany, and New York City, could buy the watch as early as Sept 25 for $299.

The watch, which features a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display with 320x320 resolution, single-core 800 MHz processor and 1.9 MP camera, will launch globally in over 149 countries on Sept 25. In the U.S., it would be available by early October.

Buyers would have a choice from six wristband colours. The device, compatible only with the 2014 models of the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1, has a speaker and two microphones, 4GB built-in storage, 25-hour battery life from a 315 mAh batter and Bluetooth.

With the watch's launch, Samsung beat Apple in the arms race since the California-based company, rumoured to release an iWatch, has yet to make any official announcements regarding their version of smartwatch.

It will display tablet or smartphone notifications, allows users to answer calls and provide time, making it unnecessary for the owner to take his smartphone from the pocket or the tablet from the bag.

In the near future, owners of the Galaxy S4 and S3 smartphones and the Note 2 tablet would be enjoy the use of the Galaxy Gear through software updates to be released by the South Korean tech giant for Gear integration.

Among the security features of the Gear is an Auto Lock that locks the companion smartphone's screen if the smartwatch is over 1.5 metres away from the phone. It automatically unlocks when the two devices are brought closer. When one device is missing or misplaced, the Find My Device feature makes the gadgets issue sounds, light up and vibrate to help locate its pair.

Source: Engadgets.com

The wristband colours to choose from are Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold and Lime Green.

Other features of the smartwatch include a Pedometer to track physical activity of the wearer through its built-in sensor such as calories burned, steps taken and distance covered.

As of its launch, 70 apps are available, including Evernote, eBay, Path, TripIt and Pocket.