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Samsung applies for trademark on 'Galaxy Gear' smart watch

A Samsung 'Galaxy Gear' smart watch could arrive sooner than many analysts had expected. 

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Reuters
A man using his mobile phone walks past a Samsung Electronics shop in the company's main office building in central Seoul, on July 23, 2013.
  • By Matthew Shaer

Samsung has submitted an application for a trademark on a "Galaxy Gear" watch. 

The US Patent and Trademark Office filing, which was spotted this week by IDG News Service, describes a "wearable digital electronic [device] in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band, or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls, electronic mails, and messages."

A smart watch, in other words. 

Samsung, of course, has already confirmed the existence of such a device. Speaking to Bloomberg News back in March, Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, said that Samsung was "working very hard to get ready" for the launch of a Samsung smart watch, although he never went into detail on the launch date or specifications of the gadget. 

The "Galaxy Gear" watch wouldn't be the first wired timepiece on the market. Sony manufactures the Android-powered SmartWatch, and Pebble makes a popular line of Internet-connected watches. Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to be "aggressively" hiring developers and engineers to help the Cupertino company build an array of wearable tech. 

If true – and assuming Samsung does go through with its Galaxy Gear plans – the smart watch market could be the next front in the seemingly never-ending Samsung and Apple wars. 

In related news, Samsung on Monday mailed out invitations to a Sept. 4 product launch in Berlin. Smart money says the product in question will be a Galaxy Note III phablet – a follow-up to last year's extremely successful Galaxy Note II. 

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