Galaxy Gear is GO! Samsung unveils its 'fashion statement' smartwatch

Samsung has finally unveiled its Galaxy Gear smart watch and revealed a 'slimmer, lighter, faster' Galaxy Note 3 phablet.

Speaking at the IFA conference in Berlin, Samsung's CEO JK Shin said: 'For the first time we have given Galaxy Note 3 a warm texture-touch cover. It's slimmer, lighter, and more powerful and all in a beautiful design.'

He then told the crowd he was getting a call and unveiled the smartwatch, adding that the Galaxy Note is powered by the Galaxy Gear and he hopes the watch will become 'a fashion statement.' 

The surprisingly sleek wrist-mounted device has a solid touchscreen, runs Android apps and can sync with a smartphone to make phone calls and access the web. 

When an email is received on the watch, for example, it is automatically opened on the Galaxy Note 3.

The Galaxy Gear comes in six colours and will be available from 25 September. It will cost $299 in the U.S but UK pricing has not been announced.

Galaxy Gear has a 1.6-inch SuperAMOLED display and Samsung claims the battery life is 25 hours on a single charge.

Samsung said the watch was designed to be a companion for the Note 3, but there will be software upgrades that make it compatible with the Galaxy S4 and S3 from October. 

It responds to voice commands and when a wearer wants to answer a call, they can raise the watch to their ear. 

The speaker and microphone are positioned so it can be used like a regular phone.

Pranav Mistry, head of the think tank team, Samsung Research America said this made the watch more natural to use unlike 'speaking into the air like with Google Glass.'

The camera is positioned on the outside of the strap and Mistry said photos can be taken by pointing and shooting after a simple swipe of the screen.

Pre-installed apps for the Galaxy Gear include Evernote, which makes it easy to remember things by quickly capturing images and memories and bringing important reminders right to Gear.