Samsung says smartwatches are firmly in Gear, and demand is ripeSamsung EVP David Eun has likened the Galaxy Gear smartwatch to a “small green tomato” that is ready to ripen
The Samsung exec this week was fighting off reports Gear was a flop with just 50,000 sold, insisting the number was much higher – 800,000.
Eun said it’s a case of ‘softly, softly catchee monkey’ with the Gear smartwatch, which retails for A$369.
But its high price and limited compatibility (on Galaxy Note 3 and S4 only) are two of the major criticism of Gear, released in September, which has also been dissed by tech reviewers for lack of functionality.
Here’s what Eun said: “What you want to be sure is that you don’t pluck the green tomato too early and you want to make sure you don’t criticize a small green tomato for not being a big red ripe tomato.
“Personally, I don’t think enough people gave us the credit for innovating and getting it out there. Not easily done to integrate all this functionality into one thing. But I would also say over time this thing is going to get big and red.
“I like it a ton.”
These sentiments were echoed by Samsung execs, locally, citing “huge potential” of the smartwatch.
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