Samsung to unveil its Google Glass competitor in Berlin this September?

According to a report by the KoreaTimes, Samsung is ready to join the smart-glasses craze in the secondhalf of 2014. Its take on the subject, Galaxy Glass, is currently indevelopment with a September reveal at Berlin's IFA in the cards.Coincidentally, this is where Samsung presented its Galaxy Gearsmart-watch last year.

The South Korean giant has alreadypatented the spectacles in its homeland. The patent drawings we haveso far show a pair of sporty glasses with side buttons, a camera onthe front, in-built earphones, and a wired connection going towards asmartphone. This design doesn't seem very refined, compared to GoogleGlass' wireless connection and absence of earpieces. But in the end,we expect Samsung to introduce a polished product. It could also turnout that the Galaxy Glass is not the product these sketches show.

Similar to other wearables, the GalaxyGlass will connect to a smartphone and display alerts, as well ascontrols, on a transparent or translucent lens before the user'seyes. Predictably, Samsung is collaborating with its display arm,Samsung Display, to produce the goggles' specific lenses.

The Korean maker acknowledges thatsmart glasses won't turn an immediate profit, because they are a newconcept that's yet to find mass appeal and form a culture. However,the Galaxy Glass presents Samsung's aim to "lead the new marketwith proven capability" with "steady releases of devices".However, the company isn't building these glasses merely forprestige. Samsung recognizes that smart glasses have a huge marketpotential, as they will be used in many industries, in addition tobeing a consumer product.

On top of that, the Korea InformationSociety Development Institute expects the wearable devices market toreach $6 billion (either in shipments or sales volume) by 2016. Theresearchers also state that wearable devices could emerge as thenext-generation of mobile technology which will replace smartphones.

source: KoreaTimes via TheVerge