Samsung Galaxy Glasses set to be unveiled in September
Wearable technology has officially arrived with Sony and Samsung already having smartwatches on the market and Google undertaking a public beta of their Google Glass smart glasses (pictured above) in the US.
Now it looks as though Samsung could be about to follow Google's lead and launch their own range of smart glasses, called the Samsung Galaxy Glasses.
In a recent interview with the Korean Times a Samsung official stated that "'The reason is simple. The market potential for smart glass is huge. It will be used in trucks, cars and has a greater impact on related industries such as glass-and coatings-makers.'
That's something for the future though and initially Samsung's Galaxy Glasses - which are due to be unveiled at IFA in Berlin this September - will have more modest ambitions.
Samsung's Galaxy Glasses will hookup with a smartphone or tablet to take calls and display notifications on the translucent lenses.
Other features likely to be supported include music playback, social networking and turn-by-turn navigation. But it remains to be seen whether they'll be capable of recording video and taking pictures like Google Glass.
Samsung's official went on to add that "The new smart glass to be introduced by Samsung is a new concept of wearable device that can lead to an exciting culture of communication. The smart glass will present our aim to lead the new market with proven capability. Wearable devices can’t generate profits immediately. "
Samsung appear to be adopting a different approach to the one Google has with Google Glass, which is a standalone device that doesn't rely it on hooking up with another mobile device. The downside of Google's approach is the huge cost of the glasses, which are currently being offered to Google Play Music subscribers in the US for a staggering $1500 (£900).
Presumably, the Galaxy Glasses will retail at a significantly lower price-point because they'll basically be a glorified accessory. We just hope Samsung have learnt their lesson with the Galaxy Gear, which was widely criticised at launch only being compatible with the Galaxy Note 3.
The wearable technology boom is defiantly coming, but there are many challenges ahead for manufacturers. The biggest of which is convincing the general public to wear smart-glasses in public. But privacy concerns are also a major hurdle with Google Glass already being banned in stores by a number of US retailers.
