Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch to sell for $369 Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch. Photo: Samsung Source: Supplied SMART watches are set to be popular Christmas gifts with Samsung today announcing Australian availability of its Galaxy Gear for $369 from October 3. In an Australian media launch today, Samsung said it would also sell its new premium 5.7-inch phabet, the Note 3, locally from the same date, starting at $999. Both are available now for pre-order. In announcing Australian availability, Samsung has sneaked in ahead of Sony which is due to release its second generation SmartWatch 2 into Australia later this year, and Apple, whose rumoured iWatch is not even expected to surface until next year. But the rub is that you'll need to own a compatible smartphone such as the Note 3 as the watch piggybacks off it. Samsung Australia Vice President Telecommunications Tyler McGee said the watch would work with other Samsung devices such as the Galaxy S3, S4 and Note 2 once a software update became available later this year. That restriction of compatible devices does place the Gear at a disadvantage as the competing Sony watch can work with a variety of Android phones, not just proprietary Sony ones. The Galaxy Gear has a large 1.63-inch display with sharp 278 pixels per inch screen resolution and comes in six colours: Jet Black, Mocha Grey, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green. The watch links to the phone via Bluetooth and notifies users of calls, texts, emails and alerts, and delivers a preview of those messages on the device screen. The watch has an audio speaker located in the buckle for hands-free Dick Tracy-style calling, and speech recognition lets users draft text messages and emails, create calendar entries, set alarms, and check the weather. There's a 1.9 megapixel camera on the wrist band for snapping photos and taking video. Users can configure watch apps to run on the Galaxy Gear via an Android app on their smartphone. Mr McGee said more than 60 watch-specific apps would be available at launch, with more on the way. The mobile companion software includes a security function which automatically secures a linked Note 3 when it is more than 1.5 metres away and unlocks it when it is closer. The smart watch includes a pedometer and comes preloaded with 9 clock faces. Mr McGee said the watch's battery should last a day without a recharge. The Note 3 meanwhile has a larger screen than its predecessor - a 5.7-inch super AMOLED HD screen verses a 5.5-inch display, is slightly thinner and lighter, and, in a departure from most Samsung devices, has a textured notebook-like back rather than shiny plastic. It has a large, removable 3200 millampere hour battery, and a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera, and 3 Gigabytes of RAM. The enhanced S-Pen functionality includes "Air Command," a palette of options that springs up when you take out the pen. Users can scrawl out terms in long hand and immediately search for them in a browser.