Samsung unveils smartwatch Galaxy Gear before start of IFA electronics fair in Berlin JK Shin, CEO unveils the Samsung Gear, a new smart watch that connects with Samsung smartphones. Courtesy Samsung/ IFA THE smartwatch race has finally begun, with Samsung revealing an internet-connected wristwatch that lets users make phone calls, shop on the internet, and slyly capture photos directly from their wrists. The Galaxy Gear watch, unveiled before the start of the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin today, connects to Samsung's new Galaxy Note 3 smartphone and is due to launch in some countries on September 25. Samsung Australia telecommunications vice-president Tyler McGee said while no Australian delivery date had been set, it would arrive "soon" and he expected it would be embraced by Australians as "early adopters of technology." Galaxy Gear has a range of functions that will create a new experience for users. They will be able to make calls, take photos and communicate more conveniently than ever before," Mr McGee said. We are really excited to get this on to Australia's wrists. A closer look at the Galaxy Gear. Picture: Samsung The Samsung smartwatch features two microphones for making and taking calls, hides a speaker in its watch buckle, and packs a 1.9-megapixel camera on to the outside of its wristband for capturing photos and video. A 1.63-inch touchscreen lets users control the watch, swiping left and right through its menus, swiping up to place a phone call, and down to access its camera. Samsung Mobile product marketing director Min Cho said the Galaxy Gear watch had been created as a smartphone companion that would let users keep their handsets stashed away. " (Users) want to stay ahead of the curve and stay connected ... but they feel pain because they have to hold their device, they keep have to looking at their phone screen and taking their phones out of their pocket, purse or bag," he said. We want to deliver a smart, freedom experience. The Galaxy Gear watch, available in six colours, will automatically transfer captured photos and videos to the user's phone, and will work with 70 external apps initially, including eBay, TripIt, Evernote, RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal. The smartwatch will only connect to the new Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, however, with other Samsung phones to be made compatible at a later date. Samsung's watch is one of the first of a new generation of smartwatches to be unveiled by the big phone makers, though Sony's Smartwatch 2 may beat it to market with its launch due this month. LG has also confirmed it is developing a new smartwatch, and speculation is rampant that Apple, Microsoft, and Google are working on wrist-worn gadgets. Even though the market is in its infancy, Juniper Research predicts more than one million smartwatches will be sold this year, leaping to more than 36 million by 2018. Analyst Nitin Bhas said Samsung and Apple's entries would play the largest part in the trend, raising "awareness and adoption of other wearable devices" in the process. Apple is not expected to release its smartwatch until mid-2014, however, despite an upcoming announcement planned for September 10. Other smartwatches currently on the market include the Pebble, a crowd-funded smartwatch backed by more than 68,000 investors, the Italian-made I'm Watch, and the more basic Metawatch.