Apple is also expected to launch a smartwatch this year to compete with the new raft of Google smartwatches from LG, Samsung, Motorola and others, although it is unknown if it will make an appearance at the early September event.
The wrist is quickly becoming a crowded battleground and I fully expected Samsung to launch a smartwatch promising to save us from our increasingly wobbly selves with a whole host of fitness features at Ifa.
Withings, the French connected hardware business with idiosyncratic products such as wifi scales, is using the Web Summit to launch a smartwatch with a difference.
The launch of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is merely the tip of a bigger gadget iceberg that will generate headlines, if not necessarily huge additional profits, for smartphone and tablet makers.
And, indeed, how will they treat positive stories about the company's rivals, from the launch of a new flagship Samsung handset or Android Wear smartwatch to updates on the growth of streaming music services like Spotify and Deezer?
The launch of the Apple smartwatch this week will give the market for such wearable devices a kick (see article).In this section How to fire up America Made in China?
Apple's launch of its first smartwatch last month, expected to sell in the tens of millions, focussed public attention on the devices but the company isn't alone in eyeing up the potentially lucrative market.
Brian: As was the case with smartphones, apps will define the value of a smartwatch.
