Back in the year 1999, Samsung launched the world's very first watch phone – The SPH-WP10. The watch phone was capable of executing 90 minutes talk time and had a monochrome LCD screen. Then after a decade, the S9110 was released and it looked like a miniature phone making it the world's slimmest watch phone in the period. As time progressed, smartwatches came along and Samsung introduced the Galaxy Gear, followed by the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo,Gear Fit, Gear S and now the Gear S2 which is coming to Malaysia on 27 November. 

ASUS may have solved the problem of low battery life on smartwatches. According to a report from Focus Taiwan, ASUS will incorporate a power efficient CPU unit inside the second generation ASUS ZenWatch 2 to improve the battery life drastically. Asus Chairman Jonney Shih said that the next ZenWatch will come with a simplified CPU and operating system which should extend its battery life up to one week on a single charge. If this turns out to be true, the ZenWatch 2 will become one of the best smartwatches in the market in terms of battery life. At present, modern smartwatches provide up to one to two days of battery at the most. The ZenWatch 2 will also reportedly come with a feature wherein it can make and receive calls without a companion smartphone. This would make it a standalone smartwatch, much like the Samsung Gear S that was recently announced. The Taiwanese giant plans to release this new watch by Q3 2015. At present, the company has the ZenWatch in most markets (just not Malaysia) which retails for around $199 (RM718). Reports suggest ASUS will also unveil two new smartbands in the coming months targeted at a lower price band (perhaps we'll get those). 

Apart from the Samsung Gear S, there are other smartwatches that allow you to make calls or answer them without having to pair it up with a smartphone. The Burg 12 is one of these smartwatches and could offer users a relatively cheaper alternative, if it ever gets here in Malaysia. Recently released in the US for $199 (RM664) the Burg 12 offers a round watch face, but still uses a square 1.5-inch screen with 240 x 240 pixel resolution. Other tech specs include 4GB of storage, a 16GB microSD slot, a camera, voice recorder and both the bezel and strap can be swapped out. The Burg 12 is also splash and scratch resistant and it also works with both iOS and Android devices, if you decide to pair it up anyways. According to the developers, it has a 3-day standby battery life and 2-3 hour talk time.

Revealed in Malaysia just today, the Samsung Gear S smartwatch is the first Samsung smartwatch that has stand-alone 3G connectivity. Retailing at RM1099 the smartwatch is due in November 2014. A little time with the smartwatch reveals tech specs that include both Bluetooth and WiFi support. It is also IP67 water and dust resistance certified so you can go swimming with it. Other tech specs and features include a 1.0GHZ dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display with 360 x 480 pixel resolution, 300 mAh battery and Tizen operating system. Unfortunately no camera but it does have a heart rate monitor and supports S Health, S Voice and provides notifications for messages, emails and other apps. According to the product demo, you will need a compatible Samsung smartphone like the Galaxy Note 4 to activate the Gear S but afterwards, the smartwatch is completely standalone. Check it out for yourself below:

The much-awaited Samsung Galaxy Note 4 finally makes it's way to Malaysia in a launch here today. The phablet will retail at RM2499 and be available from 17 October 2014. It will be on demo at various roadshows from 17 October 2014 to 19 October 2014 at various Samsung Experience Stores, with the first 100 buyers getting a free Samsung Gear Circle bluetooth headphones set. Telco bundle deals will also be available. Confirming previous rumours, Malaysia will be getting the 1.9GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 processor. Other notable tech specs and features include:

• 1.9GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 (1.9GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB / 54GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, 2.5D protective glass)
• 16MP rear camera (auto focus, Smart Optical Image Stabilization) + 3.7MP front camera (f1.9)
• supports WiFi 802.11 ac (MIMO), GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, IR LED, MHL 3.0, 4G LTE Cat 4 + 4G LTE Cat 6
• Features: Air Command, S Note, Snap Note, Direct Pen input, Multi Window, Ultra Power Saving Mode, Voice Recorder, Heart rate sensor, Finger print scanner, UV sensor
• 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm | 176g
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 3220 mAh battery (adaptive fast charging)

Samsung has revealed their first smartwatch that doesn't need a smartphone to work with the official announcement of the Samsung Gear S. The smartwatch is fully 3G capable and comes with both Bluetooth and WiFi support along with IP67 water and dust resistance. Other tech specs and features include a 1.0GHZ dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display with 360 x 480 pixel resolution, 300 mAh battery and Tizen operating system. No camera on this Samsung Gear but it does have a heart rate monitor and supports S Health, S Voice and provides notifications for messages, emails and other apps.