Samsung has billed its Galaxy Gear as the world's most popular smartwatch, saying it has shipped 800,000 units to date since its launch in September. However, there's a catch - it's "shipped" and not "sold."
Rumors were making round that the Galaxy Gear is not selling well and the company could only sell 50,000 units so far, but apparently that's not true, at least, according to Samsung.
"It's the most sold wearable watch available in the market place...and we plan to expand its availability by expanding mobile devices that work with the Gear," Samsung said in a statement.
The company has adopted a very aggressive marketing strategy for its Gear, associating it with various fashion shows, and pouring millions of dollars in TV commercials and print advertisements.
The Galaxy Gear is priced at $300 and works in tandem with the recently launched Galaxy Note 3. However, a new update will make it also support Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note 2.
Galaxy Gear received critical reviews post launch, with New York Times technoloy columnist David Pogue calling it "inconsistent and frustrating" and recommending that people should avoid buying it.
The Verge also said in its review that the Galaxy Gear is "unintuitive, oversized, (and) overpriced" and added that it "might have been better off staying on the drawing board."
There are also reports that Galaxy Gear witnessed 30 percent return rates in Best Buy stores. It is not known what ails the smartwatch but definitely, a pool of only 70 dedicated applications and a weak battery life aren't helping.
However, Samsung is optimistic that Galaxy Gear will fare better than its peers and to this effect, it has opened Galaxy Studio pop-up stores in New York, London and Seoul, that will allow customers to know and experience its flagship smartwatch, among other products.
