Samsung Developing Smartwatch That Works Without a Smartphone

Samsung is reportedly working on a smartwatch that doesn't need to sync with a smartphone in order to work.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the South Korean manufacturer is in talks with various telecommunications carriers that would turn the device into a phone itself. Users will be able to make calls directly on the device and by holding up the wrist to the mouth.
Smartwatches have long been heralded as the next big "it" category in tech, with strong projection growth for 2014 and the years ahead. Although most on the market right now need to be tethered to a smartphone to receive phone calls, send text messages, check email and use other features, Samsung has its sights set on creating a smartwatch that doesn't need a smartphone to work.

The watch-phone will reportedly run on Samsung's own Tizen smartwatch operating system. It remains unclear what the product will be called.

Samsung's first crack at the smartwatch market with its Galaxy Gear device got off to a bumpy start, but its second-generation Gear 2 is lighter, thinner and more powerful — overall, it works better than the previous model.