Patent Filing Shows Samsung Preps Electronic Eyewear

Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service

 A diagram of what appears to be a Samsung eyewear device.

Samsung Electronics Co. appears to be creating a Google Glass of its own.

A design patent registered with Korean authorities in October shows an electronic device in the form of spectacles. It has been categorized as a type of “sports glasses.”

“This design is of a type [of glasses] with earphones integrated, allowing [users] to take phone calls and listen to music during workouts,” according to a memo attached to several drawings of the device, filed by Samsung earlier this year.

The device is linked to a smartphone and displays alerts for information running on the phone, providing easy access to control when the users’ hands are tied with sports activities, the memo says. The device features a lens that is  either transparent or translucent, it says.

From what the drawings and the memo suggest, it doesn’t look much different from what Google has potentially offered in terms of functionality with its Google Glass which is currently under development. A pool of  selected users are currently testing the device . But Samsung’s version of the electronic eyewear seems to have a bigger emphasis on the “sporty” aspect.

Should Samsung decide to go public with this device,  it’ll be the latest in the company’s string of efforts to make  wearable devices, a strategy that became evident with the launch of its smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear.

A Samsung spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on future product plans.

 Wearables are like a blue ocean for mobile phone makers who are battling with an increasingly saturated market. But many technological hurdles need to be addressed.

Analysts cite battery life  as one of the biggest issues to be tackled with wearable devices. LG Chem Ltd., which makes batteries for Apple Inc. and LG Electronics Inc., recently showed off batteries that come in the form of a cable wire that can be used for wearables, like a necklace, for example.

But Samsung doesn’t seem to expect the category of wearables to take over smartphones any time soon.

“For a considerable while, smartphones and wearables will co-exist,” J.K. Shin said last month, at a press conference  in Seoul for the Galaxy Gear watch launch.