Samsung has officially unveiled its new Galaxy Gear smartwatch at the IFA 2013 trade show in Berlin and the gadget is nothing short of impressive.

While the stakes are already high on the tablet and smartphone fronts, the smartwatch market is shaping up as the next major battlefield. Heavyweights such as Apple, Google and even Microsoft are all expected to launch smartwatches, but Samsung beat them to the market with its Galaxy Gear.

"A perfect companion device that further integrates the Samsung GALAXY experience into everyday life," is how the company describes its first smartwatch. "Samsung GALAXY Gear combines smart device connectivity, tailored technological features, and stylish design as a single premium accessory."

"Samsung's ongoing smart device innovation leadership reflects our commitment to listen to our consumers, who want their daily lives to be easier and more enjoyable. Samsung GALAXY Gear benefits consumers by integrating smart device technology even deeper into their everyday lives, and bridges the gap between the mobile device and fashion worlds to create truly wearable technology," added JK Shin, Samsung Electronics CEO and President of IT & Mobile Division. "Samsung GALAXY Gear frees users from the need to constantly check their smart devices while maintaining connections. It provides what we call 'smart freedom' by allowing users to choose how, why, when and where they are connected."

The new Galaxy Gear smartwatch runs on the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is able to run different apps. The smartwatch is currently compatible only with the freshly-unveiled Galaxy Note 3, but Samsung promised to extend that compatibility to the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 smartphones as well, through a future upgrade.

The new Samsung smartwatch sports a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display with a 320 x 320 resolution and packs a single-core 800MHz Exynos processor with 512MB of RAM. It has 4GB of internal storage, as well as a 1.9-megapixel camera with autofocus and full HD video recording capabilities. The gadget's 315 mAh battery should provide enough juice for a full day of "regular use" according to Samsung. The smartwatch also comes with NFC, Bluetooth 4.3 LE, gyroscope, pedometer and accelerometer sensors.

Moreover, Galaxy gear owners will be able to make voice commands to create new alarms initiate phone calls, dictate text messages, and others such, taking advantage of the watch's S Voice functionality.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear will hit the U.S. in October, sporting a $299 price tag. The smartwatch will be available in several color choices: Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green.