sea mountains iphone case

In the couple months before launch, Samsung handed out Gear prototypes, dubbed "bread boxes" or "lunch boxes," that run on software and components similar to the final device but that look different in terms of the hardware, according to several people who saw those products. The company used to provide actual working prototypes with hardware similar to the end product, but Samsung tightened security starting with the Galaxy S3 to cut off leaks to the media. In the case of Gear, one bread box was in the form of a wearable, but it was made of black plastic and was much bulkier and heavier than the final product.

Most people working on the device -- including those within Samsung and others at external partners -- didn't know what the actual product looked like until Gear's launch on September 4 at IFA, "We'd been working on prototype hardware that was big and bulky," one app developer, who didn't want to be named, told CNET, "Over in Berlin for the Unpacked event, we were a little nervous, We hoped it wasn't this huge, 3-pound weight, We were happy to see how far they'd gone on the design when Gear showed up."Samsung took other steps to keep its smartwatch project secret, The company required app developers working on Gear to limit the number of people in their offices who had knowledge of the device, even telling some to sea mountains iphone case lock the bread box in windowless rooms in their headquarters, Within Samsung, too, security was tight, Those assigned to the project had their ID badges coded with a certain color to designate that they were part of the team, In meetings, everyone would have the same color on their badges, for example, to make sure only approved people attended..

Lining up developersDespite the tighter security, Samsung was mindful of ensuring that developers had the support they needed.Executives from Samsung's Open Innovation Center -- a new group focused on startups and led by David Eun -- met with app makers in the US starting in late June to talk about Gear and to try to persuade them to develop for the smartwatch. Many of the US apps came from OIC partnerships, though Samsung hasn't disclosed the total number. Some early Gear apps include Banjo and Glympse, a couple of location-sharing apps; EasilyDo, a smart-assistant app; Path, a social-networking app; and Pocket and Zite, a couple of news-reading apps. Other apps on Gear include the MyFitnessPal RunKeeper and the TripIt travel app, as well as bigger names like eBay and the Evernote note-taking app.

"There's a general excitement around wearables and a general excitement around Samsung," said Marc Shedroff, vice president of Samsung's Open Innovation Center and the executive in charge of forming partnerships with startups, "Between those two things, we didn't have to shake the trees too sea mountains iphone case hard to find partners to launch with."Samsung distributed bread boxes to app makers from about late June until early August, giving most developers about a month to create their Gear apps, The developers communicated directly with the Korean engineering team working on the device, and engineers would respond to requests at all times -- day and night..

"We'd send an e-mail over and get a response within hours," one app developer said. "I think the Gear team worked 24 hours a day."Last-minute tweaksSamsung repeatedly made changes to Gear's hardware and software before launch. It frequently overhauled the user interface, including changing the color scheme, how gestures work, how users access features, and other items. A week before launch, in fact, the user interface looked entirely different from the final product, said one Samsung executive who didn't want to be named. The app layout had resembled the standard grid of Android icons, which the executive said was "more traditional and less clean." Now, the apps show up as tiles similar to Microsoft's Windows Phone interface.