Samsung To Combat iPhone 5S With Four New Phones And Wearable Galaxy Gear

How do you combat the release of the year's most anticipated smartphone? Now that the Galaxy S4 has been released, Samsung SSNLF could jump ahead and release the Galaxy Note III before its presumed October release. Instead of a release date shuffle, Samsung has another plan in mind. According to a shipping manifest obtained by SamMobile, the company is planning to release four new smartphones. Very little is known about the new devices, but one is expected to have a four-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display. Another comes with a 4.5-inch qHD (540 x 960) display. While no specifications were provided for the other two models, one of them is expected to be a five-inch device. The fourth and final model will feature a 5.2-inch display. Related: BlackBerry's A10 to Compete with Samsung's Galaxy Note III According to DigiTimes, Samsung may also choose to preempt Apple's AAPL iPhone 5S event by unveiling -- but not necessarily releasing -- the Galaxy Note III on September 4. In keeping with the style of the Galaxy Mega (which finally came to America this week), Samsung might offer multiple versions of the Galaxy Note ranging from 5.5 inches all the way up to six inches. Even more intriguing is the fact that Samsung may release its first Galaxy Gear product this year. Galaxy Gear is expected to be the firm's answer to Apple's unconfirmed iWatch. While the "Gear" moniker may not be exclusive to the wrist, the initial device appears to be a smart watch. Sony SNE is thought to combat Samsung's device (and any threat from Apple) with another product from its SmartWatch line of wearable electronic devices. Despite the rise of this new product category, Apple is not expected to release its smart watch anytime soon. Some analysts have complained that Apple has been too slow to innovate. They also argue that the Cupertino, California-based tech giant is taking too long to release things like the iWatch and iTV, which may not even exist. If they are not yet real, Apple CEO Tim Cook seems content to keep the hype going until the products are built. He famously told AllThingsD that he thinks the "wrist is interesting." Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ