Love or hate the idea of a smartwatch, AT&T will start accepting advance orders for Samsung's latest gadget this week, even as it remains coy on exactly when it will actually slip onto buyers' wrists.
The official AT&T Twitter account announced today that the carrier will begin taking online pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Gear on Sept. 17 at 12:01 a.m. ET.
"Receive texts on your wrist? Yes, please," the brief tweet from @ATT read. Included was a link to AT&T's web page where eager Gear-heads can sign up for notifications about Samsung's hotly debated smartwatch.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear is priced at $299.99, although AT&T is still be cagey about exactly when the gadget will begin shipping. While Ma Bell and Samsung contend the Gear is the perfect companion to the also just-announced Galaxy Note 3, the phablet is expected to ship "around" Oct. 1.
Tight-lipped
AT&T is the second U.S. carrier to begin taking Galaxy Gear pre-orders - Verizon Wireless got first dibs on Sept. 6, offering a bundle with a black or white Note 3 for $599.98 with two-year agreement, with delivery promised by Oct. 12.
Verizon offers the Galaxy Gear in a choice of Jet Black, Wild Orange or Mocha Gray colors, but there's currently no way to purchase the device unbundled from Samsung's latest mammoth phablet.
T-Mobile will sell both devices separately beginning Oct. 2, while Sprint remains cloaked in mystery with a pre-registration website for the Galaxy Note 3 at the same time as its community forum administrators seemingly deflect interest in the smart watch.
"Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately we have no information on the Samsung Gear Watch," read a post from Sept. 12 by Toya with Sprint Social Care.
