Samsung Electronics has already begun working on advanced interactive wristwatch that will eventually compete against Apple’s smart iWatch gadget, a company executive said. The interactive watch is expected to perform some of the tasks currently performed by smartphone and generally make certain information better accessible for the end-user.

“We have been preparing the watch product for so long. We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them,” said Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, in an interview with Bloomberg news-agency.

The disclosure from Samsung comes after the first leaks about Apple iWatch and its relatively close introduction. The Samsung official did not disclose any additional information about the company’s smart watch, such as capabilities, pricing and introduction timeframe, but it is logical to expect smart watch to feature media player, information updates and calendar. It is also logical to expect Samsung watches to be compatible with smartphones and tablets from the company.

“The race is on to redesign the mobile phone into something that you wear. We are going to see formidable competition coming from many different directions -- from device makers, accessory makers, even fashion designers,” said Marshal Cohen, an analyst at NPD Group.

Given the information about Apple’s and Samsung’s plans to introduce smart watches, it is highly likely that the two companies are indeed hard at work to make such products a reality within a year or two. The question is who will be the first one and who will be the best one. It is likely that smart watches will run current operating systems for smartphones, Apple iOS and Google Android. As a result, both Apple and Samsung will need to tech developers to make apps for new form-factor devices.

“The issue here is who will first commercialize it so consumers can use it meaningfully,” said Mr. Lee.

Tags: Apple, Samsung, Google, Android, iOS, iPhone, Galaxy, iWatch