Samsung, LG Tease New Hardware

5 Inexpensive Smartphones: No Perfect Choice

The next few weeks will be a bonanza for hardware lovers, with no fewer than five major smartphones and wearables on deck. Some of the companies preparing new gear are so excited they've begun to offer peeks of what's in store.

Samsung posted a video to its official YouTube Channel ahead of the Note 4's September 3 announcement in Berlin. The video shows people using tools: children cutting paper with scissors and painting with brushes, a mariner using a compass, a researcher using a pen, a person using an abacus, an architect using a ruler, and other examples. During each sequence, the video features quotes about humans' historical creation of and use of tools to accomplish tasks. (You can see where this is headed.) The sequences end when the video reaches the pen -- or, in Samsung parlance, the S Pen.

The S Pen is the digital stylus that makes the Galaxy Note the Note. Combined with the software available on the Note, the S Pen lets owners perform a wide range of creative and functional tasks. The video wraps up by saying the S Pen is "a truly notable invention since, well, the pen."

[Will HTC One and other flagship devices breathe new life into Windows Phone? Read Windows Phone: More High-End Devices Coming Soon.]

LG's teaser is a bit more direct. The video's title is "LG's New Wearable," which leaves little to the imagination. The video shows mostly graphics making a square into a circle. The G Watch, LG's first Android Wear-based device, featured a square screen. It seems the follow-up device will feature a round display (like the Moto 360's). The video even takes a stab at Motorola's smartwatch, which has an odd black bar at the bottom of the screen, suggesting the LG device will "fill the gap." Concluding with a quickfire montage of digital watch faces, the video reports that LG's new smartwatch will arrive in Berlin during the IFA trade show.

Asus is also expected to reveal a smartwatch during IFA, as is Sony. Asus' device will likely run Google's Android Wear, but Sony's is more likely to stick with the proprietary OS it used for its first two smartwatches. Motorola is holding its own press event in Chicago on September 4, where is it expected to reveal not only the Moto 360 smartwatch, but also the next-generation X and G series smartphones. Huawei has a large event planned for IFA, during which new smartphones are expected. The same goes for Sony, which is holding its own even on September 3. Sony is believed to have its next flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z3, ready for IFA.

Beyond IFA, Apple is expected to schedule an event on September 9 to announce the next iPhone. September 9 is also the first day of the CTIA Wireless Association trade show.

If the world wasn't changing, we might continue to view IT purely as a service organization, and ITSM might be the most important focus for IT leaders. But it's not, it isn't and it won't be -- at least not in its present form. Get the Research: Beyond IT Service Management report today. (Free registration required.)