Sony Ericsson revealed the ancestor of its LiveView watch. Both attractive and functional, a new device, called Sony SmartWatch plays nicely with most Android phones from Sony, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and others via Bluetooth connection. Considering the affordable price of $149, it has all prerequisites to become a big hit among smartwatch fans. We expect it on market from March, 2012.
First thing that can drag you away from this kind of accessories is their look. Even if you find them useful, you will not use them as watches, because they often do not look like watches. Not to mention problematic design solutions. However, I decided to review the Sony SmartWatch, because it really is a cool and smoothly designed timepiece, even though it does not display time continuously. In order to save energy, this watch only shows time when you “ask” it, by tapping once on its touch screen. If you want a watch to display a variety of features from your Android, you just need to tap twice.
Sony SmartWatch provides you to read SMS and other texts, to check e-mail or weather, as well as to stay connected on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Besides, there is a pop-up caller id which appears during incoming calls that you can reject or accept. This can be a pretty useful feature in case you wear a headset. With the SmartWatch, you can also control a music play list on your Android phone. If you want some other apps on your watch, just order them from the Android Market.
Sony SmartWatch features a 36×36 mm case with brushed chrome edges and a color OLED display. It is just 8 mm thick, with the weight of 15.5 grams without a strap. You can attach it on a wristband, available in pink, mint, blue, white, grey and black colors, or you can clip it on the bag’s strap or a belt.
One can argue whether devices like the new Sony SmartWatch are really necessary since there is already a smart phone in the pocket. The answer is simple. Those who find them even a bit useful will probably love to have one on a wrist. Those who find them interesting and cool will also get one as a little extra for their collections of hi-tech tools. In any case, they will not regret.
