Good looking device, sensitive touch screen, social networking apps, water resistant, lightweight, charging via microUSB
Low-res screen, no camera, no mic/speaker, limited app functionality, many apps only work with Sony products
Sony's original SmartWatch last year didn't get too many people excited, but with the Samsung Galaxy Gear hitting the shelves and Apple's long-rumoured iWatch getting closer, the time is clearly ripe to release an updated version to stay in the increasingly high-stakes smartwatch game.
Design
Like the Gear it's designed as an addition to a smartphone, rather than as a standalone device. It's not quite as capable as Samsung's model (it doesn't have a camera, for example), or as powerful; but it's lighter, has considerably longer battery life and can be used in conjunction with more devices. It's water resistant (IP57 rating, which should be good for up to 30 mins at a depth of one meter), which makes it a bit more practical for wearing out and about though you'll still want to take it off before you go swimming.
Style-wise, it's slimmer, and a little more subtle with its all-black face than Samsung's wrist brick -- it actually looks like a watch. It has a choice of default watch faces beneath which sit touch-sensitive icons for home, back and menu, and it sports the large silvery power button on the side familiar from Sony's Xperia handsets.
Software and features
It's supposed to be compatible with any smartphone that uses Android 4.0 or later, which immediately makes it a much more flexible device than the Gear, that's limited to a very small number of Samsung handsets.
Download Sony's Smart Connect app from Google Play, touch the NFC-enabled device to the SmartWatch and it will automatically hook up. Most of its apps don't come preinstalled, but you can individually download apps for reading (not initiating) calls, texts, emails, Facebook, Twitter and more. You can't actually take calls on the SmartWatch as there's no microphone or speaker, though you can answer calls and then talk via a Bluetooth headset.
Notifications popped up promptly and texts and emails appeared clearly, automatically sized to fit the screen when the phone was pocketed.
There are presently over 140 apps available for the SmartWatch (much more than the Gear), though it's the usual mix of pretty goods and so-whats, including exercise apps, games, languages and remote controls. Some, like the very limited and glitchy map app, are free, but others, including WhatsApp Alerts, cost a fee.
Email notifications are supported, and we tested with Gmail and Microsoft accounts (although it's worth noting you can't reply to them on the device). Currently Microsoft Exchange and Hotmail/Outlook emails only work for notifications if paired with a Sony Xperia Z1, as Sony has adapted its implementation of Android to support it; other Android devices cannot support Microsoft's email technology currently. Some software is also dependent on being used with Sony-created software. The music playback controls, for example, only work with Sony's Android music player; playing, pausing and skipping Spotify is a no-go area. Disappointing.
The 1.6-inch screen is the same size as the Gear's but it offers a lower resolution of 220x176 pixels -- not great, but it's fine for viewing updates and notifications. The battery life is considerably better than Samsung's competitor: leave it on all the time and you should get three to four days out of it, extending to a week or so if you switch it off at night.
Charging is via a standard microUSB slot hidden behind a rubber cover on the side. It powers up by pressing the outsize silver button on the side, which matches aesthetically with the power button on Sony's Xperia handsets.
Conclusion It's cheaper and lighter than the Galaxy Gear, and it has more social networking apps at launch, immediately making it more useful and less of a toy than Samsung's device, and the subtler style will be a bonus for many. It's not perfect and it's important to bear in mind this is very much a consumption device for getting notifications and updates, but it is useful at times. It needs to evolve quickly, with a lot more apps, to keep pace with developments over the next few months. A fun product for early adopters, but not quite for the mainstream just yet.
Additional reporting by Nate Lanxon
Processor: 800MHz
Memory slot: No
Display: 1.6in Transflective LCD
Connectivity: Bluetooth v3.0
Ports: MicroUSB
Camera: No
Radio: No
Size: 42x9x41mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
