Well connected
The default display shows the time but when you tap the screen the view changes to show either the installed app icons or any active widgets. An up/down swipe of the screen moves you between apps and widgets, while a pinch takes you back a step making navigation a simple affair. The order and behaviour of the SmartWatch apps is managed from your phone using the LiveWare app. This also lets you specify which apps show widgets on the SmartWatch’s screen.
Overall, thinner than its LiveView predecessor
At 36mm square by 8mm thick the device is 3mm thinner than the original. It has a clip at the back that can be used to attach it to the supplied silicone wrist strap or to your clothing or rucksack strap. To charge the SmartWatch you get a USB cable with a proprietary connection.
Available in six colours, the wrist strap is strong, comfortable and the SmartWatch itself clips firmly in place, so you can wear it without fear of it coming adrift. When a call or alert comes through, the SmartWatch vibrates, which can be rather disconcerting the first time it happens when you are wearing it on your wrist.
Strap-off, if you prefer
Unlike the LiveView, which was wretchedly flakey, the SmartWatch always connected reliably to my phone. Whenever I strayed out of range or turned my phone’s Bluetooth radio off, it reconnected automatically and quickly. That said, this review was conducted using v1.2.34 of the SmartWatch app so I can’t comment on the reported issues with v1.2.33.
The 1.3in OLED display is both crisp and clear, so it’s easy to see what's going on and read on-screen text. In terms of both look, operating speed and screen touch sensitivity, the SmartWatch is very much an advance on the old LiveView model.
Colourful options, but quite a chunk of change for the pleasure of a hands-free strap-on
Sony reckons the rechargeable battery will keep you going for between one day and one week depending on how heavily you use it. I never got less than 48 hours from a full charge, even when using it intensively, so Sony’s average figure of four days sounds about right.
The big problem is the price. Even though you can find the SmartWatch for a lot less than Sony’s RRP of £110, it’s still too expensive. For forty-quid it’s a must-have but at twice that, it’s a luxury many will find hard to justify.
Verdict
Unlike the original LiveView, the new SmartWatch actually works. It’s thinner, has a better screen and more importantly maintains a much more reliable Bluetooth connection with your phone. It also benefits from a broader selection of better third-party apps and a nice bundled wrist strap. While it's at least twice as good as the original LiveView, it's a real shame that it’s now twice the price. ®
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Sony SmartWatch
COMMENTS
Re: Dear Sony
And yet the wristwatch took over from the pocket watch because on the wrist is more convinient for some tasks than in a pocket.
>Please someone tell me the point in this?
You talk like you've never heard of Dick Tracy.
Re: Please someone tell me the point in this?
Okay. I'm a race-walker. I spend many hours out on the roads using my phone and Endomondo to track my training. You might not have noticed but in the UK in rains a fair bit. My phone sits in the pocket on my bottle belt. If I want to check on my progress I have to reach around, unzip the pocket, take the phone out, turn it on and unlock it. That's assuming I CAN unlock it. If it is REALLY pissing down the water buggers up the capacitive screen and I'm stuffed. With one of these, I just glance at my watch.
Granted, I could get a GPS watch like the Forerunner 310 CX - but that costs about £240 and I would STILL need to take a phone with me for emergencies etc.
I can also read texts to see if they are important without getting the phone out etc. etc.
"To charge the SmartWatch you get a USB cable with a proprietary connection"
Considering people like me will always be forgetting to charge it (I never charge my watch after all) you'd have thought Sony would have tried to go for the industry-standard micro-USB charging connector wouldn't you?
But what would I know, I'm no industrial designer.
These sorts of things
Are just begging for a reasonably open two way, OS agnostic, low power protocol over bluetooth which allows a device such as a watch, remote control, car dash etc. be able to display an interface to an app running remotely somewhere else.
Watches are just one niche example. Smart remotes are where the action is. Imagine a remote control which shows a mini EPG, or shows you a chapter selection from a DVD, or lets you turn your thermostat down. Car dashboards could benefit too (safety permitting) by allowing users to see their contacts, view maps, or other apps which operate remotely that run on their phones.
