The Sony SmartWatch 2 ($199.99 direct) lets you stay on top of email and social network updates without reaching your phone. It's better than the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Gear, which is more ambitious, thanks to its camera and calling capability, but a bulky design and a considerable number of limitations make it a non-starter. Here, Sony sticks to what it knows, refining its existing SmartWatch, improving the display, and lowering the price. The SmartWatch 2 is a fun smartphone companion for the patient tech enthusiast, but it's still not quite ready for mainstream consumers just yet, thanks to a number of bugs and a plethora of half-finished, very limited apps.
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Design and Display
The aluminum, minimalist-style watch face measures 1.6 by 1.6 by 0.35 inches (HWD). It's attached to the silicone wristband, and the whole package weighs 4.3 ounces. The SmartWatch 2 is more comfortable to wear than the Galaxy Gear, which is bulky and very stiff. The right edge of the face contains a large, round Power/Wake button, while the left side houses a covered micro USB charger port; thankfully, it's no longer proprietary.
The 1.6-inch, 220-by-176-pixel, transflective, touch-screen LCD offers 262k colors. It works both with or without the backlight activated, so you can tell the time or check notifications at a glance without powering up the display. The screen is readable in bright sunlight, which even the best LED-backlit display can struggle with. Below the screen are three capacitive buttons: Back, Home, and Sort, the latter of which brings up options to arrange apps either alphabetically or by favorites.
View all As far as looks are concerned, though, Sony may have had it right with the first SmartWatch. That model had a smaller, 1.3-inch panel with lower 128-by-128 resolution, but it made for a more compact watch that was less obtrusive-looking. The new model is thinner, which is welcome, but the face itself is pretty huge.
The SmartWatch 2 features an industry-standard 24mm-wide pin strap mount and black band. That means you can actually swap it out, not just for one of the four other color silicone bands Sony is selling, but for any other band that fits this size watch. We tested the base Active version; Sony sells an Executive version for $219.95 that features a linked metal band that's classier looking. You can also buy a brown or black leather strip.
Thanks to the charger port's plastic cover, the watch is dust- and freshwater-resistant (IP57) up to three meters (about 10 feet) for up to 30 minutes. That means you can wear it in the shower or while washing dishes without a problem. Sony claims the SmartWatch 2 contains a more power-efficient processor than the first version and the lithium polymer battery should be good for 3-4 days of typical use, and up to 7 days of low usage.
The package includes the SmartWatch 2, a micro USB charging cable, and a printed instruction manual, but no AC adapter.
Setup, Pairing, and Interface
To get started, you'll need to download the free Smart Connect app from Google Play. It's compatible with any phone running Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" or higher. That puts it way ahead of the Galaxy Gear, which only works with a handful of Samsung phones running Android 4.3. The SmartWatch 2 integrates Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC, the latter of which is used for one-step pairing.
I tested the SmartWatch 2 with a Samsung Galaxy S4 on AT&T's network running Android 4.2.2. The first time I paired the two devices, the watch worked with NFC right away, but then froze up; it showed its home screen icons in transflective mode, but wouldn't respond to the Power switch or any touch controls. I had to hard-reset the watch to get it working again.
The home screen consists of up to six icons—five are loaded by default, for the alarm, flashlight, an event list, settings, and a timer. As you add more apps to the SmartWatch 2, it will create additional home screens you can swipe between. The top bar contains a battery life icon, a dot for the current home screen you're on, a Bluetooth icon, and a small clock on the top right.
via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF2j8FOGBn9M9JeMns4wX5iDQf4og&url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426871,00.asp
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