January 17, 2012

Sony announces Android-powered SmartWatch

Smart watches that pair with your phone and let you view and access select functions of your phone seem to be the coolest thing in the world of mobile accessories at the moment. Motorola recently launched the Android-powered MOTOACTV that works as your music player and also logs your workout sessions.



Now Sony too has joined the fray with their smart watch called, well, SmartWatch. It has a 1.3-inch multi-touch OLED display that lets you access your phone functions such as calls, messages, music as well as social networking applications such as Twitter and Facebook.

Like the MOTOACTV, the Sony SmartWatch runs on Android (Honeycomb, in this case). But unlike Motorola, Sony is letting you download apps on the SmartWatch through the Android Market. Of course, the apps will need to be optimized for the small display, not to mention the limited hardware of the watch. Sony will be releasing an SDK for developers to make appropriate apps to run on the SmartWatch.

Although Sony calls it a SmartWatch, you don’t necessarily have to use it as one. Unlike the MOTOACTV, the SmartWatch clips on to a wrist band and can be detached and clipped on elsewhere, like your clothes or a bag, which gives it much greater flexibility. The SmartWatch is also dust and splash proof. Thanks to Bluetooth 3.0, it can pair with any Android smartphone and not just Sony’s.

The Sony SmartWatch will go on sale with the new Xperia S and will cost you $149.