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Available now
5th September 2014
Two new wearable devices, the Sony SmartWatch 3 and Sony
SmartBand Talk serve similar markets in very different ways.
While the SmartWatch 3 is an Android Wear device, much like many
rivals that seem to be appearing, the SmartBand is a much simpler
device which actually makes it rather more interesting.
 Sony
SmartWatch 3
There's no doubt that smartwatches are the current in-thing (at
least with manufacturers), but Sony have been at this for a while
(as you can tell from the name). This is the first Sony smartwatch
to run Android Wear, a platform specifically designed for wearable
devices such as this.
The Smartwatch 3 features a 1.6" transflective 320 x 320
pixel display, has a quad-core 1.2GHz ARM A7 CPU with 512MB of RAM
and 4GB of flash memory, is IP68 rated against dust and water, supports
both NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 and it comes with a bunch of sensors
including GPS, a compass and accelerometer. Inside is a 420 mAh
battery (quoted as giving 2 days normal use), and the Smartwatch
3 weighs 45 grams. It should work with any phone running Android
4.3 or above.
It isn't a bad looking device, but the physical design does look
a bit out of date compared to smartwatches such as the LG
G Watch R, Samsung
Gear S and Motorola
Moto 360.
 Sony
SmartBand Talk
The SmartBand Talk is a classified as a lifelogger rather than
a smartwatch, but unlike some other similar bands this one can make
voice calls (via your mobile), it also displays notifications and
comes with an alarm clock. Both this and the Smartwatch 3 support
Sony Lifelog, an Android application that records where you are
and to an extent what you were doing.
The display is a 1.4" 296 x 128 pixel e-ink panel that is
nicely curved, rather than the flat screen on the Smartwatch. The
low power requirements of this device means that it can function
for three days on a tiny 65 mAh battery, and the whole thing weighs
a mere 24 grams, half that of the SmartWatch. This is also an IP68
rated device with Bluetooth 4.0, but in this case you will need
an Android 4.4 device to go with it.
Unless you need the full functionality of a smartwatch, then
the SmartBand Talk looks like a more lightweight (and probably cheaper)
alternative. Sony say that both devices should be available during
the Autumn although no guidance was given on price.
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