WORLD
Dick Tracy, your Sony SmartWatch is calling
Baku, April 14 (AZERTAC). Sony`s SmartWatch, which is intended to allow users to "break free from the single screen experience," retails for $149.99, and it`s dust proof, splash proof, and comes with a black rubber wristband. Called, appropriately, the SmartWatch, the device connects to Android smartphones via Bluetooth, and is essentially a wearable remote Relevant Products/Services control and display for your phone -- or, as Sony calls it, "a remote information Relevant Products/Services center Relevant Products/Services."
The SmartWatch`s touchscreen is a 1.3-inch OLED display, and the device works with most Android 2.1 and above smartphones. Like an Android smartphone, a user can interact with the watch through a tap, touch, or finger swipe on the display. You can check your vibrating wrist to see who`s calling, instead of having to take the phone out of a pocket or bag to check. A user can also access and control the music on a smartphone from the wrist device. There are apps for displaying scheduled events in chronological order, and for messaging, Gmail, Calendar notifications, finding your smartphone, and battery strength. For Sony and Sony Ericsson Android phones, there`s an app to connect into corporate e-mail, and, of course, one with a variety of call handling functions.
Sony has plans to extend the reach of the smartphones beyond the SmartWatch. At the moment, though, other Smart Extras from Sony currently include only such modest add-ons as functional buttons on smartphone headsets or a "smart dock" for your phone. Battery life is estimated at three to four days for typical usage before recharging.
SmartWatch is not the only wrist-based smartphone extension. The makers of the Pebble watch, which connects to iPhone and Android smartphones over Bluetooth, recently raised more than a $1 million in 28 hours on crowdsourced funding site KickStarter.com. Pebble emphasizes its status as a new kind of platform for apps. An app for cyclists allows Pebble to access GPS Relevant Products/Services on the phone and show speed, distance, and pace data on a bike, and there`s a similar app for runners.