Sony's SmartBand and Lifelog App to Launch in March
Sony revealed a bit more detail about its SmartBand at MWC 2014.
Back in January during CES 2014, Sony teased consumers and the media with its SmartWear Experience vision. This vision would include a range of SmartWear products, Xperia phones, and a Lifelog application. The first product in the series would be a SmartBand (SWR10) that logs daily activities and represents the data visually in the Lifelog application.
"The SmartWear Experience is about emotion as well as motion. Entertainment and information; how you feel as well as what you do. It's about moving, and most importantly, being moved," the company hinted. "And, with open software and hardware, Sony is forging new in-market partnerships, to offer consumers more choice."
This week during Mobile World Congress 2014, the company announced that both the SmartBand and the Lifelog app will be released in March. Together with the SmartBand, the Lifelog Android app tracks more than just steps; it records places the user visits, the books that the user reads, music the user listens to, and so on. The app will also help set activity goals, monitor the process and make recommendations.
"SmartBand's core module is a 24/7 wearable device; fully waterproof (rated IP582) despite its exposed Micro-USB port," reads the company's press release. "It's light, unobtrusive and the independent core means it can be carried or worn as you wish, to fit your lifestyle."
Like the SmartWatch 2, the SmartBand connects to an Android phone via Bluetooth. However, this device provides information to the Lifelog app installed on the phone, and if that connection is broken (aka walk away from the smartphone), the SmartBand will vibrate (up to 33 feet). And just like the SmartWatch 2, Sony's "smart" band will also vibrate when the user receives a call, a message, or a tweet, and when the user gets a "like" on Facebook.
The band can also be used to play, pause and skip tracks in the Walkman app by pressing the button and tapping the band. The device will even wake up the wearer at the best time based on his/her sleep cycle. Sony's band calculates and measures the best time to wake the wearer up and gently vibrates to bring him/her out of sleep.
As previously stated, the upcoming band is powered by a removable "core" module that contains "advanced" sensor technology "that feels your movements and sends data to your smartphone." The band itself is just a wrist strap that holds the core tech in place on your wrist. There's also a Life Bookmark key so that wearers can mark a special moment.
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The SmartBand will initially be offered in Black, but the company plans to launch models in various colors sometime after launch. For more information about the new SmartBand, head here.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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ferooxidan Feels like Razer's own smartband. Even though people loathe it and criticize it before, still Razer is full of innovation. See this thing following up.Reply -
cypeq why the hell would I ever need this ? anyone, please ? I'd pay them for the device that tracks my every action as a purpose of providing better targeted ads? Shouldn't we be paid to wear these ?Reply