Sony has announced that they will be releasing their Sony Smartwatch 3 SWR30 and Sony Smartband Talk during their event at IFA 2014. The Smartband at release will come in black, white, red, blue, pink or lime. The watch at release will be available in black or lime with other extra colors like pink and white available. The Smartwatch 3 is the first Sony smartwatch released taking advantage of Google’s Android Wear OS.
Sony Smartwatch 3 SWR30 Specifications
First and foremost the SWR30 will be compatible with Android devices version 4.3 and newer. The watch measures in at 36mm x 10mm x 51mm and weighs about 105 grams. As far as hardware the smartwatch packs a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM A7 processor with 512MB of RAM.
the display is a 1.6 inch capacitive touch TFT LCD with a screen resolution of 320 x 320. The SWR30 has 4GB of eMMC flash internal storage which seems to be standard in smartwatches and a 420 mAh battery that promises 2 days of battery life. Other hardware includes an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, vibrator, compass, gyroscope, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth and a hard power button. The watch charges via a microUSB port.
Sony Smartband Talk Specifications
Again first thing we will mention is its compatibility is only with Android devices running Android 4.4 or higher. The SmartBand Talk is a nice looking device that comes in at 47.5mm x 22.3mm x 9.5mm in size and will house an ARM Coretex-M4 32-bit processor and 2MB of internal storage. The display is a 1.4 inch black and white e-paper making it easier to read in different lighting conditions with a screen resolution of 288 x 128 pixels at 192 dpi. Other internal features include Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and a 70mAh battery that claims to give users 3 days of use.
Sony Smartwatch 3 SWR30 and Smartband Talk Price and Release Date
Currently it looks like the Smartwatch 3 will have a price point of just under $300USD which seems a bit high in the current market for a minimalistic smartwatch like this one. With smartwatches like the Moto360 and Gear S to compete with we think Sony may need to rethink their price before official release. The Sony Smartband Talk will have a price of just over $200USD, again seems a bit high for a smart band with competitors like fitbit and Jawbone having similar items (while without a screen) for half the price. We currently have no officially defined release date although we will update this as we hear when each will be released.
Final Thoughts about the Sony Smartwatch and Smartband
Sony is still not releasing anything new or impressive. The watch will likely not be a competitor in the Android Wear market and falls short of all expectations in the ever growing smartwatch market itself. The smartband seems to be a nice looking and useful fitness band although its price point makes it a non-contender. Those that are interested in either of these devices we would be interested to know what stands out that makes this an option for you.