Lately I have been wanting a watch. When I started carrying a phone everywhere, I found myself looking at it for the time (as I checked texts, emails, etc.), so I stopped wearing a watch. Lately it has been inconvenient to check the phone for the time, so it is back to the watch.
I have been coveting the Smart Watch 2 since I located it. This watch connects via Bluetooth, to your Android phone, serving as an independent timepiece, but providing call handling (reject, missed call notification, caller id information, mute, and volume adjustments), incoming text viewing, Gmail and email viewing, calendar viewing, music player handling and social media notification viewing.
This watch is NOT a phone. You can answer the call, but you will have to talk through a wired headset or into the handset, not into the watch. This device is good for getting routine information from your phone without having to touch it.
The watch itself, for a tech geek like me, is attractive – sleek, polished, upscale. In black, it will fit into any outfit, at least any I would plan to wear, allowing me to keep the phone out of sight, though it has to be kept close. The Bluetooth range for the watch is very short. You can’t leave the phone in your desk and walk around the office, but you can keep the phone on your hip and get the information you need by glancing discreetly at your wrist instead of grabbing the phone and tapping on the screen.
The marketing of Bluetooth headsets proves the technology is available to turn the watch into a mobile phone. Some are for sale. It brings up the question: Why did Sony leave that functionality out? My guess is Sony engineers did not want to contribute to the crazy mobile phone sights on the streets. We have gone from bag phones over the shoulder with corded handsets, to the phones that looked like people holding bricks to their heads, to people walking around appearing to talk to themselves. The image of people talking into their wrists Dick Tracy style … that makes me giggle.
This product does, however, address a big area of need — staying in touch when it is inconvenient to grab the phone.
Pros:
• Water and dust resistant, so wearable during exercise, hand washing and other normal daily activities (no showering or swimming)
• There are a growing number of apps available, making it extremely versatile
• Watchband in a variety of colors can be purchased
Cons:
• Cost, expensive for an everyday watch
• While it functions better than the first version marketed, it doesn’t really do more
• Functionality it should have out of the box must be installed before you can use the watch
