Sony SmartWatch 2: Full review

Smartwatches are slowly entering our lives whether we like it or not. They are becoming more and more popular with every feature that gets added to each device. Eventually, smartwatches will be as popular as Bluetooth headsets and just as powerful as our phones. Slowly, but surely, manufacturers like Sony are ironing out bugs, adding performance, and designing watches that don't make the user... well for lack of a better term, look like a nerd.

The SmartWatch 2 is Sony's second stab at the smartwatch market. It has an overall sleek design that comes with an aluminum body that is IP57 rated, supports Android 4.0 or higher, and sports a 1.6 inch transflective LCD screen with a resolution of 220 x 176 (176 ppi). It comes with an ambient light sensor and three off-screen buttons: home, back, and menu. The device supports NFC and Bluetooth connectivity for pairing it to your device.

Design

The overall design of the SmartWatch 2 has a both the premium feel and look. Sony did a very good job of mimicking the look and feel of their Xperia phone line on this watch. It has the same flat edges, rounded corners, silver lip protecting the screen, and a circular lock button.  The chassis is made out of aluminum that comes with an IP 57 rating, which means it is not entirely protected from the ingress of dust and it can sustain being under one meter of water for at least 30 minutes. This means you can wash your hands without worry of wrecking your brand new smartwatch.

Overall, the device is very light. It comes in at 122.5 grams, or just of 4 ounces including the stock wristband. The device has an option of two wristband styles, silicon and metal. The silicon version comes in at a cheaper price, but don't worry, any 24 mm wristband will fit the watch-face. Sony did a good job not limiting its customers to only their wristbands. It is very easy to find an alternative.


Screen

The screen may not have the most crisp display, but it definitely does its job as far as being a watch. Going from inside to outdoors, the watch does a good job of adjusting the display. It makes it very easy to glance at the watch to get the time with out tapping the screen or pressing the lock button to brighten the display. We had no trouble seeing the time or other notifications in broad-daylight.

The main reason the device is so successful outdoors, is its transflective display. This means that along with transmitting light for the display, it reflects the incoming light back out. It has the ability to have the pixels be illuminated from both the front of the display and from behind the display. Along with the benefit of being able to see the watchface in daylight, it saves battery consumption. It does not have to continue brightening the LCD panel to compensate the ambient light.



This is one thing Sony did exceptionally well. It made the SmartWatch 2 functional for what its main purpose is: being a watch. Sony made sure that while the device is a 'smart' watch, it didn't lose sight of its most important, yet most basic feature. With the smartwatch market on the rise, many manufacturers are trying to pack as many features as possible to 'one up' or make theirs better than the competition. They lose focus on the reason of having a watch: to see the time at a glance.

Battery

Battery life has been the big surprise for the SmartWatch 2. On the box, it says battery life is three to four days, and that is definitely on par. We got a full four days out of the device with ease. Coming to the fifth day, we were around 20% battery, so we gave in and put it on the charger. We had all notifications enabled, so it would vibrate due to text messages, Facebook notifications, phone calls, etc. Although the it may not have the best screen, it definitely makes up for it with the extended battery life; especially when comparing it to the all-new Moto 360 that makes it around one or two days (the Moto 360 does have more features though). 

Operating System

The big question on the Sony SmartWatch line has been the operating system. Sony hasn't adopted Google's Android Wear operating system because of the amount of time and research they have put into their own. The plus side of this, is that it adds to the overall battery life. Android Wear has been known to drain battery life with its amount of features, but that isn't the case of the SmartWatch 2.

For those who consider Android Wear a deal-breaker, don't worry. Sony's SmartWatch 3 does comes with Android Wear as its Operating System instead of Sony's in-house OS.

Performance

For the most part, our time with the SW2 was pleasant one. The device is very responsive alerts the user of the notifications almost instantaneously. When we had an incoming call, the SW2 would actually start vibrating before our actually phone, so that was nice.

Occasionally, if we wanted to reject a call with a message or reply to a text message, the application would freeze up. We could scroll through the pre-made messages and smiley-faces, however when we would press the option we wanted, it would not send. This became bothersome, and the only way to get it to work, was resetting the device. Fortunately, the SW2 has a relatively quick boot time. 

Missing features

Some features that are a must that don't come on the SmartWatch 2 is a microphone and speaker. Without a microphone mounted on the watch, texting custom messages from the watch is impossible; minus the fact that you can send emoticons and pre-made texts such as "I'm in class." The SW2 also gives you the option of dialing phone numbers or contacts straight from the device, but it seems counter-intuitive. You can dial from your watch, yet you have to take your phone out of your pocket to field the call.

Conclusion

Overall, the Sony SmartWatch 2 is a great starter smartwatch. It doesn't have all the features that a $200-300 smartwatch would have, but it only comes in at around $140 on average, which makes it a great value. It may not have the flashy features, but we didn't mind. The first and foremost reason for having a watch is the ability to tell the time, and the SW2 does a fantastic job at that. We will give the credit on that one to the transflective display.

If you are looking at test-driving a smartwatch to see if this is the device you 'can't live without', we recommend picking up the SmartWatch 2. It is a great starter watch at a very reasonable price.

It is a great start and step in the right direction for Sony's version of the smartwatch. We are looking forward to the SmartWatch 3 to see how Sony improved upon this solid device.

Overall: 7/10

Read More

Today we 'Probe' the Galaxy S5 Camera

One of the most important things to smartphone owners is the camera of a device. It can be make or break for someone who is comparing devices. While screen size, resolution, and battery life are important, the camera can be just as influential. 

Samsung has always prided themselves on producing devices with great cameras, and the S5 is no different. Today we are probing the camera on the ever popular Galaxy S5, which comes with the biggest megapixel count over any Galaxy phone to date with 16 megapixels. The previous megapixel count was 13 on both the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3. To go along with the 16 megapixel rear facing camera, the S5 comes with a 2.1 megapixel front camera worthy of shooting 1080p with 30 FPS. The S5 also supports 4K video recording, unlike it's predecessor the Galaxy S4.

The S5 comes with six shooting modes: Auto, Beauty Face, Shot & More, Panorama, Virtual Tour, Dual Camera, and the ability to download more through Samsung Hub. 

The Auto mode is the one you'll use the most because it is the most practical of them all. It is well-balanced and will take care of static pictures or shooting something with a little more motion. Below you can see a picture with a lot of motion and the camera captures it very well, although if you zoom in you will see the water will show blurs. The Auto Mode makes it very simple with the quick focus. You just have to tap to focus, and it will take care of the rest.

The S5 has a great definition of colors as is expected with Samsung's phones. This camera has great peripherals, which can be seen below. On this image, we focused on the water, but the vegetation around the river is still very clear and crisp when zoomed in upon. You can really appreciate the 16 megapixel shooter in nature pictures. Every leaf is defined throughout the picture. Although you pick one point to focus on, the camera does a very good job of taking in the surrounding environment.

Once again, the camera's ability to produce vivid photos from any distance is shown below. The rocks and greenery is well defined, however when you are taking a picture from a distance, motion tends to blur easier. The color representation on the Galaxy S5 is definitely top of the smartphone list. Samsung has been criticized for their excess use of saturation before, but with the camera it is great. The camera has more to take in and can't focus entirely on the waterfall. The Auto Mode definitely shows it's easiness in scenes with a lot to take in.

One of our favorite features on the Galaxy S5 camera is the Focus Mode. On the HTC One M8, it comes with two cameras, so you can choose between near and far focus whenever you want. On the S5, the setting has to be enabled, but it is worth it. The detail this camera shows is second to none in the smartphone market. Below you can see the pictures where we used the Focus Mode. The object in the focus has to be at least twenty inches away for this mode to work. The software definitely does a good job of separating what's focused on and what isn't. The line on the rocks is very crisp until you get to the outer right edges of the rocks.

One convenient feature of the Focus Mode is that you can go into your gallery at anytime and change the focus from close to far, and vise versa. You can compare the differences between the near focus on the lower left and the far focus on the lower right.

One thing that the Galaxy series camera has lacked in its entire existence, is shooting at night. Below you can see a sunset shot with the S5. When it is used in low-light conditions, objects tend to look grainy and blur together. While the colors are shown very well once again, it can't handle the darkness. The S5 has improved over previous models of the Galaxy family however. There is a clear definition of the waterline to the trees, and the trees to the sky. It is not perfect, but it will work.

Overall, the Galaxy S5 camera tops the list of smartphone cameras we've had the pleasure of using. If you are an outdoorsman or or just a casual walker, the Galaxy S5 will take great pictures of whatever you point your phone at. While it handles colors and detail very well, it does a decent job with things in motion. The only point that seems to drag the camera down is night shooting. It can take decent pictures at night, but it isn't great. The S5 is a great camera for someone who is a point-and-shoot type of photographer.

Remember to follow us on Twitter @PhoneProbe 

Read More