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| Sony Smartwatch 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Gear |
Smartwatches are the future. As the growth in the smartphone market slows, especially at the high end where companies have been making a killing. Consumer electronics giants need to look elsewhere to bolster earnings growth. For Samsung, Microsoft, Google, Sony, LG and maybe even Apple, that "elsewhere" is wearable computing.
And now, it's time that we compare these smartwatches and lets see which of them is better.
Universal Compatibility: This is an obvious point in the plus column for Sony's SmartWatch 2.
When the Galaxy Gear launched it worked only with the Galaxy Note 3. One... single... smartphone. The situation has improved since the launch and the device now works with several Samsung phones like the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note 2 thanks to some updates.
Sony's SmartWatch 2, on the other hand, works with every modern Android phone out there. In other words, Sony's SmartWatch 2 works with every recent Samsung smartphone on the planet while Samsung's own smartwatch only works with a handful of Samsung smartphones.
Price: This one is straight forward.
Sony's SmartWatch 2 costs $199.99. Samsung's Galaxy Gear costs $299.99. $199.99 is less than $299.99.
Battery life: Another area that is quite straight forward
Sony SmartWatch will last between three or four days of battery life per charge while Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch lasts for a little more than one day on a full charge.
Standard microUSB charging port: This one is huge for me.
The Galaxy Gear ships with an awful clam shell cradle that is needed to charge the device. There's a standard microUSB charger that plugs into the cradle, and then the cradle is closed around the watch to charge it.
It's a very bad design, and owners get a painful reminder of how bad it is each and every day since the Gear needs to be charged daily.
Sony's SmartWatch 2 has a standard microUSB [prt that is covered by a connected rubber cap. And if you want to charge the device, pull out the attached rubber cap and plug in any standard microUSB charger. That's it.
Apps: Samsung's Galaxy Gear is very limited when it comes to apps and Sony has taken the opposite approach: the more, the merrier.
Sony's Smart Connect app manages the connection between the SmartWatch 2 and the user's smartphone, and it also serves as a portal through which users can find both free and paid apps. Apps are actually housed in the standard Google Play Store.
The number of available apps continues to grow slowly but steadily, and there are definitely some decent offerings in there. Also, those who purchase the SmartWatch 2 with the silicon band ($199.99) as opposed to the metal band ($219.99) will get RunKeeper's custom SmartWatch app for free.
Water and dust resistance: The SmartWatch 2 is certified to be water and dust resistant and it carries an IP57 rating. Here's what that means:
An Ingress Protection (IP) rating is given to electrical devices to signify how resistant to water and dust they are. The first digit that follows "IP" represents a device's dust resistance rating and the second digit signifies how resistant it is to water
For dust resistance, the scale is 0 to 6 where 0 would be assigned to a device that offers no protection against dust and 6 would be assigned to a device that is impenetrable.
Sony's rating of 5 means that the SmartWatch 2 is very well-protected against dust.
For water resistance, the scale goes from 0 to 8 where 0 means a device hasn't even been evaluated and 8 means a device can withstand continuous immersion under water. The SmartWatch 2's rating of 7 means a splash of water or heavy rain are no problem at all for the device. In fact, it can be fully submerged for about 30 minutes in up to three feet of water and come out just fine.
Interchangeable straps: Want to sport a different look from one day to the next? The SmartWatch 2 can use a variety of different bands sold by Sony or it can take any standard watch strap that is 24 millimeters wide. Because the Galaxy Gear's camera and speaker are built into the strap, no suck luck on Samsung's smartwatch
Hardware design: The SmartWatch 2 is not an ugly device, but it's no Galaxy Gear.
Aside from the hideous camera lens on the front of the strap, Samsung's Galaxy Gear is a very sleek and well-designed device. The stainless steel case has a great look to it and the exposed screws above and below the face are a very nice touch. The SmartWatch 2 on the other hand, is somewhat bland. It's far better than Sony's previous SmartWatch but it really isn't anything special.
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