Sony Smartband 2 Review, Specs, Price: Sony's Next Fitness Tracker Will Measure Heart Rate, Stress Levels
Sony's next fitness tracker will add several new features not found in the original Smartband, including a heart rate monitor.
Sony has officially announced the Smartband 2 and plans to put it on sale next month, CNET reports. The heart-rate tracker will keep track of a user's heart rate all day and tell them which activities raise their heart rate and which activities keep it at is resting rate.
The Smartband 2 will keep track of users' overall activity and movements, sleep and even stress levels. According to Sony, the Smartband 2 will be able to determine how stressful users' days are, even if they don't think they are stressed out. The band is also pairable with Apple and Android smartphones and will let users know with flashing LEDs and vibrations when a call is coming in or they have received a text or email message.
The Sony Smartband 2 offers some nice features, but it still faces a large crowd of competitors. Fitbit, Jawbone, Garmin and Misfit all offer similar bands that offer fitness tracking, sleep monitoring and can be paired with smartphones. There is even an ultra-affordable fitness tracker offered from Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi, with its $30 Mi Band. Smartwatches, like the Apple Watch and Microsoft Band also offer fitness tracking features.
The Smartband 2 has support for both iOS 8.2 and Android 4.4 for alerts and notifications, which is one valuable feature that distinguishes it from other similar devices.
Lifelog is an app offered by Sony that will work with both the Sony Xperia and other Android smartphones. Lifelog allows users to record their activities, heart rate, stress levels and other measures and compare how they have changed over time. The Lifelog app also tracks where users have been when they go for a run and how active they were over a period of time.
The Smartband 2 is made of silicon and is waterproof up to a depth of nine feet. The battery life on the Smartband 2 should last two full days and it will only take one hour to fully charge it. The Smartband 2 will go on sale in September for $130.
With its built-in heart-rate monitor, Sony's Smartband 2 will go head-to-head with Fitbit's Charge HR, according to TechCrunch.
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