The Sony SmartWatch up close (pictures)

Part of a new breed of intelligent timepieces powered by Android, the $149.99 Sony SmartWatch is svelte and stylish, and promises tight smartphone integration.

Brian Bennett

June 6, 2012 4:47 p.m. PT

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Sony SmartWatch

Sporting an attractive silver-metallic trim, the Sony SmartWatch relies on a tiny 1.3-inch OLED display to showcase information. Also equipped with a touch screen, the gadget is controlled by tapping and swiping fingers across the display, much like a smartphone.

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Sony SmartWatch

By default, the Sony SmartWatch comes with a conservative black wristband. Sony, however, sells five fashionable color choices: white (shown here), pink, mint, gray, and blue. The SmartWatch is also designed to take a beating, with Sony claiming it's both dust- and splash-resistant.

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Sony SmartWatch

Designed to link to any smartphone running Android 2.1 or higher, the Sony SmartWatch right out of the gate offers plenty of flexibility. The device is shown here with an accompanying Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc.

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Sony SmartWatch

On the right side of the Sony SmartWatch is its sole physical control, a small power button. When the watch is powered down, pressing the power key for a few seconds will kick the SmartWatch into Bluetooth pairing mode.

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Sony SmartWatch

Just like an Android handset, the Sony SmartWatch has its own app tray with multiple screens that house icons for app shortcuts. You can launch apps directly from the app tray or have them operate as widgets on the watch's multiple home screens.

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Sony SmartWatch

The Sony SmartWatch's music app lets you control your phone's audio playback without laying a finger on your handset. Album art is displayed, and tapping the screen will pull up volume controls.

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Sony SmartWatch

The Sony SmartWatch has a handy weather app that uses your smartphone's data connection to display current weather conditions in your city.

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Sony SmartWatch

Social-media access is one of the Sony SmartWatch's many capabilities. Using the Twitter and Facebook apps, SmartWatch wearers can view tweets and updates as they happen or dive into apps for more details.

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Sony SmartWatch

Sony sells wristband accessories in multiple colors (pink, blue, black, white, gray, and mint). The pink hue is shown here.

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Sony SmartWatch

Measuring just 1.42 inches tall by 1.42 inches high by 0.3 inch thick, the Sony SmartWatch is extremely small. It weighs 0.55 ounce and is easy to wear.

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Sony SmartWatch

Like other watch-style gadgets, the Sony SmartWatch can be clipped to clothing or to its wristband. Under the device's clip are contacts for its proprietary charging cable. The USB power cord plugs into either a PC or an AC adapter.