Sony SmartWatch 2 has NFC and other tricks up your sleeve

Billed as a second screen for your Android device, Sony's SmartWatch 2 brings your phone's notifications to your wrist, along with cool features such as remotely controlling your mobile's camera and music player.

Made of aluminium, it's waterproof and has Sony's signature power nubbin -- seen on devices such as the Xperia Z and Xperia Z Ultra, which was also announced this morning.

Its 1.6-inch touchscreen has 220x176 pixels, for a perfectly respectable 176 pixels per inch. Battery life is rated at three to four days, which seems like a ridiculously short amount of time for a watch -- you'll have to get used to charging this as well as your phone.

It pairs with your phone really simply by using NFC, which Sony is convinced is the future. After it's connected it transmits information over Bluetooth.

Android compatibility means there's a bunch of dedicated apps created by Sony and others -- you don't need a Sony phone. You can see tweets, emails, your Facebook news feed and your calendar on your arm, and there's fitness and mapping apps that let you check your route.

I really like the idea of setting up your phone to take a pic and remotely controlling the shutter with your watch, that's very cool. You can even control presentations with it, if you've plugged your Android gadget into a projector.

My intrepid colleague Aloysius Low has gone hands-on with the SmartWatch 2 at an event in Shanghai -- you can read his expert first impressions on CNET.com here.

The SmartWatch 2 is set to go on sale in September, but Sony hasn't yet announced a price. Its predecessor will currently set you back £79, but isn't waterproof.

Will the SmartWatch 2 find a place on one of your arms, or have you got enough screens already? What apps would you like to see on it? Watch yourself in the comments, or get wristy on our Facebook page.