As the activity tracker market matures, many new devices do more than record your daily motions. The $99.99 Sony SmartBand SWR10, for instance, is being billed as an accessory that logs your entire life. That's a pretty bold claim, and the SWR10 certainly doesn't live up to those ambitions. But it does log a good deal more than your standard activity tracker, recording things like books, conversations, music, photos, and more. It features an innovative design and beautiful companion app, and stats lovers will no doubt be pleased with all the graphs. But it's only average as an activity tracker, and many of its additional features feel either half-baked or superfluous. So while the SWR10 is interesting in theory, it's hard to recommend over other wearable devices on the market.
Design and Fit
At a glance, the SWR10 looks a lot like your standard, nondescript activity tracking band, but that's only half of the story. The band itself is really just a body for what Sony calls the core, which is the brain of the device. Physically, the core is a small, white piece of plastic that measures roughly 1.5 by 0.6 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and weighs less than an ounce. It looks a bit like a thumb drive, or even the Fitbit One to a degree. It isn't meant to be seen, so the design is simple and functional: There's a micro USB port for charging on one end, and a multifunction button and three status lights on the side. There isn't really a clear top or bottom, but one of the ends has the model and serial number of the product along with other information, while the reverse features a recessed Sony logo.
The core comes with two different-size straps in which you can wear it, which is where the SmartBand aspect comes into play. The strap itself measures roughly 0.65 inches at its widest point, and just over a quarter of an inch deep. On the wrist, it looks extremely similar to the Fitbit Flex, minus the small display.
I found the smaller strap to be a reasonable fit on my somewhat large wrist, so I imagine it will also work for most other users. The strap is the same width no matter which size you choose, so it doesn't make any difference from a style perspective. The SWR10 ships with two black straps, but Sony plans to offer a number of replacement packs with different colors later this month. The default strap is made of a rubbery material with a lightly textured pattern which picks up stray bits of lint and debris. I can't speak for any other color, but it was definitely visible on the black strap.
Getting the strap onto my wrist was also an issue. There's a dual-prong silver toggle built on the bottom edge of the strap, but no matter how many times I wore it, securing the closure proved to be an exercise in frustration. It felt secure once in place, but I had a hard time getting it on in under a minute. Luckily, the SWR10 is meant to be worn all day, and Sony rates battery life up to five days, so you probably only have to take it off once or twice a week. It's also Sony Mobile's first product to be classified as waterproof (IP58) without a micro USB port lid, so you can wear the SWR10 in up to nine feet of fresh water. That goes for the band as well as the core itself. With those credentials, it's safe to say the SWR10 will also stand up to a shower.
That said, the generic styling doesn't really inspire me to wear the band all the time. It's fine for the gym, but I found myself taking it off before going out to meet up with friends. But this highlights the beauty of the SmartBand's design. The strap itself is just one way to carry the core. When I didn't want to wear it on my wrist, I could simply throw the core in my pocket to continue logging information. Theoretically, Sony could develop other ways to wear the core, such a clip-on case that would give it a form factor similar to the Fitbit One. That makes the SWR10 much more versatile than many other activity trackers on the market.
Setup
The SWR10 is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.4 (KitKat) and higher. That's more inclusive than the Samsung-only Gear Fit, but those requirements still rule out a huge amount of Android users, as well as the entire iOS community, so make sure you own a compatible device before buying in.
Getting started with the SWR10 is more complicated than it needs to be. Sony's scant documentation included with the SmartBand assumes your smartphone has NFC, and simply tells you to charge the SWR10, enable NFC on your smartphone, and tap the SWR10 to your phone's NFC plate. There's no information on what to do after that, or what to do without NFC.
I paired the SWR10 with a Google Nexus 5, and luckily the pairing process describe above worked just fine via NFC, but there's still plenty you must do after. First off, using NFC simply pairs the devices via Bluetooth and brings you to a prompt in the Google Play store to download Sony's Smart Connect app. After that you need to download and install the app, and make sure the SWR10 is properly connected. The Smart Connect app allows you to edit settings such as notifications and smart alarms, but it doesn't let you see any of the information you've logged using the SWR10. For that you'll have to download another app (there's a link to do this in Smart Connect, but it isn't all that intuitive).
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