What you need to know about Sony`s SmartBand

It’s a “lifestyle band”

Sony has been very clear since unveiling the SmartBand at Mobile World Congress that it is a lifestyle band rather than a fitness band. Yes, the Lifelog app can be used to count steps and calories, but users can also set it to record activities such as what music they listened to, what sites they used to converse, and where you were at particular moments. Users can also manually insert Life bookmarks on their timeline to record meaningful moments and can alter the description at will. You don’t get a heart rate monitor though, which could be a sticking point for some.You could take it for a dunkThe SmartBand has been designed so that users can wear it at all times, and that includes when they shower or go for a swim. It comes with an IP55 and 1P58 rating, which means that it’s dust-resistant and waterproof in "under 3 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.” And that’s in spite of the open microUSB port.There are privacy optionsWhen you hear that the Sony SmartBand will track your life and keep tabs on your location, you may get a little worried (thanks NSA!). But Sony has said that not only is information stored in an encrypted state on the cloud, but that you can tailor what the Lifelog records. At the moment, it’s more of a case of all-or-nothing, but it’s good to have options.It offers Life toolsThe SmartBand offers a series of, what Sony is describing as, “life tools.” These include traditional features such as receiving notifications via the band and controlling multimedia, but also enable users to monitor their sleep cycle and see how well they slept; set alarm windows so that they are woken at the optimal point in their sleep cycle; and keep their phone nearby, as the band will vibrate if users go outside a designated range.You don’t always need to use the Lifelog appThere are days when you just don’t open the Lifelog app, or you’ve managed to forget it and ignored the vibrating alert on your wrist. The SmartBand will store data for up to 14 days and auto-syncs when you open the Lifelog app again. This is quite convenient as it allows people to review the past two weeks if they hadn’t opened the app in a while and see how their habits stacked up when they weren’t keeping constant tabs on them.It’s just the beginningSony is describing the SmartBand as the “beginning of a journey.” The company isn’t willing to discuss too much about what other landmarks will be covered on this journey, but did show off a camera concept. This would work in tandem to record more precious memories from your life as they occur. There is the possibility that users could set up parameters or let the camera snap away to its heart’s content, while they get to enjoy the moments and the world around them.In Short: Sony officially announced its SmartBand at Mobile World Congress, which the company is describing as more than just a fitness band.

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