A fitness wristband that listens to the heart. Review Sony SmartBand 2

Фитнес-трекер Sony SmartBand 2

Fitness tracker Sony SmartBand 2

Looks like

In the package, in addition to the tracker, there is a short micro USB cord for charging and a couple of sheets with instructions. More complete nothing, although, for example, a spare strap would be nice.

Коробка Sony SmartBand 2
Box Sony SmartBand 2

SmartBand 2 comes with black or white straps, and in addition Sony sells blue and pink. The belt is new, not the same as in the previous model, and this is one of those changes that have benefited. If you remember, in the first tracker Sony was a simple bracelet with a round button and a plurality of holes. It looked, maybe good, but often the wristband unbuttoned, and the gadget had to catch at the most unexpected and inconvenient time.

Комплектация Sony SmartBand 2
Package Contents Sony SmartBand 2

Here’s the bracelet turned out more like a classic watch. Silicone strap is inserted into the aluminum buckle, the tongue fixes the amount, and the remainder did not dangle, here are the belt loops. This design is much safer.

Браслет Sony SmartBand 2

Bracelet Sony SmartBand 2 Застёжка Sony SmartBand 2

Zip Sony SmartBand 2

As before, the tracker consists of two parts: silicone bracelet and Smart Core unit with all electronic stuffing. It is in the past and are all the sensors, buttons and plugs, and the strap is nothing special. Fortunately, the Core size has not changed in comparison with the first version, so if you had a SmartBand, accessories from it is suitable for the new model.

Датчик сердцебиения Sony SmartBand 2
The heart rate sensor, Sony SmartBand 2

Порт microUSB

The microUSB port Кнопка и индикаторы

Button and indicators

The most important change, the SmartBand which is visible 2 the naked eye is a pulse sensor. It takes almost the entire lower surface of the Smart Core, they’re just nothing. Other elements were old: the micro-USB port for charging, on the side button on / off and change modes, and three LEDs to indicate the current mode of operation.

Smart Core
Smart Core

Got a new bracelet and another feature that is visually impossible to notice. New tracker received the maximum protection from water and dust, now is the level of IP68. With tracker you can dive up to 3 meters and stay there for half an hour. However, one should not abuse it and go diving with 2 SmartBand.

What can

SmartBand 2 runs on an ARM Cortex-M0, the same was and in the very first tracker Sony. Has 256 Kbytes of flash for storing data from sync to sync with your phone. It is known that RAM became twice more — 32 KB vs. 16 KB — but you’re still gonna feel. The gadget is equipped with a vibration motor for alarms, and notifications, accelerometer sensor to actually track the movements of that phone it connects via Bluetooth 4.0 and the first connection happened instantly, there is a module NFC.

Paired with a smartphone for any bracelet SmartBand are becoming one of many data providers to Lifelog app that records everything that you do, including work with the browser, clients of social networks, conversations, chats, photos, etc. iOS such programs is not possible, on the iPhone you only get the data from the tracker without reference to other actions with the phone.

Режим

The “Work of heart” Принцип работы датчика

The principle of operation of the sensor Динамическое измерение пульса

Dynamic pulse measurement

The heartbeat sensor is in automatic mode. You simply choose how often you want to measure heart rate: continuously or six times per hour. Manually initiate the process of measuring heart rate, but it is not as easy as it seems. First you need to enter the bracelet into the power saving mode, and then bring it to a phone with NFC and running the application Lifelog. But with the iPhone this trick won’t work — it has a defective NFC.

Stayed in 2 SmartBand and the smart alarm. This is when you set the time interval in which you need to Wake up, and tracker, based on data about your sleep, vibrate moment easy phase to awaken you more comfortable. Now you do not need before bed to forcibly translate gadget in night mode, he learned to determine what people went to bed.

Фитнес-трекер Sony SmartBand 2
Fitness tracker Sony SmartBand 2

Unfortunately, in recent years the batteries in wearable devices in the vessel is not significantly increased.

Like smartphones, fitness trackers also suffer from “power problems” — to provide reasonable working time without recharging, we have to limit functionality. For Twitter 2, you can enable STAMINA mode, then the bracelet will stretch to 5 days, but will not read your pulse. With continuous heart rate measurement, the battery will die on the same day — this regime is to include directly at the time of training. As a compromise to collect data six times per hour the bracelet will have to charge every two or three days.

From the point of view, software for Android, nothing has changed. Still need two programs: SmartBand 2 for customization of the bracelet and connect, and Lifelog (Sony, for other available in Google Play) for monitoring and Analytics. If you are new to using tracker Sony, you will need to log in using a Google account or Sony Entertainment Network, and then entering some personal data such as height and weight, which is needed for proper calculations. After that, you can enable your phone’s Bluetooth and connect to the bracelet.

Настройки SmartBand 2

Settings SmartBand 2 Умный будильник

Smart alarm clock Настройка уведомлений

Configuring notifications

To start is to adjust the bracelet SmartBand 2. It is here that the alarm is activated, selects the mode of operation of the heartbeat sensor, and other properties. Then you just need to start wearing the tracker and you will have detailed information about their activity.

Сводка по шагам

Summary of the steps Статистика по шагам

Statistics steps Вся активность в Lifelog

All activity in Lifelog

The Lifelog app shows how much time you devote to social media, how many made pictures, listening to music and watching movies. It will take games, books and time in the browser. In General, it is a full application for monitoring the life of the phone. The tracker complements it with information about sleep and sport, as well as what your pulse was at one time or another.

Статистика по времени

The time statistics Мониторинг сна

Sleep monitoring Месячная статистика

Monthly statistics

The bracelet is not very good distinction between types of physical activity. So, he will not be able to understand, if you jump in place, swim or run, it needs a more professional devices. In the tracker module no GPS, but if you take on the workout screen coordinates correlated with information about the practice.

What alternatives

Jawbone UP3

Jawbone UP3
Jawbone UP3

Today it is one of the few gadgets that are functionally similar to the SmartBand 2. He also has heart rate sensors, not only optical and bioimpedance (it uses data about the electrical resistance of the tissue). Otherwise, UP3 is not much different from Sony devices. Attached to it is also a very good app for statistics, where you can also record the diet and to calculate the consumption and the consumption of calories. In addition, the trackers Jawbone has long learned to work with iOS and Android. Is only this bracelet is more expensive, about 12 thousand rubles.

See also: All at once: steps, sleep, heart rate, food. Review fitness bracelet Jawbone UP3

Sony SmartBand

Sony SmartBand
Sony SmartBand

Oddly enough, a close competitor SmartBand 2 is its own predecessor, the SmartBand is the first model. Buy it only if you don’t need a heart rate sensor and you have a smartphone on Android, as this bracelet for iOS can not work. The main advantage of this option — of course, price, because now the first SmartBand is sold for three thousand rubles. And if we forget about the pulse measurement, it is not inferior to the new tracker.

See also: Monitoring your life. Review of bracelet Sony SmartBand SWR10

Opinion

SmartBand 2 is one of the most inexpensive fitness bracelet with heart rate sensor, and also its main difference from the first model. Design is a matter of taste, but at least in a poor choice of materials it’s hard to blame Sony. Best gadget works in tandem with a smartphone on the Android (not necessarily Sony Xperia), supplementing data on physical activity detailed log of everything you do in the Lifelog app. And iPhone owners continue to suffer because of the limitations of the platform, they will be available only basic statistics about the traversed steps, heart rate and sleep quality. That is, in this case, the SmartBand 2 works as a standalone device and not part of the system “pocket Big Brother”. However, the existance of the heart rate sensor is somewhat diluted by the absence of the bracelet screen to monitor heart rate during cardio workouts with him still uncomfortable, have to peek at the phone screen. The screen is the Sony SmartBand Talk, but he does not know how to read the heartbeat. The ideal is somewhere in the future.


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