Sony Ericsson Liveview watch review

12:29 AM Lrence 8 comments

Smartwatch is the next trend in consumer electronics and there's no better way to join the trend than to have one, I got my smartwatch in an online store known as Lazada in a very tempting price of only 1,489 pesos. Immediately seeing it as a good offer, without any hesitations, I ordered one, then in less than 48 hours it was delivered "talk about express delivery" I bought this product with a sole purpose in mind, to pair it with my Cherry Mobile W500 Titan, a large phone who is in dire need of the Liveview's services and guess what? it turned out fine.



The Sony Ericsson Liveview or some call it the Sony Smartwatch gen 1, is like an extension / remote of your android device and will only do just that, straight forward, you'll find it useful if you own a large android smartphone or tablet, but then, you need bluetooth in order to communicate with it, sadly, that's one thing my Arnova tablet couldn't provide, so it's basically of no use with my Liveview watch, though, the Liveview will make a good partner for my Cherry Mobile W500 Titan, the main reason why I bought it in the first place. The Liveview can connect with multiple device, however it can only do so one at a time, provided a liveview app is installed on each device, the Liveview app can be downloaded on Google Playstore for free.

Pairing it is easy all you have to do is turn your bluetooth on, start the liveview app and press connect, then your phone will automatically sync with your liveview watch, your phone's time settings, incoming messages, missed calls and even podcast will all show up on the Liveview's home screen.



The Liveview is no more than a remote controller to your android phone and a limited one, in deed, example, if someone sends you an SMS the Liveview will notify you by vibrating then you can instantly read the message on your Liveview watch without having the need to take your phone out, but replying to an SMS is out of the Liveview's boundary, the same thing can be said on incoming calls, the only way to do all that, is do it the old fashion way, take your phone out of your bag.

I find the Liveview quite amazing when using the phone's music player, it's like having a remote on your wrist with all the music info on it, imagine the comfort it could give on a daily commute, you can play, pause or skip your favorite tracks on a long bus ride without the struggle of pulling your phone out of your tight jeans.... Holding the right shoulder button for 3 seconds will take you to the Liveview's music player feature.



The Sony Ericsson Liveview is not for the outdoor seekers and adventurers alike, for one; you're pretty much stuck on its current brightness level, no display settings here! Under direct sunlight you can barely see what's on the screen, resistance to water is highly questionable too, but then again at 1,489 pesos we really can't complain.

You may have heard about the Liveview's disconnecting issues, almost all users do complain about that, to tell you the truth I do encountered it a dozen times but recently I noticed, it do happen most frequently if you insist to use plug-ins that doesn't work well with the Liveview watch, it seems that the only way to prevent it from happening is to stick with the Liveview's basic features, but where's the fun in that ! well in my case I only use plug-ins that works perfectly well on my Liveview watch, plug-ins like ringer mode and contacts call, a useful app, by the way; it allows you to call from your contact list directly on your Liveview watch.... By doing these simple steps you can minimize the chances of disconnections, except if it goes out of range. F.Y.I. the Facebook plug-in doesn't work with the Liveview watch, it's ironic to see that the liveview's internet photo ads has Facebook written all over it, marketing can sometimes be deceiving.



The strap that you see here is not the original strap that goes with it, I bought this one from Timex, an original replacement for their ironman watch series, I got it for 400 pesos, my Liveview watch looks good on it, so I think its worth all the penny I spent. Some of you may wonder why did I bother spending 400 pesos on a strap, well, because the strap that goes with it looks more like a Chihuahua strap than a watch strap, if you are the conscious type, you'd probably do the same thing, and honestly in my opinion the Sony Ericsson Liveview watch is not quite a looker, but it might be, with an extra add-on, that is.

All in all I find this device useful specially if you own a 5 inch android smartphone like I do.

Posted in: Smartwatch Review