For a product that has yet to be released, Google's Project Glass has definitely sparked an interest in wearable computing. In addition to their high-tech eyewear, the search giant is purportedly working on a phone-compatible smartwatch. On a similar note, rumor has it that Apple will soon announce plans for an Intel powered "iWatch". But what few people realize is that smartwatches are not a new phenomenon - Sony has entered this niche before, and going by a tweet by the Sony Xperia division, they're set to release their third rendition of the device.
Accompanied by the hashtag #itstime, the tweet foreshadowed the watch's release at the upcoming Mobile Asia Expo (MAE) being held next week in Shanghai. A follow up tweet also included a photo of the new hardware; something that closely resembles its predecessor from just a year ago.
Unfortunately, the tweets are currently the only things we know about the new Sony product, but hopefully it will be a significant improvement over past models, dubbed the SmartWatch and LiveWare, respectively.
Sony's SmartWatch was able to connect with most Android phones and could display SMS, Twitter feeds, and it also offered convenient music controls. That being said, the devices were criticized for having a hard-to-follow interface, as well as difficulty with phone integration. Not to mention the fact that apps were of limited use, and at a price of $149.99 for the latest model, it was too expensive to be a novelty device.
However, with a newfound global interest in these type of devices, Sony might actually have the upper hand against Apple and Google. Neither one of them has dabbled in this space before, while Sony already has an existing product to build upon.