Sony has big plans for the wearable market, and has been talking a lot about its Core life tracker at Mobile World Congress this year. The tiny module is the heart of its SmartWear Experience, but it’s only the start of the company’s mission to ensure you never forget that special moment, awesome run, or tedious bus journey ever again. We sat down with Sony to have a sneak peak at what could come next.
One possibility is the Smart Lifelog Camera, and we took a look at the concept device. It’s so new, not even the Sony executive working on the project could take it out of the box to show it off. It’s tiny, around the same size as the Core or a small Bluetooth headset, and Sony has made several accessories to house it, such as a watch-like strap and a necklace. While the Core tracks movement and has a little button to ‘bookmark’ key moments in your day, this goes one step further and snaps still pictures or records video of your day.
The final feature set hasn’t been agreed upon yet, so there’s no decision on whether the Smart Lifelog Camera will continually record, just activate when you want it to, or take a series of pictures or video at set times. If so, prepare for the good and bad to be saved in the Lifelog Android app, which syncs with the camera, just like the Core. When the Core was unveiled at CES, Sony talked about releasing accessories for it, but this isn’t one of them. Instead, it’s currently a standalone device, but as it’s still a concept, this may change in the future.
Now, as Google Glass has proved, not everyone is happy about being surreptitiously recorded or photographed, and the Smart Lifelog Camera is in danger of facing the same criticism. To avoid this becoming an issue, Sony is considering adding a light or even an audible alert to show the device is taking pictures or video. Additionally, the Lifelog app doesn’t have the ability to share over social networks. It’s more like a private diary, so unlike a video shot with Glass, there’s little danger you’ll be all over YouTube in moments.
The Smart Lifelog Camera is a concept device, and therefore has no release date, or even a guarantee it’ll ever go on sale. However, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it headline Sony’s next major wearables event.
