The GPS rocking, Android Wear sporting Sony SmartWatch 3 is yours for $250 with Verizon

By Andy Boxall Published December 2, 2014

Verizon will sell the Sony SmartWatch 3 for $250 through its retail and online stores, starting right now, with shipping expected to begin at the end of the month. Announced during the IFA tech show in September, the SmartWatch 3 is Sony’s first to use the Android Wear operating system. It has several unique features, which require the newly released Android Wear update to operate.

The SmartWatch 3 comes with GPS built-in, a feature currently unique in the Android Wear world. It makes it unnecessary to take your phone with you when out for a walk or run, because it still tracks your location, and will sync data across to Sony’s Lifelog app when you return home. Additionally, the 4GB of internal storage memory inside the SmartWatch 3 can be used to store music, which can be streamed over a pair of Bluetooth headphones, giving you more freedom from your phone, and turning the SmartWatch 3 into an independently operating device.

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Sony has gone for a sporty look with the SmartWatch 3, but because the strap is entirely separate to the central watch core, it’ll be possible to alter the watch’s style with new straps over time. Sony told us it has big plans for customizing the SmartWatch 3 in the near future. The screen measures 1.6-inches, and has a 320 x 320 pixel resolution. It’s a transflective LCD panel, which should make it viewable even in very bright sunlight. Other features include a quad-core processor, 512MB of RAM, IP68 water and dust resistance, plus NFC and Bluetooth pairing.

Verizon will charge $250 for the SmartWatch 3, and it can be pre-ordered through the network’s website now. Shipping will begin on October 30.

Former Senior Mobile Writer

Andy has written about mobile technology for almost a decade. From 2G to 5G and smartphone to smartwatch, Andy knows tech.

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