The Sony Xperia Ear is a Bluetooth earbud designed to provide hands-free operation for your smartphone. Stick the device into your ear and it can pair with your phone to let you use your voice to send messages, get turn-by-turn navigation, search the web, or perform other actions.
Sony introduced the Xperia Ear as a concept product in February, and now it’s starting to go up for sale.
UK customers can order one from the Sony Store for £179, and the Xperia Ear should be available in additional countries soon. It’s expected to hit the US for $199 starting December 13th.
Xperia Ear recognizes spoken Japanese, Russian, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and US and UK English.
In addition to a mic and speaker, Xperia Ear features a proximity sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope, allowing it to respond to non-verbal gestures. For example, you can nod your head to confirm a command instead of saying “yes.”
The device also knows when it’s in your ear or in it’s charging case, allowing it to act accordingly.
Sony’s earbud measures about 1.15″ x 0.96″ and weighs 6.8 grams, or less than a quarter of an ounce. It’s IPX2 water resistant and it has a 65 mAh battery for up to 4 hours of talk time or 80 hours of standby time.
The device also comes with a charging case with a 300 mAh battery, allowing you to recharge the earbud on the go.
Sony is hardly the first company to introduce a smart earbud. The Xperia Ear is similar to Motorola’s Moto Hint and Samsung’s Gear Icon X, among others.
via Sony
I like how Sony Xperia’s earphones are done. They are not only into quality but greatly improve the look as well.