Sony LiveView – now it actually works!
I got Sony LiveView almost an year ago, but discontinued using after couple of weeks. There were just too many problems with it, then. Firmware was so buggy, that it kept dropping Bluetooth connection all the time. Also, there were not that many applications available. During spring 2011 there was a firmware update available, which helped a little, but not enough. It could very well be that Bluetooth interface in Android 2.2 was buggy, also.
One major problem was that batteries in LiveView were drained very quickly. This is no surprise, since connection with phone was dropping all the time, and then LiveView tried to seek and pair with the phone. All that constant scanning uses power.
But now with Android 2.3 this handy gizmo actually works. After several days of constant use battery usage seems to be quite normal. I can use it several days without recharge. I kept LiveView on and connected with phone for two days and nights, checked emails and calendar dozens of times a day, and still the battery charge was about 50%. That is acceptable considering that LiveView has color touch sensitive display.
Bluetooth connection is steady now, and it can even reconnect itself. This was a huge problem before, now it is exactly as it should be.
We can also see a major improvement in number of usable applications. Calendar application is a must. It shows you both a month view and agenda view. There is also a gateway application which enables you to see K-9 emails on LiveView. ContactCall makes it possible to browse through contacts in your phonebook and then initiate a call. This is quite useful if you are using handsfree. And there are even more applications available in Android Market
