Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) has unveiled an e-paper smartwatch that looks unlikely to compete against high-end Apple Watch and Galaxy Smartwatch. The watch is made of a material from fashion products and was developed as part of an experiment to see if it is viable as it falls short of features offered by other smartwatches.
A number of e-paper products are believed to be under development including glasses, bowties and shoes based on the new technology.
E-Paper Watch Design
The watch comes with a monochrome design and a battery that can last up to 60 days on usage. The watch’s face has an e-paper display similar to the one used on e-book readers meaning the device can alternate between several styles of watch strap and face design.
Reports indicate that Sony had kept the development of the e-watch a low key affair with development apparently carried out by its spin-off division called Fashion Entertainments. The division reportedly ran a crowd funding campaign in an attempt of trying to gauge the viability of the project. Sony Corp has already confirmed that Fashion Entertainment is part of its new Business Creation Department, which is currently working on a number of e-papers prototypes.
E-Paper Limitations
The watch itself is not generating as much buzz as Sony would have loved, but the use of the e-paper material is seen as a breakthrough in the tech space especially in the race for wearables. Sony Corp’s watch can’t be termed as a Smartwatch because it lacks a number of functionalities beyond telling time. The use of e-paper also comes with a number of limitations as there are few things that the paper can display.
Sony Corp reportedly decided to hide its identity on the gadget because Fashion Entertainment wanted to know the real value of the product especially in terms of demand.
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