Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, is working on developing a smartwatch which will use e paper technology for both- the wristband and the display. Though Sony has not quoted an exact date for the launch of this interesting sounding new product, sources familiar with it say that the product might hit the market early next year
The face of the watch and the display are both rumored to be made out of a new material (patented by Sony) which will allow every surface of the watch to act as a display.
“The device will emphasize style, rather than trying to outdo more technological offerings like Apple’s watch and Sony’s own SmartWatch,” the sources said.
Though the smartwatch introduced by Pebble some time back also uses an e-paper display, Sony’s watch will be the first of its kind to offer a display on the wrist band as well. Some tech geeks and gadget lovers have shown some love to the smartwatches available in the market but their poor battery lives have always been a big deciding factor against them. Smartwatch makers (including Pebble) have helped improve upon the battery life by going in for colorless but more energy-efficient e-ink display. Since Sony was making its own eBook readers till a few months back, that should not much of a problem for them.
Not only will the whole surface of the proposed watch be a display screen, it is also said to have the ability to change its display. This is one of the first products out of Sony’s motley bag after the CEO Kazuo Hirai formed a creative division within the company to fast track on products which could translate into greater profits for the giant which has been in the red for some time now, and also helping it get rid of some products which do not fit in their existing business model.
In keeping with that, Sony had announced yesterday to limit the number of its products in the television and mobile segments while planning to focus on gaming and related products. Though the watch does sound interesting for now because of an entire body display, its market response will depend, among other things, upon how pretty it looks to the eye.
Leave a Reply