Sony is developing a minimalist fashion watch based on e-paper technology

John Williamson

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Sony has formed a new division under the name of Fashion Entertainments and created a simple watch made entirely from e-paper. The watch, codenamed Fes, adopts a retro design and features 24 patterns which mimic a wide range of traditional watch straps and faces. The unit also responds to gestures and alters the watch face so you can easily read the time when you hold the item in front of you.

The Fes’ sole purpose is to be a bold fashion accessory and doesn’t include advanced features like monitoring or voice recognition which are present on the upcoming Apple Watch. However, its e-paper construction is incredibly power efficient and the battery should last approximately 60 days on a single charge. Compare this to the iWatch which will require daily charging and is undoubtedly less practical in this sense.  Furthermore, the basic design of the Fes should make it a fairly affordable proposition.

There has been an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards the Fes so far which began with a crowdfunding campaign back in September. The initial target goal of 2 million yen ($17,000) has already been surpassed with the final figure reaching 3.5 million yen ($30,000). Sony distanced themselves from the project to see what the reaction would be without people’s views being skewed thinking it was a huge campaign backed by such a recognisable company.

In addition to the Fes, Fashion Entertainments are working on other e-paper products including bow ties, shoes and even glasses. Perhaps the company foresees this as the future of wearables and a new way of implementing smart but efficient technology based on style instead of features.

There is no official release date for the watch, but backers should receive the Fes in May next year.

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Another useless garbage "experiment" product by Sony and it's going to flop big time, as usual. I don't understand how a company like Sony, who's been struggling for years to stay profitable, can afford to keep wasting millions on R&D for products that have almost no chance of success. It's like they're just throwing **** at the wall, hoping one of the turds will stick.
 
Another useless garbage "experiment" product by Sony and it's going to flop big time, as usual. I don't understand how a company like Sony, who's been struggling for years to stay profitable, can afford to keep wasting millions on R&D for products that have almost no chance of success. It's like they're just throwing **** at the wall, hoping one of the turds will stick.
Wow, why the hate. The product is not even launched yet and you believe it will be doomed. "Flop big time" & "No chances of success", uhmm theses might not sell out like something Apple might make but think that there would be many people you would want to buy such a product. Only time will tell.
Me for instance, I like the battery life and that it is a watch not pretending to be a mini phone. Also like the minimalist design and that it is not bulky - won't look bad on my skinny arms.
 
Why is everyone pushing these watches? Even the hype is not that big and I'm pretty sure it's not selling that well either.
 
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