Secret Sony Project Revealed: A Watch Made Of E-Paper

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
An experimental smartwatch made from electronic paper and purportedly the work of a “startup” known as Fashion Entertainments is actually a secret project in the works at Sony, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday.
According to WSJ blogger Takashi Mochizuki, the Japanese technology giant has quietly been experimenting with e-paper, a display technology which mimics the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike traditional backlit flat panel displays, e-paper displays reflect light, making them easier to read and giving them a wider viewing angle.
Sony, under the Fashion Entertainments label, is studying how to use the material to develop fashion products, Mochizuki explained. A spokesman with the company told the Journal that Sony is working on a prototype known as the FES Watch, which has a wristband based on e-paper, comes with 24 design patterns that can be changed manually, and can alter its appearance based on the user’s gestures.
The company has sought to keep its involvement in the project secret, even putting it on Japanese crowdfunding website Makuake back in September in order to gauge interest in the product, according to CNET’s Rich Trenholm. To date, it has raised 3.5 million yen ($30,000) from over 150 supporters, nearly doubling its original goal, and those who contributed have been told that they will receive their watches sometime after May 2015, he added.

Image Above Credit: Fashion Entertainments

Fashion Entertainments is headed up by Hiroki Totoki, the new head of Sony’s smartphone efforts, and is part of a program of internal entrepreneurship conceived by Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai, explained Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch. He noted that Sony decided to mask their involvement so that it could evaluate customer reaction to the proposed product without people becoming influenced by its well-known brand name.
“Turning e-paper into a fabric has a number of potential benefits – including the ability to change pattern and design of things you’re wearing in an instant, including colored options using newer color e-ink technology,” Etherington said. “The material’s extremely low power draw means it should be able to last a long time without charging.”
In fact, BBC News technology reporter Dave Lee said that the FES watch has an estimated battery life of 60 days. Lee also noted that the display resembles those used by e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle, and that Fashion Entertainments is also working on a whole line of e-paper products, including bow ties, shoes and glasses.
Mochizuki said that Sony and its CEO are “encouraging its employees to come up with new product or business ideas by providing financial and advisory support.” Fashion Entertainments is the latest result of that initiative, following Sony Real Estate (a real-estate service company launched in April) and the Sony Seed Acceleration Program (which was launched earlier this year “to foster creative ideas through auditions,” the WSJ writer said).
As for the FES Watch, Etherington said that smartphone-style functions such as notifications and messaging services could be possible with the technology, but the primary goal of the project is to keep it simple and showcase e-paper as more of a “fabric or building block” and less as a piece of technology. While pre-order customers will get their devices after next May, Sony has not announced an official release date for the new watch.

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