- FES E-Paper Watch ($240)
Let’s face it—smartwatches might be cool the first few weeks you own them, but after a while there limits become rather obvious. Sure, tracking your every step and calorie intake might be useful for some, but there are plenty of fitbit-like devices that do a better job of it and are designed specifically for when measuring that sort of stuff really counts—your workouts. Beyond that, how often are you really going to check and answer texts and emails on the small screen of your smartwatch when you’ve got a much more functional big-screen smartphone just a few inches away in your side pocket?
Which is why we’re shying away from the whole smartwatch trend for now and turning our attention over to a different kind of technologically advanced timepiece. One that comes with a much more practical (and simpler) functionality—the electronic watch. But not just any electronic watch. An electronic paper watch, otherwise known as an “E-Paper” watch. And the first one to make them is a company you probably wouldn’t think of initially, but has been causing quite a stir in the space of late—Sony.
That’s right, Sony subsidiary FES (Fashion Entertainments) has created the superbly handsome and fashion-forward FES E-Paper watch. A watch that not only allows you to change the color and design of its face, but also its strap—all with the push of a button.
By covering both the face and the strap of the watch in e-paper, FES was able to create a watch that allows its wearer to choose between a white or black face, how many markers, if any, to display, and a number of different white or black strap designs, many of which mimic traditional band and bracelet fabrics and materials. And each design looks better than the next, with all of them ditching the clunky, overly-ostentatious designs of years past in favor of the cleaner, more minimalistic look and feel of today.
So if you’re looking for a new watch that’s going to make some forward-thinking style waves, skip the overhyped and overplayed smartwatch in favor of the newer, lesser-known e-paper watch and show everyone how a true trendsetter tells time—quietly and tastefully—without all the unnecessary tools and gadgetry.
