Seiko's 'active matrix' E-Ink watch exemplifies awesome, might just be the future (video)
By Darren Murph 
posted April 2nd 2010 10:13AM
posted April 2nd 2010 10:13AM
posted April 2nd 2010 10:13AM
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Too bad their shape is stuck in the past
No joke. Hey, Seiko, 1982 called . . . etc. etc. etc.
e-Ink or not, that thing does NOT look futuristic.
1982 wants its 80,000 pixel, active matrix e-ink wrist watch-sized display back? I think not.
@JoeRodricks
Where's the calculator pad?
@FMinus
I think it's great. Matches my Motofone F3.
Problem is, I think it's broken. The clip was 3 minutes long and the time was stuck at 10:08 the whole video.
@FMinus I understand what you're saying but how complicated can watches be?
"Round wheels are so caveman era. Lets make them square!"
A lot of watches now have round faces...at some point they had them like that before the 80's. There just isn't much room for growth here. At least until they use flexible OLED or something.
@FMinus What's wrong with rectangles? You want they should use 'space rectangles'?
People still wear watches?
@jsparrott Yes they do. Sure I can check the time on my phone but..... it's just not classy. A good watch looks good on the wrist, though I agree this one isn't a looker but the tech is fantastic.
@jsparrott
Absolutely.. man jewelry. Girls aint rolling up to you cuz you have a nice $200 phone.
@jsparrott I have a Casio calculator watch, I couldn't live without it (but this is because since GCSE maths I have lost almost any mental ability to do simple calculations)
@jsparrott Yes. I can't live without a wristwatch.
You only think a watch looks good because you've never mounted your phone on your wrist. That, my friend, is classy.
@jsparrott I love my automatic and mechanical watches. I will always wear one.
@Luffy : Why do you cast "mechanical" as somehow opposed to "automatic"? Do you have to advance your mechanical clock's hands manually?
@John Stracke
No, you wind up manual watches.
Mine is semi-automatic.
@jsparrott
With you on that.... in front of a computer ALL day weekdays, in front of the cable box or computer at home. When I'm out, I look at my phone...
Other times, I can glance at a clock IF I really need to know.
Haven't worn a watch in 3 or 4 years
@jsparrott
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Speedmaster
@JoeRodricks: You only think that phone on your wrist is classy because you've never mounted an iPad on it.
/Yes, I totally went there.
//No, I'm never buying an iPad.
///Yes, i wear a watch.
Seiko truly is one of the last innovators in the wristwatch business. Their high end line in Japan easily beats out any of the Swiss watchmakers.
@HerbieDerb
That's a claim with no ground to stand on. Seiko has some "high-end" watches, but it also has tons more of Swatch-quality crap, the e-ink one being one of them, which drag the whole image of Seiko down beyond repair.
That said, even a crap watch can tell you time and that's the most important thing. But when looking at "high-end" Seiko is certainly not the first doorstep to knock on. Let's put it like that, if you can't afford anything else you end up with a Seiko's luxury model.
@FMinus
ok KIA.. before you start vomitting your BS, you should look into the history of Seiko. They made quartz, and later the Spring Drive mechanisms. They do not export their high end line to the US, so you would not know. Google Grand Seiko... thats a good start kid.
@HerbieDerb
If i wanted a high end expensive watch i wouldn't look for a Seiko watch. Seiko does make some nice watches and they do have some really expensive watches in japan that are gold or diamond encrusted. When i buy a Seiko watch, i buy it for its quality. I praise Seiko for how long their watches last and for their very good quality. But if i wanted a high end watch i would look for a movado, Bvlgari, tag heuer, zenith, omega, or Rolex.This is due to my interpretation of high end as expensive and over the top luxurious.
@HerbieDerb and add Casio to that small list!
@cman103 Their expensive watches overseas aren't expensive because of gold plating and diamonds. Some of their highest end watches sport neither of these things.
@cman103
The only high end watch you named there was Zenith.
@FMinus My $120 Casio G-Shock outlasted a $200-300 Wenger Swiss watch by 5 years. After one year of having that Swiss watch, I've already had to replace the battery, and the watch comes flying off my wrist if I move my hand a little too fast. After six years, the only thing wrong with my G-Shock is that the little rubber loop that holds the strap down broke off and some of the painted lettering is fading.
@aschettler
I'm not talking about $200-300 watches, but $5.000 and up and even that is cheap for a proper watch. Derbs claim that only Saiko innovates would clash with any serious wrist watch enthusiast on the planet. As said I know Seiko are making some quality high-end watches and I also know that some other brands that sell for up to half a million dollars per watch are grossly overpriced, but among all this, you have brilliant life-lasting watches from $3.000 to $20.000 which in my opinion is not overpriced for something that will as said outlast you and your kids and in all this time wont lose a single second - that said, Seiko is not among those watch makers no matter how you turn it.
that is pretty awesome. It could be a little more stylish, but still awesome.
About time someone made a watch of the future. I had two Casio data bank watches in the 80's and I expected that they would be the portable computers of the 2000's. Why did we go back to analog watches in the 90's and 00's? This is the geek watch of the teens.
@lnm4444
Because phones took over all of the advanced watch functions and only left the time-at-a-glance need. I wore a Casio Databank since the 80's but switched to a analog/digital hybrid a couple years ago because I simply didn't need the other functions anymore and decided that I no longer wanted to advertise how much of a dork I am. 8^)
Awesome watch I do want!
This would be cool if the watch didn't go for that black retro/ugly look.
Cool, but I'll stick to my Panerai. Has more soul and history.
love it. any word on serial production?
Ok, nice thing. I can see the future: 16million colour LCD screen with LED backlight watches. Lets just hope Apple does not take this idea, file a patent and come with iWatch in the near or distant future.
Now that IS awesome.
Of course my idea of a cool watch is Casio's CA-53W calculator wristwatch...
I wonder how much this will cost.
@tchalikias
wow, nice avatar. now THAT is a face that I had completely forgotten existed until now.
I really like it. The shape is fine to me. It's not a chick - it's tech.
Needs more style, like the iGucci watch...I am a watch fiend!
This has potential but the overall design is just plain ugly and very 80s looking. I would love an awesome watch like this with some kind of super thin display but with a better design.
Casio is slacking, they need to show us what they got.
Something like:
'What, no multitouch?'
'Where's the multitasking?'
and then something about the bezel.
@cobaltage
You've got to admit, that's a pretty big bezel
i love anything and everything with a screen.
Which LCD panels have you been looking at? The "average" panel doesn't exactly have "180 degrees of visibility"... And that includes old-fashioned monochrome dark-grey-on-light-grey or dark-blueish-on-light-greenish displays. That's one of the true benefits of e-ink over LCD.
That being said, this watch looks pretty sweet; I don't wear a watch (just whip out my phone like the other non-classy people) but if I were in the market, I'd look at this one first.
Why are these watches so *HUGE*
That Astro-boy watch looks to be half an inch thick! OMG! I would never wear something that huge on my wrist! I like big dials, but I want my shirt sleeve to fall *OVER TOP* of the watch and not get bunched up by the watch!
I recently discovered Kenneth Cole watches. These are beautiful watches. Picked up a nice rectangular Reactor...nice!
It doesn't sound to me like Seiko's website is comparing the 180 degree viewing angle to LCD. I think they're comparing it to the E-Ink display in their previous watches.
Elsewhere in the press release they do mention LCD, but they're talking about resolution, not viewing angle.
This article was really confusing at first, because E-ink has had a 180 degree viewing angle all along, while LCD comes close, but never quite meets the 180 degree mark.
I wonder if all the inversion is to prevent image retention...
Combine this with Citizen's awesome Eco-Drive tech and man, that would be awesome. I'm not sure Eco-Drive puts out enough juice to keep up with the power draw from this watch, but it's gotta be close since an overnight charge under a lamp keeps mine running for weeks in the dark.