E Ink's working on a smartwatch with a full wraparound display

E Ink's perhaps best known for its e-reader displays, such as the Pearl used in Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, but the company's black-and-white panels can also be found in a variety of smartwatches, from manufacturers such as Archos, Phosphor and Seiko. Most of these are simply traditional wristwatches with small, low-power screens, but an upcoming model could have a much larger curved display that covers the majority of the wearable's footprint, according to company representatives we spoke with at Computex. Such a device would have a panel that stretches from one end to the other, letting you change the entire watch's design just as you would the face on devices available today.

You could download custom designs from other owners, or you could create your own. The watch would also be able to display significantly more information, pairing a time readout with other data, such as your heart rate, weather info, recent messages and so on. Reps weren't willing to discuss which manufacturer (if any) may be bringing the wraparound watch to market -- there's apparently a prototype floating around HQ, but E Ink opted not to show off the device at Computex. Wearables are clearly a hot topic at this year's show, however, and judging by the interest shown by companies large and small, we should have many more offerings to choose from in the months to come.