The recent explosion in wearable smart devices has opened up new avenues for companies to capitalize. E-Ink, best known for making the display used on the Kindle and other e-readers, has latched on to this with the Mobius flexible display based on the thin film transistor(TFT) technology developed by Sony.
The screen, which supports a resolution of 320X240 pixels with 16 greyscale levels, is touted as lightweight and rugged, making it ideal for use in smartwatches. The new screen will make its debut in the Sonostar Smartwatch.
The wearable device market has struck a chord with electronics companies like Apple whose rumoured “iWatch”, with a report indicating that a team of 100 people had started working on the rumoured smart wristwatch. Key members of the team are said to include James Foster, Apple’s senior director of engineering, and Achim Pantfoerder, a program manager who is credited with 13 Apple patents, including an electronic sighting compass and ambient light sensor. Previous reports held that Apple had partnered with Intel to develop an iOS wristwatch that would be Bluetooth-enabled and sport a 1.5-inch OLED screen.
Samsung is also working on wearable smart devices “We’ve been preparing the watch product for so long,” Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, said during an interview with Bloomberg in Seoul. “We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them.”
Microsoft, is making a second attempt into the smart watch device arena after reports showed that the software company had requested components from suppliers in Asia for a potential touch-enabled watch device, after they had earlier dabbled in the sector with its once-hyped Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT).
Other reports have it that Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices that sported curved glass. However, a team of this size and with such prominent membership suggests the company might be farther ahead than the experimental phase.
Smartwatches, are still a revelation and do not yet have a stable market, but with the release of wearable smart devices like Pebble wristwatch, and the 007-inspired Martian Passport Watch this year, there is a lot of room for growth.
