Seiko has announced details on their new EPD watch with an innovative active matrix display. The high resolution 300 dpi e-ink screen allows a whole range of functions to be displayed on the screen without using too much battery life. Similar to the technology used in ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle, this watch will be easily readable from most any viewing angle. It's whole new type of digital watch. Being able to reconfigure the entire display on demand allows for a wide range of interfaces and options. These also have an atomic time sync feature and solar charging. The battery will last up to nine months without any exposure to light. Look for these new watches to be released later this year.

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The world’s first Active Matrix EPD Watch

Radio Controlled Active Matrix EPD Worldtimer
Caliber S770
Time indication for hour, minute and second
Calendar indication for year, month, date and day of the week
Perpetual calendar up to December 31, 2060
World time function for 32 cities with daylight saving time capability
Dual time function
3-channel daily / single-time alarm function
Sound demonstration function
Automatic radio wave reception function with manual reception capability
Automatic time correction function
Battery level indicator
Power reserve: 9 months (41 months in ‘sleep’ mode)
Overcharge prevention function
Power save function
LED bulb
Accuracy: 15 seconds per month (when not receiving the radio signal)
Movement dimensions: 30.9 x 32.9 mm, thickness: 5.7 mm (excluding solar cells)
Case and band: Stainless steel (SDGL001J)
Stainless steel with gold-tone hard coating (SDGL002J)
Stainless steel with black hard coating (SDGL003J)
Clasp type: Three-fold with push button release
Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 10bar
Case dimensions: 45.5 x 46.0 mm, thickness: 9.5 mm

Technology of EPD
EPD stands for Electrophoretic Display, a method of display with electronic ink technology. Electronic ink is a proprietary material that is processed into a film for integration into electronic displays. Although revolutionary in concept, electronic ink is a straightforward fusion of chemistry, physics and electronics to create this new material. The principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human hair. Each microcapsule contains negatively charged white particles and positively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This makes the surface appear white at that spot. At the same time, an opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now makes the surface appear dark at that spot.