Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
E-Ink is that revolutionary display technology that makes eBook Readers render digital files to look almost like printed text on paper.
E-Ink has started to be used in other technologies and seems to be right at home on your wrist as the next revision of the digital watch. Phosphor's World Time Sport watch uses SURF displays are ultra-low power, thin, and rugged. E Ink's unique reflective display technology is sunlight readable and can display an image even with no power connected to it. This is the watch of the future and it is available today.
The Phosphor World Time Sport E-Ink watch ($99.99) comes in a handsome leather-like gift case. The watch itself is surprisingly thin and light. Phosphor uses the SURF version of the E Ink display which is more flexible, has a faster refresh rate and it looks great on the World Time Sport watch.
Our particular watch has the following features:
Features:
- Case width: 38.0mm
- Edge thickness: 5.0mm
- Overall case thickness: 9.3mm
- Water resistance: 3 ATM - 30m
- Display: 12 hour large; 24 hour small
User Selectable Display Modes:
- Time of Day + World Time
- Time of Day + Calendar
- Time of Day Large
- Time of Day Small
- World Time
Encased in a reasonably tough polycarbonate case, the Phosphor World Time Watch looks and feels quite sturdy. The watch bracelet is made out of a flexible silicone band that's not as hard as what you would get with a Swatch watch but which seems reasonably resilient. The band is not user replaceable and integrated into the case.
Since it uses E Ink technology, the Phosphor watch should draw way less power than a regular digital watch and the technology also allows for that concave design.
The face of the watch will show your current day, date and the time. It has various combinations and features 24 time zones which makes it ideal for frequent travellers or those that need to be mindful of time in other countries or time zones.
Without any physical buttons, the Phosphor watch is set and controlled with soft buttons that react to swiping and touch gestures. This takes a while to master but the instructions included in the case are quite easy to follow.
You can easily swithc between black or white backgrounds which is convenient depending on the lighting conditions. The beauty of this watch is that is easy to read the time provided there's a small amount of light available.
Using E Ink has some limitations including the lack of a backlight for night viewing and there aren't functions like alarms or stopwatches included.
More than a great piece of geek tech or conversation gift, the Phosphor World Time Sport is a great looking and functional watch that looks and works unlike any other watch in the market today.
Those are features best left to traditional digital watches. E Ink will no doubt continue to evolve but the Phosphor World Time Sport is an excellent and generally affordable example of just how cool this technology is right now.
Rating: 4 out of 5