At Sony Expo 2017, FES Watch U, the second-generation product of electronic paper watches, was displayed in Sony stores. At the same time, Mr. Sugihiro Sugikami, the head of the fashion entertainment project of Sony Group's new business division, also came to Guangzhou to answer some details about FES Watch. The following are the results of the media interview.
Q: The main design concept of FES Watch series is fashion digitalization. How did the concept of fashion digitalization come into being? Where does inspiration come from?
A： The reason why we have such a product concept, or why we want to go digital fashion, is that we participated in a game exhibition in Tokyo in 2012. I believe that poker is a relatively old-fashioned game in everyone's mind, but digital things have emerged, which has won a lot of cheers from the audience. Everyone thinks it is a new thing. At that time, there was a surge of inspiration. Besides games, could there be other fields that could also become digital, making everyone excited and excited? I saw Fashion Week the next day, and then combined these two points. It was just the fashion digitization, so I wanted to have some new attempts on this road.
Q： Why choose the watch as the entry point? At present, the sales of smart watches are declining. Why is Sony still keen on this market?
A： At that time, I already knew that there were e-paper materials, which could have various patterns, and there were various new materials that could be realized. So I thought that I could make good use of the new e-paper materials to turn it into a real product, so I chose e-paper. As for why to choose a watch, because the watch can be seen by oneself or by others, and it has been a favorite product of all families for a long time, and wearing a watch is a very personal thing. If there is change and innovation in wearing a watch all the time, it can achieve the goal of fashion digitization, so choose a watch as the beginning.
Our watch is not just a smart watch. We call it Design Watch. We use the most advanced materials and combine them with fashion. We hope consumers can choose their favorite designs and patterns to reflect the feeling of fashion. Therefore, it is different from ordinary Smart Watch and has more emotional value. In terms of its intelligent functions, it is more related to its design and fashion. The general smart watch is to move customers' hearts from the function. Our watch is more close to customers from the emotional design and fashion sense, moving these customers to love this product.
Q: What is the improvement of FES Watch U over FES Watch? Is there a specific listing plan?
A： The new electronic paper technology is called active matrix soft electronic paper. This kind of electronic paper has many small pixels, and each pixel can control it independently. It is totally different from the previous generation. We have a very large space to display any shape and any pattern. Our patterns are not just on the surface. Many products may have different changes through the LCD screen, but we have integrated changes, which is a big change for the FES Watch.
At present, the second-generation products are sold in Japan through crowdfunding. They will be sold to crowdfunding people from April. For general sales, no information can be disclosed in China, Japan or the world. We will continue to keep in touch with media friends about relevant information. The problem in the Chinese market is that this product is different from ordinary electronic products. It has a lot of manual assembly, a little like manual work, so our output will not be very high, and the manufacturing process is relatively complex. We will choose markets that have high requirements for technology and high requirements for advanced products, and will give priority to these markets, As a matter of fact, China is also in great demand for advanced products, so we will also give priority to the Chinese market.
Q: The main design concept of FES Watch is fashion and digitalization. Is it possible to add some additional functions similar to SmartWatch? What is the purpose of changing to a rechargeable design? Is it possible to be intelligent in the future?
A： Is it possible to add some additional skills such as SmartWatch in the future? This watch has broken through the limitations of the previous generation and has some connections with mobile phones, so it is not impossible. We are also considering whether other intelligent applications will be added in the future. But the concept of FES Watch is that it is a fashion digital product, so all of our things are centered on design and fashion. Even if we need to add this skill, it is not a simple addition. How to better reflect the design and fashion is our real goal.
The new product is very different from the previous one. Each pixel can be changed. The electronic paper material is different, and the pattern space is much larger than the original one. It has Bluetooth, which is based on these considerations to change the use of the battery into a rechargeable mode. Because it is now a rechargeable way, it has also generated more new ideas for use. For example, it can be set to change every 5 seconds, which makes it more fresh to use. This is the benefit of rechargeability. The main concept of FES Watch is that we want to pursue fashion digitalization. We want to turn fashion into a kind of content. For the fashion field, we are a watch, but fashion itself is a kind of content. Fashion can be constantly changed. Fashion digitalization is the main concept of FES Watch. There are two elements in fashion digitalization. One is content. We hope that more designers or people from the fashion industry will participate. The second is the product itself. We hope to have more evolution, provide more possibilities, and let fashion content be loaded in our products.
Q: FES Watch U focuses on design and fashion, and the main audience is young people. In Sony's past research, what are the similarities and differences between the feedback or attitude of young people in China and young people in Japan on fashion smart watches? Will FES Watch invite a star to endorse this product and make it a runway show of runway fashion week, and promote it through star effect?
A： Whether in China or Japan, young people have different preferences. It can be said that there are young people who like new technologies and geeks. Japan also has many otaku like this. He is very interested in new technologies, new materials, and new geeks. Another kind is very interested in design and fashion, which is common to young people. It can also be said that it is the target group of our product. When it comes to differences, I feel that Chinese young people have a desire to show others what they have and let everyone communicate and understand. As a form of communication, I feel that Chinese young people have a stronger demand for this aspect.
We have cooperated in Paris Fashion Week before, and we have considered cooperating with relevant famous designers from an international perspective. Just now you mentioned that it is also possible to use endorsements or famous models to promote on the catwalk. We will consider further expansion in this regard in the future. If there is a suitable model, please recommend it to us.
Q： Will this e-paper technology be applied to other Sony products? Is there any definite product plan to launch now?
A： It is possible that today we only display such an electronic paper watch, but it will not be limited to watches. In the future, more new things will be presented to you. It is not convenient to disclose the future new product plan, but in Paris, we have cooperated with Issey Miyake. They have made a new bag using our material, that is, the electronic paper bag. In the fashion field, more electronic paper will be used in other products in the future. Please look forward to it.
At present, the price of FES Watch U crowdfunding including tax at FirstFlight is 49680-59940 yen, equivalent to about 2970-3580 yuan. Mr. Sugiyama also said that he would listen to the opinions of Chinese consumers and make appropriate judgments, hoping to bring surprises to everyone. For more information on FES Watch U, we（ WeChat official account: Love to play computer games ）The report will be followed up continuously.
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