The electronics giant Sony is gearing up for the launch of a watch made out of electronic paper. The e-paper watch could be on store shelves next year. Sony's watch will be the latest to enter the smart watch market. A company spokesman said the watch would differ from the competition because it will focus more on looks and style rather than function and gadgetry. The watch will be made from a special paper material that will allow both its face and strap to serve as a display. The wearer will be able to change and interact with the entire surface of the watch. Analysts say that the watch may have trouble selling. Most agree that it is stylish, but it isn't a proper smart watch as it cannot connect to the Internet.
Sony kept the testing of its watch a big secret until this week. It made the design public last September to gauge public reaction to it. Sony didn't want people to be influenced by its name or brand, so it said the watch was from a company called Fashion Entertainment. A spokesman said: "We hid Sony's name because we wanted to test the real value of the product, whether there will be demand for our concept." Sony put the watch on a crowdfunding site to test the market and see how many people thought it would be worth investing in. The device surpassed its two million yen ($17,000) goal, raising 3.5 million yen ($30,000) in total.