Budget tablet specialist Archos looks set to push the smartwatch scene in a new direction, confirming it will release a device with a touchscreen E Ink display.
Having unveiled its first techy timepiece during CES 2014 earlier this month – the aptly named Archos Smartwatch, which features a curved E Ink display alongside a pair of physical buttons – the French manufacturer has now revealed it is already working on a touch-sensitive follow-on.
Speaking with TrustedReviews on the Archos Smartwatch and the company’s growing wearables plans, company CEO Loic Poirier claimed that a touchscreen E Ink display hosting smartwatch could be just a matter of months away.
“We have made the Archos Smartwatch in collaboration with E Ink the company to bring the first curved E Ink LCD,” Poirier said. “This one is not touchscreen, the touchscreen function is coming in six to seven weeks.”
Although the Archos CEO has failed to offer many concrete details on the upcoming touchscreen E Ink smartwatch, he has suggested that the device’s battery life will run into weeks rather than days like the market leading Samsung Galaxy Gear.
He added: “Because it is E Ink, in sunlight you are still going to be able to see perfectly.”
While the already unveiled Archos Smartwatch is set to launch with a £99 price tag, the company has announced two further, and more basic smartwatches which will set wannabe owners back £79.99 and £49.99 when launched.
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