Futaba Prototype Watch Puts Video on Your Wrist

SlashGear points to a concept watch from Futaba that's on display at CEATEC this week. It features a 3.5-inch OLED screen just 0.22-mm thick, allowing it to bend around the user's wrist. The actual aspect ratio is more rectangular than your standard 3.5-inch smartphone screen, offering a resolution of 254 x 64 and a brightness of 100 cd/m2.

According to the display's info, the screen features a pixel pitch of 0.34 x 0.34-mm, and a film size of 96.5 x 35.5-mm. Naturally you're not going to watch The Avengers on this gadget, nor will games like Angry Birds or Dungeon Hunter 2 be ideal. But its vertical skyscraper-like orientation could reduce the need for users to whip out their smartphones to check email, post to Twitter or get an update on the weather.

SlashGear said there was no indication as to the display's power consumption, and Futaba wouldn't say what kind of power draw the 0.22-mm OLED screen required. Many smart-watches currently on the market rely on e-paper or transflective panels to minimize energy requirements. This is to keep the device relatively thin due to a smaller battery without compromising on its overall daily performance.

Unfortunately, this particular watch concept won't be available to purchase, but Futaba said its flexible OLED screen technology is ready for production – there's even a 0.29-mm version that was introduced back in June. Still, that doesn't mean a vendor won't use the technology in an upcoming smart-watch application like the prototype shown at CEATEC.

Futaba indicated that it's now waiting on an interested vendor before the screen goes into production.

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