There is no shortage of Star Wars merchandise to celebrate the upcoming Force Awakens movie, but Epson’s new line of watches might be the coolest of them all. They fall under the Smart Canvas branding, which means they are very limited.
These Epson Smart Canvas watches shouldn’t be misinterpreted as smartwatches. They are closer to a dumb watch actually, but they offer a lot of pizzazz with different graphics thanks to the monochrome E Ink displays, the same technology used on Pebble smartwatches.
Although The Force Awakens opens world wide in less than a month, it appears Epson is catering to fans of the original trilogy with four versions.
First, you need to choose whether you’re on the side of the rebels or the imperials. If you’re on the rebel side, you have your choice of either C-3PO or R2-D2. On the other hand, if you tend to favor the dark side, you have your choice of either Darth Vader or a stormtrooper. Each watch comes with its own themed wristband.
These watches won’t make mobile payments or count how many calories you’ve burned, but there are four different modes that will be sure to delight even the most casual Star Wars fans.
Story mode will show various shots from the original trilogy and Vehicle mode will show different angles of either rebel or imperial ships. Images for both the Story and Vehicle modes change as the time changes.
Then there is the Desktop mode, which shows you various rebel or imperial characters depending on what the ambient temperature is.
Finally, the Time Display mode just shows you the rebel or imperial logo along with the time. This is the simplest mode in that the image doesn’t change throughout the day.
Epson also promises that special images will appear at various times of the year such as holidays.
The case is made of stainless steal and measures 38.3mm by 39.4mm and is only 8.66mm thick. The bands are made of synthetic leather. Epson says it’s “everyday life waterproof, ” which probably means that it can handle light rain. Battery life is three years, but Epson doesn’t specify whether the lithium battery can be replaced.
The Smart Canvas line of watches usually center around a theme or character. Past renditions included the Peanuts, Moomin, and even Yamaga FC, Epson’s home football team.
The Star Wars themed watches are available now in Japan for 25,000 yen ($200). For those of you looking for one in the U.S., you will have to import one. You can already find a few listings on eBay for $350.
