Interview and text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
Epson TRUME: How to play with it - see, touch and take it with you
How to play with TRUME
Epson's long-awaited flagship collection, "TRUME," has been announced.
This watch, which can tell you altitude, air pressure, distance and direction to a registered location, is a unique, highly functional wristwatch.
However, the real appeal of this watch lies in its well-thought-out controls and the way it displays data with multiple hands, even more than its diverse functions.
The unique interface makes you want to touch it. Here we will show you how to "play" with this watch.
This ambitious, high-performance watch displays data obtained from three sensors using six analog hands (excluding the hour and minute hands). However, its well-thought-out controls and display method make it easy to use and the various displays easy to read. The waypoint function, which shows the distance and direction to registered points, is especially useful when traveling. Light-charge GPS satellite radio-controlled quartz movement. Titanium (60.2mm x 48.6mm x 15.5mm). 10-bar water resistance. Priced at ¥280,000. Includes an expanded sensor that can measure UV exposure, temperature, steps, and calories burned.
A watch you'll want to touch, pioneering the possibilities of analog with cutting-edge technology
Epson has decided to fully focus on its watch division, aiming to increase sales of wearable devices such as wristwatches from 50.7 billion yen in fiscal 2016 to over 100 billion yen by fiscal 2025. The key to this lies in the merger of Orient, a long-established watch manufacturer, and Epson's new brand, TRUME.
TRUME brings Epson's specialty sensing technology to the size of a wristwatch. Its features include an astonishing number of functions, ease of use, and an interface that makes you want to touch it. In other words, TRUME is a new generation of high-performance wristwatch that is fun to use, different from both smartwatches and mechanical watches.
Its built-in functions include satellite link, which receives GPS information from satellites and automatically adjusts the time, light-powered light charging, a world timer, and a chronograph (stopwatch). In addition, two sensors and a GPS function allow it to function as an altimeter, barometer, and compass, and also display waypoints. The expanded sensor included with the higher-end model can tell you UV levels, temperature, steps, and even calories burned.
Despite its surprising multi-functionality, operation is actually very simple. Simply press button A shown on the right page to advance the hour hand at 10 o'clock, stop it in the mode you want to display, and then press button C to measure. The results are displayed using multiple hands. For example, when displaying altitude, the hour hand on the right page ❷ indicates the thousands digit, the minute hand indicates the hundreds digit, hand ❸ indicates the tens and ones digits, and hand ❺ indicates the plus and minus digits. The same is true for displaying things like air pressure. The idea of using different hands to indicate each digit is very easy to understand once you get used to it.
One interesting feature is the waypoint function, which is activated by pressing button B. This was born from the unique idea of combining the GPS location information with a compass. For example, let's say you're leaving the hotel where you're staying. At the hotel, press button A to set the mode at 6 o'clock to ALT, COM, BAR, or ACC, and press button B for more than three seconds to register that location. If you want to know the distance and direction to the registered hotel while you're out, switch the mode at 6 o'clock to COM and press button C for more than three seconds. The two hands (❷) will indicate the distance, and the hand (❺) will indicate the direction. It's a simple function, but it's sufficient for use while traveling, and it's also nice that you can use it without worrying about running out of battery.
