

Mark Walton

Mark Walton

Mark Walton

Mark Walton

Mark Walton

BERLIN—There wasn't exactly a shortage of smartwatches at this year's IFA, what with the likes of the new Moto 360 and Samsung Gear S2 both getting a public unveiling. But Sony's Wena—one of the first products to emerge out of the company's internal crowdfunding platform First Flight—does things rather differently. Wena, which stands for the slightly cringeworthy "Wear Electronic Natural," takes the smartwatch concept and turns its on its head, putting all the "smart" parts of the watch into the wrist strap, rather than the watch face.

The result is a watch that, well, looks like a watch, and a very handsome one at that too. That's thanks in part to Japanese watchmaker Citizen, which helped with the weighty and expensive stainless steel design. The Wena is, however, rather masculine in design, and those with smaller wrists may still find its 42mm face a little too big, even if it’s far smaller than a Moto 360. The front of watch does one thing, and one thing only: tell the time. There are some basic chronograph functions, too, but the meat of the Wena's functionality lies in the wrist strap.

Stuffing the contents of a smartwatch into the wrist strap isn't an entirely new idea—see the likes of the IWC Connect and Montblanc's Urban Speed e-Strap—but it is the most elegant implementation by far. Built into the clasp of the watch is a LED strip, as well as a sophisticated vibration motor, which Sony says will allow for various different types of vibration to be assigned to different notifications. For example, if you received a WhatsApp message on your phone, the Wena's LED strip could light up green, and then pulse your wrist three times to alert you.

This is basic functionality as smartwatches go, but if the likes of the Pebble have proved anything, it's that simplicity in wearables often trumps an overload of so-so features. That said, the Wena does pack a couple of other tricks up its sleeve, including NFC for contactless payments (so far limited to the Japanese Felica standard), and activity and fitness tracking via an as-yet-unspecified set of sensors. Sony claims the battery in the watch face will last around three years in the standard model, and five years in the chronograph, with the band itself needing to be charged once a week via a charging cradle.

For those not yet convinced about the likes of Android Wear and the Apple Watch—both of which are seemingly obsessed with moving as much phone functionality to the wrist as possible—but still want some sort of smartwatch experience, the Wena is an intriguing choice. It's unfortunate, then, that Japan is the only country that's (currently) slated to get the Wena when it's released in March 2016. Prices range from ¥34,800 (£191/€261/$287) for a silver Three Hands model, up to ¥69,800 (£383/€525/$576) for the Chronograph in black—fairly expensive for a smartwatch, but pretty reasonable for a Citizen chronograph. The Wena currently only supports iOS, but given that Sony is an Android phone-maker, this is expected to change by the time of release.











Sony had one other watch on display at its IFA stand, the similarly crowdfunded FES. The FES isn't a smartwatch as such, but does feature a innovative one-piece e-paper watchface and wrist strap. Sony promises that the FES will have up to two years of battery life, provided the watch pattern (of which there are 24 to choose from) is changed just once per day. The watch measures 46mm, with a thickness of 7.5mm, and is fully waterproof too. While I couldn't get a hands-on with the FES at IFA, it is striking to look at in the flesh, and as a fashion statement is very bold indeed. At ¥27,900 (about £155 or €210/$233) it's not cheap, particularly given it has zero smartwatch features, but futuristic fashionistas might want to give it look.

Pre-orders for the FES are currently sold out in Japan, and Sony doesn't yet know whether it'll ever make it to European or North American shores. But regardless of whether the FES or the Wena do get a Western release, it's great seeing Sony's Firstflight program churning out some interesting and innovative devices. The Sony of the 1980s was a design and innovation powerhouse, something that got sadly lost over the years. Here's hoping that we see more of the likes of the FES and Wena soon.