Since its existence, Epson has always been a company known for its printing and image-related products. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 70,000 employees in 94 companies around the world. Chances are, many offices and businesses use Epson’s inkjet laser printers, scanners, automation equipment, or other forms of electronics.
After nearly two decades of selling printers and image-related equipment however, Epson America recently announced the creation of Epson Active, a line of fitness sports and health wearables that empower and inspire consumers through technology.
“We started developing GPS chips in 1995 when satellites were declassified”, remarked Randy Bergstedt, the Group Product Manger for Epson Active. Our GPS chips would appear in a lot of other products for instance cellphones or cars or other vehicles that would need a GPS chip so overtime as the chips have gotten smaller and the power requirements have gotten less, it has become more and more feasible to put these into running watches. The fact is that Epson has been in this business (on the technology side) for a very long time; we’re just now bringing out the watch as our own brand into the consumer market. So what’s new for us is not the technology per say, but rather what kind of consumers we’re targeting.”
Their newest smartwatch, the Runsense SF-110 is part of the Epson Active family, designed for runners, hikers and other fitness enthusiasts who want to consistently track their workouts and monitor daily activities. The essence of the watch can be found in Epson’s GPS technology, which not only allows for daily monitoring via fitness tracker but also lets users gather multiple forms of data such as steps taken, calories burned, altitude measurement, and more. The watch also comes with many user-friendly physical features; it is lightweight, water-resistant, and can set three customizable screens that include up to nine real-time measurements on the easy-to-read LCD display. Simply put, the Runsense watch reflects Epson’s commitment to developing a whole range of wearables for the sports and fitness lifestyle.
What’s different?
Every smartwatch that is on the market today, regardless of it being Apple or Pebble, will all have similar sensors in them. Almost all of them will have both an Accelerometer and a Gyroscope, and depending on what type of customers the watch is made to attract, it will have additional apps such as those for social media and communication.
Without revealing too much about its GPS technology, Runsense helps users in the following way:
So really, How does the EPSON watch differ from other fitness watches out there?
“One word: Performance” said Bergestedt. “A combination of really accurate sensors, both in the GPS sensors and heart rate sensors. Being able to get the heart rate form the wrist (we have great technology and system for that) and being able to take that and get it into a small compact package that also gives very good battery life. It’s really this combination of technology (size, weight, life) that makes it such an appealing product.”
Basically, what Bergstet means is that the watch doesn’t have a whole lot of fancy stuff; in return, the watch does all the important stuff very well. GPS sports watches such as the Runsense SF-110 give users all levels of data needed to plan, monitor and improve their performance. Runsense’s heart rate monitor is also exceptionally accurate in measuring, analyzing and comparing performance data.
A notable ambassador for the Runsense watch is Meb Keflezighi, a world marathon champion and Olympic silver medalist who is currently ranked #1 among US marathon runners.
“Epson’s Runsense GPS watches are the ideal training tool to help keep me on track of my workouts with real-time stats and feedback,” said Meb Keflezighi, Olympic silver medalist and winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, the first American male champion since 1983. “I think Runsense is the perfect companion for both the elite and casual runner looking for more insight into their activities.”
Despite all these pros however, Epson still faces many forms of competition in this considerably new watch market.
“One particular competitor is Garmin Forerunner watch” added Bergestedt. “They’re clearly the market leader and have been in this space for a while. They’re the big players on the running watch side. Fit bit is a fast-growing company that is also entering the space; so is tom-tom and polar. Garmin invests a lot of money in supporting the sports (cycling, racing, tour de France) so they’re a very big company to have because they build awareness for the sports category. Each of the other companies have a unique side in the market for example, polar comes forms the market with their heritage as a heart rate sensor manufacturer. Tom-tom comes really from the GPS side having built on car navigation. So everyone is entering the market with many different foundations, which makes it very interesting.”
Perks and Key Features
Epson has found itself a serious niche in a new realm of technology: the wearables marketplace.
The following are some of the Runsense watch’s most detailed features:
1. Accurate GPS Sensor
Epson has an established reputation in developing superior GPS chips for smartphones and other industrial devices for decades. Adding them into watches shouldn’t be a problem.
2. Smart stride sensor
The watch learns individual techniques to calibrate stride length – if GPS signal is lost, Runsense will still continue to provide accurate distance measurement
3. Long battery life
Depending on the model, the watch can store up to 20-30 hours of battery life, which is apparently 3 times more than other watches on the market.
4. Highly customizable screens
Easily cycle through four screens with up to three measurements on each Pace, Interval, Lap, Run, Cycle and Walk modes.
Runsense view and Run Connect
Last but not least, a notable component to the Runsense watch is the Run Connect app.
This platform allows for a dashboard summary of all the workouts, management and analysis of uploaded data (includes body fat %, energy, etc) and online storage.
The Run Connect app is an exceptional tool; it can be used to upload data, and access data on the go via GPS satellite data. Users can also customize their workout settings according to their personal preference or workout style.
EPSON Active Group Product Manager Randy Bergestedt recently sat down with SportTechie to discuss the fabrication of the smartwatch market, and how their watch will help runners and fitness enthusiasts alike achieve their long-desired results.
What has been the biggest challenge in introducing the Runsense watch? (Branding? Marketing? Etc).
From the business standpoint one of the biggest challenges is opening up new distributions and starting a new distribution channel. We really want to support the running community as we enter with these watches, as they are driven by the run specialty channel which is all these small running shops across the united states. So that should really where we’re targeting for distribution and that’s just not a channel that EPSON has gotten into so the biggest challenge for us is getting out here to the run specialist shops, to this new channel distribution, meeting all these new customers, and explaining our unique point of view. We’ve been very excited to see the openness and the interest of that channel in new companies and new things being brought to the market so its been a challenge but its also been a success. We’ll be expanding into that channel between now and the holiday seasons in the US.
What are some important geological locations that Epson is targeting in regards to consumers?
For us, as much as its location specific, a lot of our business revolves around specific retailers. Retailers that are interested in partnering with us to be unique in the market place and offer the Epson product is what we try to strive for. We’re doing watch events with Meb Keflzighi who is our watch ambassador who is the 2014 Boston marathon winner, and he’s also qualifying for the winter Olympics. He’s 40 years and number one ranked runner in the United States. We like to bring Meb in to new stores, as he is able to reinforce our performance value; he wouldn’t wear the Runsense watch if it didn’t deliver the data he needed to complete. So yeah, from a geographic perspective we’re working with specific retailers around the country to work with those kinds of launch events to work with the communities.
Where can these watches be found and what plans does EPSON have for the future?
The watches are available on Epson.com (the Runsense SF-110 goes for $139) and shortly they’re be available in Texas at Luke’s locker (retail chain there); it’s also going to be available through road runner sports and other specialty running shops. In addition, best buy has made a new commitment to sports and fitness technology products. We really want to introduce ourselves to as many running enthusiasts as possible, and places where people who work there are runners and can explain the advantages of our technology.
As best buy matures into the sports and fitness technologies, it will definitely be a natural expansion target for us in the future. We’re very excited to see best buy making the commitment to fitness technology, as it helps reinforce that this category has reached the mainstream. The facts that best buy is willing to dedicate so much space to our products is very exciting.