Brand Watches

Casio Europe and its parent company Casio Computer announced last week that it will be exhibiting at the world’s leading watch and jewellery show, Baselworld 2008, which will be held from 3 to 10 April in Basel, Switzerland. The theme of Casio’s booth at Baselworld 2008 will be Moving time forward: intelligent timing, smart design, unrivalled brands.

A total of 70 watches will be displayed: models in the Edifice brand of metal watches, which are well endowed with time measurement functions and embody the pursuit of speed; solid metal case, solar-powered radio-controlled Oceanus watches featuring the sea as a theme; shock-resistant G-shock watches, a line-up that is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and outdoor Pro Trek watches, which feature outstanding sensor capabilities.

The exhibit will convey Casio’s unique approach to watch development, which always aims to provide new benefits to users by combining the company’s proprietary timepiece movements, which make the most of digital technologies, and its superb designs, which use the special features of those movements to their best advantage.

The G-Shock Mudman features shock resistant and mud resistant buttons as standard so you can enter any adventure race knowing that you’ll still be able to tell the time at the other end.

Aside from the watch the Mudman features the usual G-Shock options including World Time, Double Stopwatch, Countdown Timer and 5 multi alarms.

Those worried about losing it mid race or exercise needn’t, the watch features a dual catch on the strap for double protection.

Not as big as some of the G-Shock models the only complaint we have is the electro-luminescent backlight which will, for some, make the display (and time) hard to read.

In real terms what this means, is that rather than having the numbers black on white, it’s white on black. There is a backlight, but you still want to clearly see what it going on without having to press a button - that’s what those binary watches are for.

When it comes to personal electronic devices and neat gadgetry, it’s hard to beat the long track record of Japan’s Casio Computer Company, which has always found ways to squeeze more miniature functions into wristwatches than seems possible.
So it is with the new Pathfinder model which is geared to outdoor and weather aficionados.

This neat watch, officially known as the Pathfinder PAW1300T-7V, works as a digital compass, barometer, thermometer and altimeter. Oh yeah, it also tells time. Flawlessly, because of a technology it calls Waveceptor Atomic Timekeeping.

Somehow, those Casio engineers and designers have figured out a way to run this thing through solar power and through a super miniature antenna built right into the watch, it makes radio contact with the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology , and its military counterpart, the U. S. Naval Observatory.

Once you set the time zone the watch automatically adjusts itself several times a day with the Naval Observatory signal. That means when we here in Michigan go off Daylight Savings Time on Nov. 4, the watch will automatically fall back an hour.

Cost is $300 for a watch with a heavy black or green resin band or $350 for a titanium band. More info can be found at pathfinder.casio.com

Casio has taken the step to introduce yet another GPS watch with the GPR-100 which is a radical departure from the very first GPS watch they released some time ago. The new GPR-100 is actually the smallest GPS watch available in the market currently, measuring a diminutive 63.1mm x 49.5mm x 17.1mm.

Since it also looks the part of a watch, airport security won’t be hankering after you as a terrorist suspect. The GPR-100 has its sights set on runners since it will be quite some time to get a general-purpose GPS navigation device slapped around your wrist, but it does come with a decent set of GPS features which we’ll take a look at.

The GPR-100 receives signals from at least three different satellites and will take that data to compute where you are (in case you’re a clueless runner), your current speed, the length which you have covered and have yet to cover, and even your pace, doing away with the need to use your need to measure the route with the car’s odometer.

Some of the other interesting functions of the GPR-100 also includes automatic time zone adjustment, enough storage space for up to 100 points of interest, an automatic electro-luminescent backlight, a stopwatch, pace verification, and a countdown timer.

Unfortunately, the internal rechargeable battery isn’t too hot when it comes to performance. The GPR-100’s battery can only last up to 2 hours in normal mode and double the amount in low power mode. The law of diminishing returns apply here as it requires 3 hours to fully recharge.

The Casio GPR-100 is not heading to the U.S. anytime soon, but it is already available in Japan for $467. There are cheaper alternatives out there in the market, such as the Garmin Forerunner 205, so unless your name is Mr. Bottomless Pocket, the GPR-100 ought to be heavily considered before making a purchase.

Source: Coolest Gadgets

Timex and Casio are creating technical watches designed for athletes, because sometimes it’s just not convenient to carry a cell phone. Timex’s Ironman line includes watches that measure calories burned, heart rate, speed and distance using GPS technology. The data stored on the watch can even be downloaded onto a computer.

“People are jumping on the bandwagon of technology but baby boomers still love their watches,” said Finhert. Indeed, many people of the older generations are proficient with cell phones but still wear a watch every day. Finhert said his customers still purchase watches as gifts, often as keepsakes to be passed down.

Hayes said there will probably be changes within the watch industry in the next five to 10 years, but he believes the watch will never be obsolete.

“The wristwatch has become ingrained in the identity of time,” he said.

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