Digital watch titans Casio have announced the release of their new G-SHOCK GB-6900B/X6900B shock-resistant watches which let owners of selected smartphones control their music playback via the wonders of Bluetooth v4.0
Both watches come with a second-generation engine, which – as Casio assures us – manages to ensure a stable connection and enable remote two-way operability with a smartphone.
Casio explains that this richer, two-way operability means that a ‘button on the watch can be used to operate smartphone applications, and a paired smartphone can be used to set features on the watch, such as the timer and alarm’ – as well as get notifications for incoming calls and emails etc.
Here’s the full breakdown of watch notifications:
- Incoming Call Alert
- Incoming e-mail Alert
- SNS New Message Alert
- Calendar event notification
- Phone Finder
- Link Loss Alert
- Reminder Alert (iPhone only)
- Tap to mute Incoming Call Alert (Android only)
- Incoming SMS Alert (Android only)
To get all these funky features going, chunky watch wearers will need to download the G-SHOCK+ application, which is available for download from the App Store for iPhone or Google Play for GALAXY S4.
The GB-6900B is based on Casio’s G-SHOCK DW-6900 timepiece and measures up at 53.2×50.0×18.7mm, while the beefier GB-X6900B 957.5×53.9×20.4mm) expands on that theme to form a bigger, tougher package.
The GB-6900B comes in four colour choices; Black, Black and Blue, Green, and White, with the GB-X6900B only available in n Black, Blue, and Orange.
Currently, the watches only work with iPhone 5 (iOS 6.0 – 6.1), iPhone 4S (iOS 5.1.1 – 6.1) and the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Specifications
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Construction
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Shock-resistant
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|---|---|---|
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Water Resistance
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200 meters
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Communication
Specifications |
Communication
Standard |
Bluetooth® v4.0
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Signal Range
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Up to 2m (may differ depending on surrounding conditions)
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Watch
Functions |
World Time
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100 cities (35 time zones, daylight saving on/off) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
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Alarm
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5 daily alarms or one-time alarms (with 1 snooze alarm), hourly time signal
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Stopwatch
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1/100-second; measuring capacity:999:59’59.99″;
elapsed time, split time, 1st and 2nd place time |
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Countdown
Timer |
Setting accuracy: 1 second; 100-hour maximum per set; unit of measure: 1/10-second
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Light
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LED backlight (super illuminator and afterglow); auto light switch; selectable illumination duration: 1.5 or 3.0 seconds
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Other Features
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Mobile link; vibe alert; tap function; full auto-calendar, 12/24-hour format; button operation tone on/off; low battery warning; power-saving function*
* Mobile Link turns off automatically after a fixed amount of time to save power
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Accuracy at Normal Temperature
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±15 seconds per month
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Approx. Battery Life
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Approx. 2 years on CR2032*
* Mobile link used 12 hours per day
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Size of Case
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GB-6900B: 53.2×50.0×18.7mm
GB-X6900B: 57.5×53.9×20.4mm |
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Total Weight
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GB-6900B-1B/GB-6900B-3/GB-6900B-7: Approx. 65g
GB-6900B-1: Approx. 70g GB-X6900B: Approx. 82g |
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The 2 year battery life, while not surprising, is a bit of a killer.
Don’t forget when you replace a watch battery you generally lose the waterproofing 🙁
Some kind of wireless charging might be preferable.