Watches aren’t hard to come by.  That said, it ain’t easy to find a watch that gets our motor ticking (get it?).  Casio recently teamed up with LA-based lifestyle brand The Hundreds to produce the G-Shock GW 5610.  It sports a clean look unlike some of Casio’s other G-Shock watches thanks to the sleek all white band, black bezel and digital negative display.  We don’t know the price at this juncture, but word on the street is that it will launch this March or April.

Suffice to say it’s been sometime since we got remotely excited about Swatch’s line of watches.  The Swatch Touch is looking mighty fine, though, boasting a simplified design with a touchscreen to boot.

Available in a variety of colors (white, black, blue, purple and red), this watch has 6 total functions: two time settings (presumably for different time zones), a date mode, chronograph, alarm and timer.  To switch between the functions, you simply place two fingers on the touchscreen and swipe in either direction.  Did we mention there is also a camo version?

You can grab one for about $135.

The wristwatch all but made the pocket watch extinct.  But a time before, the pocket watch was the watch.  After all, it did and continues to provide a certain reserved aesthetic that just can’t be found in any of today’s wrist watches.  And lets not over look the fact, yes fact, that the chain draped from the pocket to the pants adds an allure and mystique no wristwatch could ever entail.  So were not quite sure how anyone chose between the two time pieces when the wristwatch shot to popularity.

Oakley, albeit 90 years later (the wristwatch became popular in the 1920s), has the answer to this conundrum, the Elite Full Metal Jacket Swiss Automatic Watch.  It’s engineered with a removable module that can be mounted as a turn of the century pocket watch or as the watch we know today, the wrist watch.

And while that is the mainstay of the Elite Full Metal Jacket Watch is its dual personality, Oakley hasn’t skimped on the other features.  It boasts a self winding mechanism that will keep it running for up to 46 hours, provided you’re bed ridden for that long.  And it’s not just land that will keep this baby ticking, since it can be submerged to a depth of 100 meters, where upon it will continue to vibrate at 28,000 times per hour at 4hz, whatever that means, but it sounds fancy if not accurate. The face is finished in pure sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating so it should stay scratch free through the most rugged of scenarios.  Lastly, the strap and some of the casing has been forged in titanium.

And as you’ve probably already sussed out, the Elite Full Metal Jacket Watch won’t be cheap; $8,995.  Expect it to arrive “soon.”

For today only Amazon has a huge discount on this Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sports Watch!

Combining the portability of a watch with the power and precision of GPS technology Garmin has created the perfect device for your workout. The Forerunner 405 is able to track everything from your running distance, pace, calories and even heart rate (With the included monitor being used) All of this data is sent wirelessly to your PC or laptop.  It’s also very easy to use, with a full touch display for one touch access to displays and information as well as ANT + Sport wireless technology which tracks all of your stats for you to review at any time.

Instantly save 60% on this watch for a limited time, which makes the final price, with shipping, $149.99

While Nixon’s Genie watch may look like your garden variety affair, and for the most part it is, it actually offers a little something special which is a throw back to the late 90s. Aside from including the time, date, day, a timer and stopwatch, it boasts a Magic 8 Ball function. Don’t remember what that is? Do a quick search in Google. Too lazy for that? Ask the watch a question, hit a button and it will deliver a seemingly random yet astute response, such as “why not?”.

You can grab it for $120.

Read

Watches, traditionally speaking, don’t have much of a place when it comes to a gadget blog.  But we’ll make an exception for Nixon’s Synapse watch.

First and foremost it has a touchscreen interface that lets the user manage its functions.  Up to 4 different time zones can be displayed simultaneously and it’s equipped with a timer, chime alarm, and a stainless steel finish that can be submerged up to 100 meters.  Available in four different finishes for $200-$250.

Read

Garmin unveiled their next flagship GPS fitness watch today, the Forerunner 610.  Like their previous fitness watches, the 610 includes auto lap, pace, heart rate, distance and time.  Runners can modify the screen to show up to 4 of these stats at any given time, or cycle through info by tapping the touchscreen. Garmin has built the Forerunner 610 to withstand inclement weather, as well as sweat, all the while still allowing users to access the touchscreen with gloves on.

Like past Garmin Forerunner devices, fitness fanatics can upload their workouts to Garmin’s Connect website and download other users’ routes and stats for a virtual trainer or partner in crime.  In addition to audible alerts, the Forerunner 610 includes a vibration feature that notifies runners of intervals and other note worthy information – ideal for those that run with headphones in their ears or jog in areas with a hefty amount of street noise.

The Training Effect feature, new to the Forerunner line, “measures the impact of exercise on aerobic fitness and lets you know how the workout improves your fitness during the workout”.  They’ve also added a run/walk training feature, which allows the auto lap feature to remain intact for joggers that run for a distance, walk and then continue to run – a growing trend.

The Forerunner 610 appears to be available direct from Garmin for $349.99.

Garmin® Adds Its First Touchscreen GPS Watch to Forerunner® Family

OLATHE, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the Forerunner 610 sports watch – a slim, yet robust and weather-proof touchscreen solution for serious runners seeking an extra advantage. Forerunner 610 can stand up to rain, sweat and splashes, and is responsive enough that it can be operated with running gloves. Forerunner 610 was announced in preparation for world-class marathons in Boston and London as well as the Australian fitness expo where it will be prominently displayed at Garmin booths in each location.

“From giving the basics such as pace, distance and time to monitoring your effort through heart rate, creating interval workouts and racing a friend on the other side of the world, Forerunner 610 becomes a necessary partner for all serious runners.”

“Running with Forerunner 610 is like having a coach with you every step of the way,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “From giving the basics such as pace, distance and time to monitoring your effort through heart rate, creating interval workouts and racing a friend on the other side of the world, Forerunner 610 becomes a necessary partner for all serious runners.”

Now it is easier than ever to see how far, how fast and how hard you have worked. Forerunner 610 puts it all at your fingertips. Designed for the runner who is constantly seeking improvement, Forerunner 610 is Garmin’s new flagship model. Forerunner 610′s sleek stylish design complements the highly responsive touch screen and high resolution display. This innovative design has drawn praise from the International design community by winning the coveted Red Dot Design Award, the world’s largest and most renowned design competition in a field of thousands of submissions from over 60 countries. To see the Forerunner 610 in action, go to www.garmin.com/touch.
Forerunner 610 uses a vibration motor for alerts such as heart rate, pace and distance when audible tones cannot be heard (heart monitor included in some bundles or available separately). With the heart rate monitor, Forerunner 610 also allows runners to track their training intensity via the new Training Effect feature. With the right information, it is not necessary to be a coach or sports scientist to help you train effectively. Training Effect measures the impact of exercise on aerobic fitness and lets you know how the workout improves your fitness during the workout.

In a true race against the clock, Forerunner 610 introduces Virtual Racer™. With this new feature, Garmin has an answer for every excuse – no more, “I could have beaten that time” – where runners can race themselves over their previous bests or against other users’. These can be taken from runs stored on the watch or downloaded wirelessly from the huge and expanding Garmin Connect™ running community (http://connect.garmin.com). Here users can quickly and easily log their workouts, track their totals, set goals, share workouts with friends and family and participate in an online fitness community of more than 50 million activities around the world. Garmin Connect displays metrics such as time, distance, pace, elevation and heart rate. This information is shown through charts, illustrations, reports and a variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and elevation maps.

With the growing popularity of the run/walk training method in the distance running community (example: a runner runs for five minutes, walks for one minute and repeats for the duration of the course), Garmin has included a new run/walk alert. This alert allows Forerunner 610′s other features, such as, Auto Lap and Auto Pause, to remain active during a run/walk session.

Forerunner 610 is the latest breakthrough from Garmin, which has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about features, pricing and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com, www.garmin.blogs.com and http://twitter.com/garmin. To watch step-by-step, feature-specific tutorial videos for Forerunner 610 and other Garmin products, visit the online learning center at www.garmin.com/learningcenter.

If your aspirations of becoming a submarine radar officer have been crushed, or you just miss the familiar blip and blink of the controls, than you’ll be pleased to lay eyes on the Bell & Ross BR 01 Red Radar watch.  The watch utilizes some sort of red tinted crystal display, and indicates the time by positioning the radar’s sweeping arms accordingly.  The center disc conveys the seconds, the middle disc the minutes and the outer disc the hour.

Word is that it will be available in a limited run, 999 pieces, for $5,500 each.

Via: OhGizmo

Read

This April, Tissot  lauched an Augmented Reality experience at Harrods that let’s shoppers virtually try on a 3D watch from Tissot’s pioneering tactile touch screen collection and the latest ladies watches.

You strap on a paper wristband, and the system, using a camera and touchscreen, displays you wearing any Tissot watch you select.  Users will be able to review the touchscreen features as well as a variety of styles.

Don’t live in London?  No problem.  Download and print the paper wristband, log on to Tissot’s website and using a webcam you’ll be able to acheive the same feat.  

TISSOT LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE WINDOW AT HARRODS

April, 2011 – Swiss watchmaker Tissot showcases their latest and bespoke Augmented Reality

installation at Harrods.

This month, Tissot launched an interactive touch screen window display, featuring Tissot’s

Augmented Reality technology as part of Harrod’s month long partnership with the Swiss Tourism

board where all things Swiss will be celebrated throughout the store. Shoppers on Brompton Road will

be able to virtually ‘try-on’ a 3D watch from Tissot’s pioneering tactile touch screen collection and the

latest ladies watches. Last year, Tissot was the first watch brand in the UK to launch an Augmented

Reality campaign.

As well as seeing how the watch would look on their wrist, consumers will be able to experiment with

the touch screen features of the watches, including the diver functionality of the Sea Touch and the

altimeter, meteo, compass and thermometer of the wider ranges.

As part of the Switzerland promotion, Tissot the official watch partner of the Jungfrau Railways

Centenary have created a special edition collection of watches, in the UK, exclusive to Harrods. The

Tissot Jungfraubahn watch collection includes eight watches with the Jungfrau mountain depicted on

the dial and/or on the case back. Limited edition Tissot T-Touch Expert, a T-Touch II, pocket watches

and further men’s and women’s timepieces have all been created for the partnership.

There will be additional Swiss-themed activities in Harrods throughout April including a life-sized

chalet in the Hans Crescent window, complete with a St. Bernard dog. One lucky shopper will win a

special edition Jungfraubahn T-Touch II watch from the collection, worth RRP £565 by entering the

competition in-store at the Designer Watches counter on the Ground Floor. The Tissot Jungfraubahn

collection is in-store and exclusive to Harrods throughout April for further information please see

www.harrods.com.

The Augmented Reality application is available on the Tissot website www.tissot.ch/reality. By

logging onto the Tissot website consumers can easily download the wristband which they then use

to hold their wrist up in front of their webcam -enabled computer where they can they virtually try on

a number of watches. To view the Harrods interactive window log onto – http://www.youtube.com/

Watches are designed to create a sense of grounding through their ability to tell, or convey time.  Hublot’s MP-02 Key of Time Watch seems to be anything but that.  The watch is finished with a black DLC coating on top of a titanium case and a rubber strap.  A “vertical tourbillon cage” displays the seconds, and three diffrent time modes that we don’t really understand their utility are at your beck and call.  

1. If you want to savour every second of the passing of time: you can slow down the speed of the watch hands, dividing time by 4, whereby 1 conventional hour is represented as quarter of an hour on the MP-02 Key of Time display.
2. If you want “real” time: select normal hand speed, to retain “standard” time, whereby one conventional hour equates to one hour on the MP-02 Key of Time.
3. If you want time to pass quicker: you can accelerate the hand speed, multiplying time by four, whereby a  conventional quarter of an hour is represented as one hour on the MP-02 Key of Time Key of Time display.

No word on a price, but expect it to be well above $10,000, if not $50,000.

Read

Citizen’s Eco-Drive Satellite Wave Watch can tell the time by connecting with up to 24 satellites dispersed throughout our hemisphere.  Okay, so it won’t connect with all 24 at the same time, but it chooses the closest one and sets the time, day and date. So if you travel to a new time zone, you’ll be instantly on top of the time difference, although your mind and body will still be dragging serious ass.  Too bad there isn’t an auto reset switch for us humans.

Via: Uncrate

3.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Solid build & very comfortable
• Heart Rate Monitor is exceptional
• Depth of analysis is staggering

Cons:

• Overly difficult interface
• Buttons press to easily
• Can get pricey

If you’re the type of training athlete that obsesses over statistics and the finest of details, than the Suunto t3d is for you.  Capable of compiling all of your training minutia and interacting with several Suunto peripherals, the t3d is quite the comprehensive beast.  While the t3d might be best suited for cardio related activities, I found it to be a bit troublesome when wearing gloves or engaging in any sort of wrist movement because the buttons were easily pressed when I didn’t want them to.

Build, Feel, & Aesthetic:

The watch is relatively lightweight and comforts the contours of my girl wrist with ease.  I wore the t3d across a variety sporting activities and never felt like its presence was a nuisance.  Beyond the overly sensitive buttons, the face of the watch was ultra resilient when it came to smashing into things and I never felt like I had to “watch” out for it.  As far as looks goes, the t3d gives the impression of a high end sports watch without the need for any undue flair or peacocking.  The band is comprised of your familiar sports resin, and the clasp works really well with fastening the strap and removing the watch with a quickness.  To be noted, battery removal is also very simple thanks for the hatch like mini manhole cover that easily unscrews with the help of a nickel.

Modes & Use:

While the t3d has a bevy of modes to help you reach your training targets, by far the most impressive aspect was the real time heart monitoring.  The t3d syncs directly to the accompanied HRM belt and the results are swift and quite pleasing.  The band fits directly around your solarplexis and can be adjusted to fit your measurements accordingly.  I tested the real time accuracy during football sessions on the beach and playing basketball at the park.  The response time was great and it really helped let me know how hard I was working.

Unless your are a real athlete that demands a absurd amount of training data, you may find the t3 to be a bit daunting.  The average person that exercises regularly won’t even need all that the t3 offers.  Add on the companion website MovesCount and you’ll be blown away by how much detail is involved in nearly every aspect of a real athlete’s training regimen (see pic).

My biggest gripe with the t3 is the navigation interface.  It’s just not all that intuitive and somewhat cumbersome.  You really have to learn it to make it work for you.  I’ve tried learning it and I still got confused and couldn’t get to where I needed to go when I needed to get there. Some people may be OK with the trial and error like schematic but I just got annoyed.

Conclusion:

While this watch may be a tad over indulgent for the average exerciser, the t3d is the most comprehensive training watch I have ever seen.  If you’re looking for a watch to really dive into, I’d easily suggest the t3d.  If you are looking for a more clearly defined sports watch without the maze of menus I’d look elsewhere.  The MovesCount companion website is quite detailed and implements the whole community and social media aspect to your training, which really adds to the completeness of the package and should certainly not be overlooked.  Depending on how many peripherals you want to add into the mix, the price could get up there.  The MoveStick wireless data transfer stick is alone around  $70!  Add in the price of the t3d and you’re looking at around $200.  But what’s really the price of physical perfection?

Buy the Suunto t3d here for $114!

At first blush G-Shock’s next time piece appears to be your garden variety time keeper.  But wait, with further examination, and patience, you’ll discover that it’s much more than that.  Okay, so it’s not the first watch to accomplish this feat, but it features Bluetooth, allowing you to pair the watch with your phone.  What’s the point?  Aside from alerting you of incoming calls, emails and text messages, it will sync with your phone’s time.

Oddly enough, this watch will use Bluetooth 4.0, which is apparentely so power efficient that it allows for a two year battery life on a standard watch battery, you know, the ones that look like a fat US quarter.

We’ve seen comparable watches like this in the past, but never before from a company that has such a long track history with time.  We’re also hearing that it will include a vibrate/alarm function to help you locate your smartphone, or perhaps even vice versa, enabling you to locate the watch.

Unfortunately, for us, there is no mention of a price or launch date, but since no phones currently sport Bluetooth 4.0 it might be safe to say it will be a while.

Read

Perhaps Phosphor’s line of e-ink watches just aren’t you’re thing; they just don’t have enough bling.  Fear not Hollywood wannabes.  The new Phosphor Reveal watch line is a unique blend of crystals and science like magic.

Packed inside this time piece are undisclosed amount of Swarovski crystals arranged in in a symmetrical fashion.  An electrical pulse generates an electromagnetic field that changes the position of the crystals on the face of the watch and displays, what else, the passing time.  It’s accompanied by a “distinctive sound unique to the Phosphor Reveal digital watch line”; sounds more like a bi-product of the tech, but we’ll take it.

There are three modes: a 12-hour display that shows the hours on top of the seconds; a “seconds mode”  and an off mode.

The Phosphor Reveal watches are available now in a variety of colors for $249.

Read

4 out of 5 stars

Remember those iPod Nano Watch Straps that we told you about in December of last year?  They come from the folks at a brand, with a strange name nonetheless, called Richard Tracy, and they sent us a few samples for a quick hands on review.

The leather straps are a bit stiff upon initial use, but we’re confident that after a few weeks of wear and tear they’d loosen up.  To use the “laser-cut and anodized steel clip” bottle opener, you’ll of course need to remove the strap from your wrist, but it’s a small inconvenience to pay for added versatility.  Sure, the chances of you using this feature will be few and super far between, but you can’t knock an option that only adds value and versatility.  

In terms of styling our Blue iPod Nano didn’t mesh so well with the brown or black leather straps, but that’s purely a taste issue and shouldn’t necessarily reflect poorly on the product.  While the Nano appears adhere to the strap in either direction, it in fact only fits one way, so you’ll want to make sure it clips fully in before you start swinging your arms around.  After that it’s snug as can be.

You can pickup Richard Tracy iPod Nano Watch straps from Thinkgeek for $50 each.

The TikTok and LunaTik are the iPod nano watch as it should have been from the beginning. Designed with care by ambitious founder of the Chicago-based design studio MINIMAL, Scott Wilson.

Once upon a time Wilson was the creative director of watch design for Nike, and now he needs to scrounge up $15,000 to start production on his nano watches. He’s raised around $4,000 of that money, and there are still 29 days left. By giving $25, you preorder the TikTok, which has a plastic band and a frame that snaps kind of the way skiboot locking mechanisms close. In retail, the TikTok will cost $35, while the LunaTik will sell for $70, but a preorder gets you one for just $50.

The LunaTik ditched plastic for Aerospace Grade Aluminum machined in a CNC mill, and thus measured to perfection. Its straps are silicone rubber and the bezel also locks together.

Read

4 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Easy to use interface
• Light weight and stylish enough to wear daily
• Includes heart rate monitor

Cons:

• No manual disengage option of GPS function
• Battery life is somewhat questionable for everyday use
• Charging isn’t a simple plug in and walk away affair

The Forerunner 210 is a relatively simple GPS workout watch. It’s comfortable to wear, tracks your distance, course, pace, calories burned (heart rate monitor required), heart rate and really offers no frills beyond the standard watch features (chronograph, date and time). It’s all business all the time.

Included in the box is a USB cable that doubles as a charger with the wall wart and a heart rate monitor.

Garmin says that the Forerunner 210′s battery will last up to 3 weeks when in power save mode (GPS off) or up to 8 hours when the GPS is active.  The watch is IPX7 rated, which basically means it can survive a rain storm or whatever sweat lodge you throw at it.

Operating the device is straight forward. There are 4 buttons and to start it up and shut it down, you simply hold down the Light button. The 3 other buttons, 2 on each side of the watch face are: page/menu, lap/reset and start/stop.

The display, no matter what screen you’re in, will show your distance (top of the screen) and pace (bottom of the screen) assuming that the GPS in enabled and the chronograph is running. The default or home screen of the watch will display the time and date, and allows you to switch between 12 hour or 24 hour mode. The last screen, aside from the chronograph, displays your heart rate and current heart rate zone.

The light button will activate the backlight for about 7 seconds. It’s bright and makes reading the display super easy in low light situations.

Before you get started with your workout you’ll need to setup your user profile. Holding down the menu button brings up a 3-2-1 count down timer where upon you’ll enter a scrollable menu. Scrolling down will bring you to the user profile setting where you’ll enter your age, weight, height, gender and whether or not your a lifetime athlete (I’m not sure what that last option does). To set the time just follow the same process. You can opt to manually set the time or have the GPS automatically do so.

The Forerunner 210 is equipped with a heart rate monitor and the option to set heart rate zones so you can determine if your effectively training your body. In order to utilize this option you’ll need to ascertain you max heart rate, which can be calculated by measuring your resting heart rate and then using a handy calculator found online.

The Forerunner 210 can provide you with an audible alert if you’re training above or below your zones. Unlike the Forerunner 310 there is no vibrate function, so you’ll need to commit to workout sans headphones if you want to utilize this feature. While I didn’t mess with the heart rate zone too much, you can customize up to 5 zones, which will be displayed intermittently during your workouts as you reach them. Each zone is intended to be a percentage of your max heart rate, though you can set it to whatever you’d like.

The Forerunner is compatible with ANT+ wireless products, which includes their very own foot pod and a variety of gym equipment. Though I didn’t use this feature since the foot pod is not included in the box, the footpod will keep track of your distance ran/walked regardless of a GPS single available – it’s ideal for treadmill training.

Once outside and the GPS enabled, the Forerunner 210 took anywhere from 10 to 45 seconds to locate a satellite.  Time will of course varying depending how direct your line of site is to the satellite.  For instance a few overhead trees outside of my apartment door inhibited the Forerunner 210 from acquiring a satellite fix, but once in the open it immediately latched on.

Some of the other features include interval training and auto lap (based on distance traveled) function. Interval training allows you to specify a set number of distances or time trials to complete, where as the auto lap function can be based on distance traveled. The latter feature is great if you run on a track, where as the interval training can help you reach a goal. Since my primary workouts involve jumping rope and lifting weights I didn’t use either of these functions.

While I’m still testing the battery life of the Garmin Forerunner 210, I’m a bit skeptical on its capabilities. The watch includes a power save mode, but there is no way to manual engage this feature; the Forerunner 210 senses when you’re inactive and disables it – whatever that means. My first day using the Forerunner I used the chronograph to enable the GPS and measure my distance walked from the parking lot and how much time I had left on the parking meter. Because I never disengaged the chronograph – I wanted to track my meter time – and since I subsequently entered a building, the Forerunner 210 continued to search for a GPS signal and drained the battery in little as 3.5 hours. The Forerunner 210 would surely benefit from a menu option that allows you to disengage the GPS in order to make it a more practical every day watch. To force the GPS to turn off I found myself powering cycling the watch, and as instructed by Garmin hitting the ‘page’ button twice, which brings up a menu allowing you to disengage the 210′s search for a GPS signal. For the last 5 days I’ve been disengaging the GPS after my daily 2 mile bike rides and 1.5 hours spent in the gym, and I have 2/3 of the battery juice remaining. I’ve also turned the watch off over night and during most of the day.  More battery info to come.

Like the Forerunner 310, the Forerunner 210 uses a clip charging system. There are four metal contacts on the rear of the watch that must be perfectly lined up with the clip’s contacts if you want charging to begin. The same applies if you want to upload your data to the Garmin Connect website. While this isn’t a difficult task to complete, it’s most certainly not something you can do blindly. You’ll want to insure all the contacts are lined up or touching, otherwise you’ll find yourself with a low battery. Fortunately, the face of the watch displays a battery icon and the total charge, so you’ll know when you’re in charging mode.

Just like all of Garmin’s GPS watches you can upload your workout data. Pretty much whatever is tracked on the watch – distance, route, heart rate, calories, speed, etc – will be uploaded to the Garmin Connect website where you can review and share your data with other Garmin users. Unlike the Forerunner 310 I couldn’t select my workout activity in the watch, so by default all of my workouts were uploaded as ‘runs’ despite not running once. Really a moot issue since at the end of the day all I care about it my calories burned, where I went and what my heart rate was. Additionaly, you can set goals, on Garmin Connect’s website, that you’d like to achieve. An example would be to burn 5000 calories over the next 7 days – you can specify a start date as the well as the type of activity.   Before you can upload your data to Garmin Connection (http://connect.garmin.com), you’ll not only need to register for an account, but you’ll need to install a plugin on your computer.  Since reviewing the Forerunner 310, Garmin has made their plugin compatible with Safari, though it is not compatible with Chrome.

Garmin’s Forerunner 210 probably won’t transform you over night from a fat slob to a slim and slender athlete, but it will most certainly help you get there. It’s battery life is on the questionable side and a menu option to manual engage and disengage the GPS would make it a more practical everyday watch since it would exponentially extend the battery life. Unlike other Forerunner models there’s no trackback function in the event you get lost and unlike more expensive Forerunner models the feature set is a bit more limited.

You can by the Garmin Forerunner 210 with heart rate monitor at Amazon for $299.99.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Uses E-ink technology
• Looks cool for the money
• Easy to read display

Cons:

• No backlight
• No chronograph
• Watch band is not replaceable

Last year I checked out Phosphor’s E-Ink Digital Calendar Watch. For the most part I liked what I saw. This year the company released their World Time Curved E-ink watch.

At first glance the new model appears to be analogous to that of last year’s offering, but with closer examination there are some updates as well as upgrades.

Phosphor Calendar Vs World Watch

First and foremost the watch body has been slimmed down to a more svelte finish as well as trimmed in the weight category. The two buttons that were found in last year’s watch – they resulted in finger numb tips – have now been removed and replaced with a rocker button on the face of the watch that has a left/right action. The band, which is available in rubber, leather or metal is now integrated into the watches body and is NOT replaceable – we’re not happy about that since after long term use of any watch the band could wear out. Fortunately, the battery is still user changeable.

Phosphor says that the World Watch is water resistant up to 50 meters, though we didn’t take ours for a dunk since it feels and looks nice enough to be removed for water based activities, despite only costing $150.

There are 5 different displays that you can cycle through, all of which can be inverted from black text on a white screen to white text on a black screen. They include: a large time display, small time display, military time and date display with day of the week, world time and a dual time zone display of your choosing.

Black text with a white background is the easier to read, but it’s nice to have the option to invert it in the event you get bored with the other. To toggle this mode you simply hold down the left side of the rocker button for about a second and the screen will flash. The screen will also flash (i.e. refresh) when the time changes.

To set the watch, you simply hold down the right side of the button, where it’s engraved with the word “Phosphor”. It’s a pretty standard setup and should be intuitive to most. In order to set the default world time, you’ll need to toggle to that screen and follow the same procedure. Since this time is dictated by the watches’ core time, you’ll toggle one hour at a time and the top of the screen, which displays three letters representing the location, will change with each subsequent push. The locations seem to be represented by each cities’ major airport or best known abbreviation ; LAX for Los Angeles, LON for London and so forth. Some of the three letter abbreviations we’re beyond my knowledge, but I’m sure if lived there or needed to know the time in that location I’d be able to figure it out.

The Phosphor World Time watch is limited to just 12 times zone, where as the world sports up to 40 times zones, though many of those are a result of time zones with a 15 minute differential. Nonetheless, the watch doesn’t cover the entire globe, but seems to capture the major locations. Once in the world time zone mode, you can cycle through the different time zones by pressing left on the rocker button.

While there is a metal band and leather band option, we opted for the rubber (polyurethane) band. It’s comfortable to wear for long periods of time and seemed to hold up to daily wearing over a 1 week period; no scuffs or scratches.

Like previous models, the Phosphor E-ink World watch lacks a backlight and sports a ‘segmented display’ as opposed to a dot matrix one, making it a bit more challenging to read at a quick glance. It’s probably not the most practical of time keepers, but who cares, the cache of this watch is found in the technology (e-ink) and overall aesthetic. Just make sure you don’t wear out that the band too quickly.

Head to Phosphor to get yours. They start at $150.

This watch has a built-in GPS receiver for keeping tracking of your workouts. You can download your workout data to a computer and can be used for multiple sports like running, cycling and even wind surfing.

At first blush this is just ANOTHER spy watch.  It can record up to 20 minutes of video, 4 hours of audio or snap 2000 still pictures.  There is also a variety of games, which without much of a doubt will bore you to tears in a matter of minutes.  And of course you can check the time, set an alarm and timer.

That’s great and all, but what makes this $60 piece of gadgetry so cool is the $30 Snake Cam Add-on accessory.  That’s right, it lets you perform full clandestine ops.  Just attach the snake cam and you can view/record around corners, under doors or even give yourself a pair of eyes in the back of your head.

Read