Slashdot Mirror

He's worn the same watch for two decades, but now Slashdot reader students wants a new one. For about 20 years I've used Casio Databank 150 watches. They were handy because they kept track of my schedule and the current time. They were very cheap. They required very little maintenance, since the battery lasts more than a year and the bands last even longer. Since they were waterproof, I don't even have to take them off (or remember where I put them!) They were completely immune to malicious software, surveillance, and advertising. However, their waterproof gaskets have worn out so they no longer work for me. Casio no longer makes them or any comparable product (their website is out of date).
Today's watches include everything from heart rate monitors to TV remote controls, and Casio even plans to release a new version of their Android Wear watch with a low-power GPS chip and mapping software. But what's your best suggestion? "I don't want a watch that duplicates the function of my cell phone or computer," adds the original submission -- so leave your best answers in the comments. What's the most useful nerd watch today?

An anonymous reader writes "As reported by hobbyist calculator programmers, Casio has recently unveiled new graphing calculator models, the Casio fx-CG10/20 series, less than a year after Texas Instruments released the TI-Nspire Touchpad. The calculators features a 65536 colors screen (16-bit) with a resolution of 384x216 pixels, 16 MB of Flash memory (10 available for the user) and 140 hours of battery life. The calculators will retail starting at $129.99. Although Casio's new calculator official page have limited information about the calculator programming capabilities and processor speed, could this eventually mark the end of TI's reign in North American schools?"

M3wThr33 asks: "I currently own a Casio WQV-3, which is a digital camera watch with IR, but lately it's taken a turn for the worse. With the news of Fossil recently scrapping their latest PDA watch, I'd like to know what other kinds of high-tech gizmos I can slap on my wrist? I've recently been eyeing the Matsucom OnHandPC, but am beginning to think that it's outdated. I already have a Palm Zire71, so the watch would be more for the 'ooh' and 'ahh' factor, as opposed to actual usefulness."

Phunction asks: "So what is available in the sturdy outdoor/industrial handheld market? I currently develop software for Casio's line of outdoor handhelds only slightly larger than regular, but they can't handle cold weather very well, below 0 celcius, and the screens are not to good in outdoor light. And I only know of one other manufacturer, At Work Computers, but they are almost 3 times the size of a regular pda. The OS is really not a concern, however the hardware should be water proof, handle low tempratures and have a good reflective screen that works well in direct sunlight (like the iPaq)."

MikeyMars writes "Casio has released a new watch that, aside from telling time, can take 80 full color pictures. " The watch itself only displays in grey, but the camera takes color pictures. Its not like its doing 2 mega pixels or anything, but its still pretty nifty.

MikeyMars writes "Casio has released a new watch that, aside from telling time, can take 80 full color pictures. " The watch itself only displays in grey, but the camera takes color pictures. Its not like its doing 2 mega pixels or anything, but its still pretty nifty.

Xuff writes: "As reported by News.com, Casio is going to begin shipping a laptop with both Windows ME and a stripped down version of Linux. The 2.1 pound laptop has a 600mhz Crusoe and 20 gigs under the hood, along with an 8.4 inch screen. It will retail for $1,999." It's a nice to see the tiny laptops mentioned last year actually emerging.

prplhaze writes "Casio has done it again. Not only do they have a wristwatch that plays MP3's, they also have a watch that has an intergrated camera. It retails for around $200USD. It features a 120x120 dot monochrome display, and can store about 100 black and white images. "

prplhaze writes "Casio has done it again. Not only do they have a wristwatch that plays MP3's, they also have a watch that has an intergrated camera. It retails for around $200USD. It features a 120x120 dot monochrome display, and can store about 100 black and white images. "

DeepDarkSky writes "Microsoft unveiled the Pocket PC today. Products being available by its partners include: HP Jornada, Compaq iPaq H3600, Casio Cassiopeia E-105 and Symbol PPT 2700. Microsoft's touting it as being better than Palm. Here's a list of features, significant among them: Microsoft Reader (for reading e-books), Windows Media Player (for playing music), Pocket Streets (a map program), Pocket Internet Explorer, and "Pocket" versions of office productivity tools like Outlook, Word, and Excel. " Check out the preview on C|Net as well.

Myriad writes "Casio has announced a new wristwatch that doubles as a MP3 player. Set to begin shipping in summer, it will initially be available in 16, 32, and 64MB versions. All versions use a built in USB port for transfer. Another new watch sports a built in 120x120 16-grayscale digital camera and LCD display. It uses an infrared port for communication, and can store 100 images. Click here for the rundown with picture from ZDNet, or here for all the specs from Casio."

Myriad writes "Casio has announced a new wristwatch that doubles as a MP3 player. Set to begin shipping in summer, it will initially be available in 16, 32, and 64MB versions. All versions use a built in USB port for transfer. Another new watch sports a built in 120x120 16-grayscale digital camera and LCD display. It uses an infrared port for communication, and can store 100 images. Click here for the rundown with picture from ZDNet, or here for all the specs from Casio."

SheldonYoung writes "Brad LaRonde and friends have Linux up and running on NEC MIPS Vr41xx palm-sized machines, such as the Casio E-100 and Vandem Clio. Those interested can grab the source and documentation from his Linux-MIPS Pages. "

Jon Cochran writes "While looking around the net today, I found out that Casio is planning to release two new entry level PDAs. The catch? They're more expensive than the DaVinci Pro (which doesn't even exist yet), don't do email, and their screen resolution is smaller than the DaVinci. Do these have any compelling features to make them a good entry level PDA?"