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I won't be ditching my Casio for that thing, but I reckon the battery life will be low because of the screen. Besides, the battery is not that large to begin with, if the user doesn't make calls the Bluetooth v4 connection won't drain the battery very much, see the "Bluetooth Smart" part: https://developer.bluetooth.org/TechnologyOverview/Pages/v4.aspx

Citizen has been selling Bluetooth 4 enabled watches for some time, their watches use the bluetooth connection the get the current time from the internet a couple of times a day and run from a tiny solar cell: http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-ir/2012/10/12/citizen-eco-drive-unveils-proximity/

A timepiece that tells time? That's crazy talk!

I won't be ditching my Casio for that thing, but I reckon the battery life will be low because of the screen. Besides, the battery is not that large to begin with, if the user doesn't make calls the Bluetooth v4 connection won't drain the battery very much, see the "Bluetooth Smart" part: https://developer.bluetooth.org/TechnologyOverview/Pages/v4.aspx

Citizen has been selling Bluetooth 4 enabled watches for some time, their watches use the bluetooth connection the get the current time from the internet a couple of times a day and run from a tiny solar cell: http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-ir/2012/10/12/citizen-eco-drive-unveils-proximity/

Yeah, those are definitely nicer than the one I have! I still wouldn't call them very 'ladylike', though...

I'm not sure why it seems to be such a challenge to wrap a nice gold or silver bezel around a digital display, then put a fancy metal strap on it, something like this. I know they make the displays small enough, since I've seen kids and tweenie 'jelly' digital watches smaller than that...and the control buttons could be easily recessed, or capacitive touch, to preserve the overall look...

Bah. It's just one of my pet peeves. Maybe I should design and sell these, then I'd get the watch I want! ;)

A watch that is charged by light so that it never stops working:

http://www.citizenwatch.com/

Not even a wristwatch? Some run 10 years on a button battery.

The article notes that this technology out performs human mounted solar cells. Seeing as there are currently solar powered wrist watches, I believe this new device is capable of powering a wristwatch, but that's about it.

My watch, a Citizen Eco-Drive, has a small solar cell array under the translucent face. When fully charged, it will keep running in the dark for several months at least. It receives enough light during my normal day (even when hiding under the cuffs of my shirt) such that it's never run out of power.

I think you're talking about the Seiko Kinetic line of watches. They are still making these, in fact I own one that's about 6 years old now. I had to get the capacitor replaced once but otherwise it's been a very reliable watch. I also own a Citizen Eco-Drive watch which is powered by a solar cell in the face. I haven't purchased watch batteries in many many years.

My wife bought me a Citizen watch for my birthday last month. Happened to be the one I sent her an email about :)

The EcoDrive Skyhawk has multiple time zones, analog and digital display, UTC display at all times (quite handy when going over logfiles sometimes), 24-hour hour display, split chronograph and countdown timer, plus three alarms. Also water resistant to 100 meters, and a slide-rule outer bezel (extra geek points if you can actually use it :>)

Not only does it look sleek, but never needs winding or batteries. Just let it see the light of day to charge it (also charges from ambient light from flourescents; Don't Panic). If there isn't enough light for it to charge, it will shut off the LCD and second hand, while still updating the other hands. Turn the lights on and the hands spring to life. All in all, neat watch to look at, and quite functional.

My wife bought me a Citizen watch for my birthday last month. Happened to be the one I sent her an email about :)

The EcoDrive Skyhawk has multiple time zones, analog and digital display, UTC display at all times (quite handy when going over logfiles sometimes), 24-hour hour display, split chronograph and countdown timer, plus three alarms. Also water resistant to 100 meters, and a slide-rule outer bezel (extra geek points if you can actually use it :>)

Not only does it look sleek, but never needs winding or batteries. Just let it see the light of day to charge it (also charges from ambient light from flourescents; Don't Panic). If there isn't enough light for it to charge, it will shut off the LCD and second hand, while still updating the other hands. Turn the lights on and the hands spring to life. All in all, neat watch to look at, and quite functional.

The company link is wrong. Correct address is here

Why don't they just do it like watches do?
Or: http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/clocks.html