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Ask Slashdot: Wrist Watch For the Tech Minded
NNUfergs writes "Sure, my smartphone can deliver just about any piece of information I could want in under 30 seconds, but I miss being able to just look at my wrist to get the time, date etc. I've been shopping around for a while and haven't come across anything particularly inspiring. There are loads of various features that have been incorporated into watches, but you usually only see a small, specialized set in a given watch. Budget is always a concern, but I am willing to invest in a quality time piece. In short, I'm not looking for a piece of jewelry; I'm looking for a gadget to wear on my wrist. Are there any neat, fun or just plain cool watches out there for techies? What do you have?"
Why would you be looking for a gadget with so small screen and that is always attached to your hand? Smart phones and (to a lesser extend now) PDA's serve that purpose much better.
Now, I would understand if you did actually say it was for your style. There is still certain amount of glamour and style in wearing a watch, especially if it represents your other outfit and the way you act. If you are a rich guy, it's a good way to show it. Women know this and men notice it too. I would totally bang a guy with a nice stylish watch, good jeans and a tight white shirt. But as for a tech gadget? Hell no!
Just get a nice watch that represents your style. No, not the geeky type. Something that makes you look good and gives you respect from men and women. Leave the tech stuff to your mobile phone and home. You don't need to make everything in your life resolve around tech and geek stuff. For once, be fabulous!
The light is from a radioactive Tritium source - automatic cool points, and its actually useful, the hands are bright enough to see in any light without needing a second hand to push a button.
It's a programmable watch by TI. sells for 50$, but 50% deals are regular.. so you can snag one for 25. Has a bunch of things inclusing heart monitor reciever, altimeter and temperature sensor.
http://dilemma.gulecha.org - My philospohical short film.
Bluetooth e-paper watch with apps, talks to both Apple and Android. Made a splash on kickstarter earlier this month:
www.getpebble.com
You can't buy it now, but I have a hard time believing this isn't the future of watches, in terms of not needing to pull the phone out of your pocket, it can send just about anything to the watch, and you can use the watch to control your phone.
"Old man yells at systemd"
Casio G-Shock GB-6900 Bluetooth watch. Uses Bluetooth Low Energy with compatible devices (iPhone 4s, few newer Android phones) so it doesn't drain power like other past Bluetooth enabled watches. Sync to the time on your phone, lets you set phone alerts/alarms/ringtones/etc, read text messaging and email, etc. Good companion piece if you don't like take your phone out of your pocket.
http://www.tokyoflash.com
They have an array of really cool designs that are pretty damn geeky. Its pretty easy to tell the time on most of them, but for some telling the time is the equivalent of a binary clock.
As everybody before me said, go for Pebble :) :D
I can't wait to try mine
Another option would be the watch that runs Android: Sony SmartWatch. See for yourself.
http://www.sonymobile.com/us/products/accessories/smartwatch/
I once had a concierge at a 5 star hotel tell me he could always figure out a customer by observing two things: his shoes and his watch.
The watch is to men what the handbag and shoes are to women. It is the ultimate fashion accessory. It can be a sign of status like a Rolex. It can be a sign of one's interests like a Bell & Ross. It can be a sign of ones appreciation for artisan watch craft like a Breguet. The question when buying a watch is not what features does it have. Do you really think anyone spends 100K on a Breguet because it tells accurate time? It is a very traditional status symbol of style so find the one that says what you want to say and enhances you personal brand.
True men of leisure don't require watches as they have all the time in the world.
How about respect for mechanical watches? They are true marvels of engineering and work very well. Just because it's electronic doesn't make it any better.
I still wear them. I currently wear a CASIO Databank 150. I I only use basic stuff. Nothing fancy. I'd like to get a PDA watch but they are too heavy and big for my thin wrists. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Build a watch. From parts. I am currently wearing my general-purpose utility watch, a waterproof automatic I made with an ETA 2824-2 movement and a one-of-a-kind nickel and brass dial I made that evokes a mid-century modern aesthetic. I've built several others, but they're more decorative than utilitarian. This is a watch I can wear no matter what I'm doing without worrying about it. Mechanical watches are AMAZING instances of applied science, and even though the technology hasn't changed substantially in decades, they still represent the pinnacle of micro-mechanical manufacturing. Understanding and working on watches is a decidedly geeky pursuit, but it isn't that big an undertaking to obtain the necessary knowledge to assemble and maintain one if you're already a well qualified geek. And chances are that you'll start to appreciate the aesthetic design aspects more once you get into it. Let me tell you, ladies do love interesting, classy watches - and telling them you made it yourself and there's only one in the world is catnip.
I am a geek attorney, but not your geek attorney unless you've already retained me. This is not legal advice.
A watch is just for telling the time - your other gadgets are for everything else.
That being the case, there are few things as geekishly awesome as an automatic (ie self-winding) mechanical wristwatch.
A little tiny machine, small enough to wear on your arm, that uses nothing but springs and harmonic motion to keep time, accurate to within a couple of seconds per day.
If you have the means, you can spend $_absurd on a status-symbol automatic watch.
If you don't have those means (or that inclination), you can get some serious bargains.
My everyday watch is a Vostok. http://www.vostok-inc.com/ . Delivered from Moscow for under $100. Seemingly indestructible, and more than accurate enough - I only ever need to adjust it if it stops, after not being worn for a couple of days.
I've seen some Seiko 5 automatics recently on Amazon for similar prices. More elegant (and delicate) looking than my Vostok (which is more like a watch movement set in an anvil), but very good little units.
Second-hand mechanical watches can be found for even less.
Get some cheap watchmaking tools off Ebay and pull a cheap mechanical watch to pieces, just for fun. Because you can.
The Torgoen T01 sports a slide rule bezel. These aviator-style watches are like a poor man's Breitling, with battery-powered Swiss movements assembled into their housings in China. I've had mine for over six years, and I love it. The hands and numerals are large with phosphorescence that remains strong throughout the night. There's also a separate hand that reads in 24-hour time and which can be set to another time zone -- handy if you conduct overseas business.
I have a Tissot T-touch. Looks like an ordinary watch. It uses a touch screen to bring the underlying gadgets to life. Altimeter, compass, barometer, thermometer, etc. Goes well with a suit too!
The best part is you can build one yourself. The worst part is that nixie tubes haven't been manufactured in quite a few decades and spare ones for your watch will run out.
"Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
Maybe not those of us addicted to a mobile phone but some of us like the idea of being able to leave home with only your keys in your pocket, even if you do miss an old school friend you havn't seen in years change his facebook status. If you do want to carry a phone aswell but just want to check the time or see if an sms is important, you can skip the rifeling though your pockets with a smart watch like the pebble or somthing.
Rocket Surgeon.
ThinkGeek has a nice array of watches :
http://www.thinkgeek.com/brain/whereisit.cgi?t=watch
Their dipswitch watch is especially fun :)
The original Pulsar digital watch was marketed through upmarket jeweller, Tiffany and Co. A solid gold version sold for $2,000 and a stainless steel model for $275.
Digital watches initially caught on only in the US and very few were exported. There was a strong market for them in 1973 and prices dropped quickly. Other firms entered the market, including Bowmar, which also pioneered the early pocket calculators in the US.
These are only sold at the gift shop in the Restaurant at the end of the Universe and at the Big Bang Burger Bar.
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/ipod_accessories/cases
The best part is that I have built about 600 of them myself. The bad part is that I just spent 4 months of Nixie watch profits on more Nixie tubes.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
How does a phone in your pocket tell you the time?
There's a reason wristwatches supplanted pocket ones.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Scuba diving? Watches are quite handy there, while phone cases might leak.
While working? You can angle your wrist around to see if it is nearly time for dinner without putting your tools/workpiece down, switching off the machine or crawling out from under something to unzip your overalls to reach your jeans' pocket.
In fact, it would be an idea to not take the phone to work at all if possible, I have broken 3 at various times as they get crushed in my pocket ( a colleague managed to break one of those Land Rover tough phones at work, but that was by trying to clean the swarf out of it with an air line ).
Cheap waterproof digital watches just keep on going, and you can use abrasive compound to clear enough of the scratches away to read the display. Or smear grease on it if you are lazy.
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
http://leapsecond.com/pages/atomic-bill/
That said, I bought a new watch recently. I had four criteria:
- Maintenance free - electronic but no need for battery replacement (mechanical watches need an oil change every few years)
- Radio controlled, receiving all three standards (OK that kind of includes the one above)
- Titanium case
- at least moderately waterproof.
That whittled it down to a manageable set and when I saw a Citizen Nighthawk on sale I hit it.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
For the discerning measurement enthusiast, the first ever atomic wristwatch!
I love my Casio WV-58DU-1AVEF - see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-WV-58DU-1AVEF-Ceptor-Bracelet-Digital/dp/B000MMCPKO/ - a huge amount. It's a cheap (30 pounds in the UK) Casio watch with the following major features:
* A steel wriststrap. If you're buying a Casio, do *not* get the black resin strap versions of their watches because they always break within 6 months of use. They may be up to 10 pounds cheaper, but the straps aren't replaceable and I learned this to my cost with two broken-strap resin versions of the watch before I switched to the steel strap.
* A huge amount of info on the default display:
- Day of the week
- Time (including seconds) - switchable between 12 and 24 hour display
- Full date and, critically, switchable between "wrong" American format (MMDDYYYY) and the far more correct "everyone else" format (DDMMYYYY) - most Casios don't allow you to switch and leave the watch in American format, which is frankly incorrect.
- An indicator to tell you that you've turned off all the annoying beeps when you press buttons (yes, I turn them off)
- A "DST" indicator to tell you that you're in daytime savings time or not
- A "satellite icon" to tell you if the watch correctly radio-synced overnight or not
* Usual countdown timer (I set mine to 25 mins for oven chips :-) ) and stopwatch as you'd expect (useful functions missing from most analogue watches)
* Daily alarm and optional hourly chime (I've never seen the point of the latter, but Casio always seem to include it)
* Press a button to find out the time and date when the watch last successfully radio synced.
* Hold the same button for about 5 secs to initiate an immediate radio sync (best to take the watch off or at least hold it very still when syncing).
* Luminescent backlight button - nice light blue background hue when you press it.
* Dual time zone option - can select the city and it will time sync to the "local" radio time service on 5 continents.
I've had a lot of cheap Casio digital watches in my time and this is the best one I've ever had.
That isn't like a slide rule, it is a slide rule.
A tachymeter is something else. Usually it's a just scale of 720/n (where n is the number on the dial) that can be used with the second hand to convert a time over a measured distance into a speed in whatever per hour.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I found it by chance yesterday, at least it looks good http://www.shapeways.com/model/432614/nanolet-ipod-nano-bracelet.html
There's a reason wristwatches supplanted pocket ones.
Fashion trends are cyclical.
After enough years, everything old is new again.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I haven't seen it posted yet, so wanted to throw in my bit. TokyoFlash has some of the most beautiful watches I've ever seen.
http://www.tokyoflash.com/en/watches/1/
All sorts of styles, displays, and interpretations. Some are more pricey than others, but I'd say every last one is a piece of art more than a plain watch.
They are all limited edition, so if you wait a few months they will have in new models, but at the same time some current models will be discontinued. So if you find something you really like, don't put it off.
I use a watch when I go camping because I found lighting up the display just to see what the time was ate into the battery life of the phone (an issue when charging availability is unpredictable). I also prefer to keep the phone in the rucksack or in the tent rather than carrying it in my trouser pockets like I do when not camping to save it getting wet or dropped in mud.
The watch I choose was a Casio Protrek PRG-240, it's solar powered, got a digital compass, barometer with history graph etc.
So although I am carrying a phone, the watch just makes a significantly better form factor compared to the phone in those situations and the functions of the watch are actually more useful than what I have on the phone.
These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
Really? Like what. I cannot think of one.
If you happen to work in a secure facility, often you can't even bring the phone into the building.
Really? Like what. I cannot think of one. That even includes swimming!
You must be single, or have a very understanding partner who lets you bring a cell phone while making love or cuddling.
Other scenarios include when you use both hands. When I solder or read a book, I can still look at my wrist watch.
Same when walking dogs on both sides.
How about when riding a bike?
Or when talking on the phone[*], or playing a game on it[**]?
When taking pictures with an actual camera?
Or when you wear gloves or mittens (winter, yard work, other).
[*] Unless you're one of those who always use bluetooth, in which case, sincerely, screw you. I don't mind that you appear to talk to a pineapple at the grocery store, but the next time you walk and say "Hi! How are you!" and three passing people stop thinking you talked to them, one of them might be me, with a crowbar.
[**] At least a PSP has a single button to hit that will freeze your game no matter what it is, and tell the time. No phone I've seen is that easy.
You must be single, or have a very understanding partner who lets you bring a cell phone while making love or cuddling.
You must be single too, because if a woman ever caught you looking at your WATCH while love-making/cuddling, you probably would have been a chalk outline at a crime scene by now.
Fair enough. I have an old (1930s) gold Omega that belonged to my maternal grandfather, which Granny wore for some 50+ years after he was shot down over the Mediterranean during WWII. I never met the original owner, but the freight of both family history and quality of workmanship make this thing so much more than a toy.
You must be single, or have a very understanding partner who lets you bring a cell phone while making love or cuddling.
How understanding is your partner if you pause mid-thrust to check your watch?