Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: What's The Most Useful 'Nerd Watch' Today?
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 Casio no longer makes them or any comparable product (their website is out of date).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?
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?
Star Trek sites? /.?
Reddit?
Pornhub?
Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
With having a cellphone, I haven't bothered to buy a watch in about 2 decades.
But I did buy a Texas Instruments eZ430-Chronos Development Tool.
It's a watch based development system for MSP430 chips.
Sort of the father of some of the wearable devices, in it's own way.
But this is the ultimate Nerd Ware. You program it to be useful. No one else did. (kidding, there are some programs peeps wrote)
Be seeing you...
Old school...I'm in my 50's. Had one of the pulsar watches back in the 70's. Those cheap non smart casio digital wave-ceptors are good enough for me. I never understood the whole smart watch thing anyway. Too expensive for what it does.
Go to your local Wal-Mart (or equivalent). Buy one of their digital watches. It'll probably be in the $10-$20 range. It'll tell time just fine. It'll likely also tell the date. It's even rare to find low-end digital watches without alarm and stopwatch functionality. It'll likely be water resistant to a reasonable depth, too.
There's no need for modern "smart watches" and all of the nonsensical features they include. Why the hell would I want a step-counting watch that ends up being off by a factor of 3 to 5 times? Why would I want a watch that tracks my every move and sends it off to "the cloud", where this information probably ends up in the hands of advertisers?
It makes even less sense to spend hundreds of dollars on some fancy watch. Embedded diamonds and gold crowns don't make them tell time any better than dirt-cheap watches! Besides, then they make you a target for thieves and other petty criminals. Even in the best circumstances, wearing such a watch will often make people think you're some kind of a prick who over-charges for whatever service you provide.
The cheapest watches around are the only sensible option.
I know, I know. It makes me sound like a fanboy. But the feature that pushed me over the edge was the Auto Unlock feature. Now I have a strong password on all my computers that I don't have to type. Totally life changing.
Can't make your own gasket? Hand your card in at the door.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
http://gizmodo.com/5795554/peo...
I had an S2 smartwatch for while. I kept trying to justify it. I kept telling myself it was justified. After a couple of months I conceded that, overwhelmingly, that the most used feature I got out of it was the flashlight function. I could carry on with my critique, but what's the point. It was nothing but a status symbol, and an ugly one at that. I am currently using one of these and am very happy with it:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MEF5ZNM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
All the features you are listing off are in you pocket right now, it even makes phone calls. They can be secured, and they have a better interface. I will leave it to the reader to examine the "tech specs."
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
Useful -> None, it's a fashion accessory today, nothing more.
'Nerd Watch' -> You probably mean hipster.
Every function of a watch has been replaced by a smartphone, so go with that like everyone else, there are no geek points to be earned by wearing any watch at all. If you dislike smarthpones, use any normal watch. If you insist on having a calculator at all times, take a decent scientific calculator with you.
Latest model has a built-in digital compass (magnetometer), barometer, thermometer, and altimeter, plus for every locale: tides, moon phases, sunrise/sunset times. It also sets itself to atomic clock radio transmissions once a day. Great fit for the outdoorsy nerd, at any rate...
I'm interested to see the results of this, too. The idea that a watch needs to be charged daily (or nearly daily) is utterly ridiculous. Like my Palm Pilot 500 which can run for weeks or months on a pair of AAA batteries, I'd rather have something simple that requires little effort than something with a thousand features which requires constant attention, software updates and charging.
The only watch I currently own is a Casio G-Shock which syncs time via WWVB and keeps the battery charged via solar. The battery still needs to be replaced every seven years or so, though. Once I can replace the battery with a supercapacitor, I'd never have to open the watch for any reason, and I'd be happy.
There should be more computing which focuses on doing certain things exceedingly well instead of trying to do everything.
The Pebble Time does pretty much all the cool things, without a fiddly touchscreen, and with a battery that lasts longer than all other smart watches I've looked at. A shame, then, that the price must have gone through the roof since the Fitbit buyout.
I neither wear a watch nor carry any time-keeping device. The world is saturated with time-keeping devices these days. Clock in my vehicle, gui shows time, microwave oven clock when not near the computer. Seriously don't need one. Sorry to spoil someone's desire to sell more product.
I come here for the love
I neither wear a watch nor carry any time-keeping device.
I guess you don't carry a cell phone either? :-)
I'm already carrying it, and there's absolutely nothing of value that a watch will do that it doesn't. Bonus- no wearing something uncomfortable on your wrist that's just prone to hit things and pull out your arm hair. I threw mine out the day I bought my first dumbphone, and I wouldn't wear a new one if you bought it and paid me.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
You shouldn't have any trouble finding a watchmaker to repair your existing watch. A waterproof gasket is an easy fix. I wouldn't suggest doing it yourself only because tiny parts tend to fall out when you don't know how to open it.
Casio G-SHOCK GWM5610-1
http://www.shopcasio.com/produ...
Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan, China)
Receives time calibration radio signals which keep the displayed time accurate
Auto receive function (up to 6 times per day/up to 5 times per day for China)
Manual receive function
Signal: US WWVB, UK MSF, Germany DCF77, Japan JJY40/JJY60, China BPC Frequency: US 60kHz, UK 60kHz, Germany 77.5kHz, Japan 40/60kHz, China BPC 68.5kHz
Tough Solar Power
Shock Resistant
200M Water Resistant
Full Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow
World Time
29 times zones (48 cities + UTC), city code display, daylight saving on/off
4 Daily alarms and 1 Snooze Alarm
Hourly time signal
1/100 second stopwatch
Measuring capacity: 23:59'59.99"
Measuring mode: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
Countdown Timer
Measuring unit: 1 second
Input range: 1 minute to 24 hours (1-minute incremants and 1-hour increments)
Full auto-calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099)
12/24 hour formats
Button operation tone on/off
Accuracy: +/- 15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)
Battery power indicator
Power-saving function
Storage battery: Solar rechargeable battery
Approx. battery life: 10 months on full charge (without further exposure to light)
Module: 3159
Size of case/total weight
GWM5610 46.7 x 43.2 x 12.7mm/51.7g
That's entirely the point.
iOS killed the Casio star .
Is that like DistroWatch, but where people track and rank nerds?
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I've worn a Seiko 5 since the mid '70s when my dad gave me a grey market diver for Christmas. That one is huge and still works but now I wear one of the newer smaller ones.
^ That. Pebble does all the things people *actually* do with other super-powered battery-hog smartwatches (notifications, canned replies, a couple apps), but you get what you paid for (in money and charging worries). It doesn't duplicate smartphone functions - instead, it uses the smartphone's GPS, internet access and powerful CPU to do the heavy-lifting - the best apps are often "terminal-style" accessors for the powerful devices we have at our pockets but can't usually reach when wearing gloves, riding a bike or only having a split-second.
Unfortunately not an option anymore, unless Fitbit decides to launch a compatible device - after all, they *also* favor battery time and focus over feature-load. Who knows?
I use:
http://www.ringclock.net/
It just tells time. I wear it as a thing of beauty. It is expensive, but it attracts attention. People I am with have literally grabbed my hand and said "What is that?"
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
So, this is a bit of a repeat, but I'll answer as I did last time. I have a Citizen Eco-Drive Skyhawk:
https://www.amazon.com/Citizen...
Mine's a little different as I bought it as Service Merchandise which closed in 2002. I think I got it the year that they closed and paid $300 or $400 for it. It's still my watch.
It doesn't run Android or anything. But it has a slide rule around the bezel and is actually made for making some aviation calculations simple. It also handles all time zones, shows utc on the face at all times, has a couple of alarms, a countdown timer, and a stopwatch. It's solar powered and I've never replaced the battery. It's also water-resistant. I've never had trouble with the watch. I just now realized that it's 15+ years old, and has lasted far longer than any other watch that I've owned.
I know there are some amazing computerized watches out there, but a slide rule is the ultimate nerd accessory, right? Also, show me your second generation Apple Watch in 15 years.
Do you have ESP?
After what happened with the Pebble a bunch of r/pebblers put together a list of smart watch alternatives. Might be a good place to start looking into options. I've been looking into the Garmin Fenix smart watches ( possibly the newer announced Fenix 5 ) myself as aside from looks they seem to have what I want in a smart watch. Sounds like Fibit might be looking at doing a proper watch ( as opposed to their typical fitness trackers ) as well based on their purchase of Pebble's software division and some discussions I've seen about.
Up to about 6 months ago, I used to wear of those cheap digital watches that Walmart peddles for ~$10. They'd last about a year, and I'd just go buy another one.. The last one I bought about 6 months ago, lasted about a month when I decided my phone shows the time, so why on earth do I need a watch? Haven't missed it..
My sister in law gave me a white box for Christmas that said "SmartWatch" on the label. Sure enough it contained one of the "smartwatches" that Walmart sells for $79, reduced from $139.. The tiny instruction manual that I need a magnifying glass to read says to charge it for at least two hours before using.. Well I'm here to tell you I left it on charge for over 10 hours and it is dead, Jim... Right now, we're figuring out how to get SIL's money back from this POS... Hopefully she can get her $$$ back.... Don't want another one..
THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
I quite agree w/ this. Whenever I'm on the computer, the time is displayed on the bottom right corner. Otherwise, if I'm out, I pull out the cellphone to check the time. Also, from my chair, I can peep directly at the clock in the oven, and in the car too, there is one. So w/ so many clocks at home, in the car and on me, I hardly feel the need to splurge on a watch.
When you said "nerd watch", thought you meant something like a "nerd alert"...
Well, nothing sets off my Nerd Alert like spotting someone sorting a smartwatch from previous decades.
I carry a slide phone, with the battery removed. It replaces the two quarters I used to need to carry.
I come here for the love
I have an Apple Watch and love it, but won't try to convince anyone here that it's the best (which I wouldn't know) but rather want to share how I use it:
- I bought it because I work at cafes and was tired of taking my phone out of my pocket to check notifications. It serves that purpose rather well.
- I use it a lot to set reminders with Siri. "Hey Siri, remind me to hang the clothes to dry in two hours", etc. I now try to avoid having to keep track of small things doing it "the cyborg way". In fact I just used it to set a timer for my tea. Siri supports some more surprising things (while listening to a podcast interview I said "Hey Siri, show me pictures of X (the person being interviewed)" and the face appeared on the watch) but I don't always realize I can use it for those.
- I often use voice dictation to reply to messages when walking around. I even picked up phone calls Dick Tracy style a couple of times when the phone was a couple of meters away.
- I use it to navigate with the maps when walking. I don't drive, but it's possibly useful that way as well. When walking long distances it's better to have the notification to turn around the corner on the wrist than on the phone in your pocket.
- I use it to track my hearbeat during trainings. It has a podometer function as well that stores the distance walked in the health app on iOS.
- I have the current temperature on the watch's face and tapping on that opens the forecast. I use that a lot.
- I didn't expect this feature, but it suggests standing up and moving around a bit for at least a minute every hour... and I love it. It's a very small thing, but helpful for us who work sitting down.
- When you charge it and set it on its side it becomes a bedside clock. I use that to wake up in the morning.
- The flashiest thing it does is acting as a remote of the iPhone camera, with a live video feed and all... it's handy to get group shots without setting the timer and running away into place.
As a Slashdot discussion grows longer, the probability of an analogy involving cars approaches one.
But they don't make them anymore. Here are some of these awe inspiring pieces of technological achievement:
http://forum.pocketcalculators...
Seriosly, Casio, if you are reading this: Please, please, please produce another batch of stainless steel game watches. People are already paying $500 for a second hand watch like this one:
http://www.mywatchmart.com/lis...
Signature deleted by lameness filter.
Seconded. I had the first-gen Vivoactive and loved it for the same reasons. I even developed a tide prediction widget for it and a simple watchface. Now I have a Tactix Bravo, which also has the 10-day battery and ConnectIQ, with the added bonus of doing GPS readings while swimming. It's amazing that companies like Samsung and Apple seem not to get what smart watches need to be, but much smaller "old tech" Garmin does.
"I neither wear a watch nor carry any time-keeping device. "
My nerd watch is an iPhone 7 Plus.
Yeah, same. I thought at first someone was taking a swipe at Slashdot, like: "Hey, this site sucks as news for nerds. Got a better one?"
I don't see any point in a watch as a pure timekeeping device, as someone else pointed out, I have a hard time NOT seeing the time wherever I look these days. Primary reason for wearing one these days seem to be: fashion, fitness, or nostalgia.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
I'd say any decent smartphone will do for a nerd watch.
-- Cheers!
I wear a succession of cheap hand wound pin-lever analogue watches. I'm not the sort of nerd that wants the newest shieniest. I'm the sort of nerd that likes to take my gadget apart and see what makes it tick. Pin-levers are cheaper, less accurate movements and half the joy is in trying to make them slightly more accurate.
As an iPhone alternative:
Battery easily lasts a week.
Much cheaper.
Not nearly as bulky.
Things in common:
Can get notifications without pulling out phone.
I always have phone on silent and it's a nice backup.
Might not have phone on me but I can still see calls or messages nearby.
I do run and it's nice to wear a flipbelt and start/stop watch instead of armband.
Don't have clock in living room and often video games obscure computer clock.
what are you on about?
Simply put, the best watch for a computer geek/nerd is a smart phone and it does so much more and has lots of screen real estate (bought a smart phone took off my watch and never put it back on again). The thing a least do with my smart phone though is send or receive phone calls. Have a habit of turning it off when not using it, I control my phone, my phone does not control me.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
http://edifice.casio.com/
I was all set to pull the trigger on one of these but then went with the Apple Watch on an impulse. Either one is probably more than your budget but I did like the looks of the thing. I own/used its little brother, the STB-1000 and found it functional enough to justify buying a smart watch. Yes, it needs a phone for reminders and such, but it will do much of what a true smart watch will do and still be a pretty good stand alone device. And you're probably going to have your phone with you anyway.
Of course you could go nuts and get an Oceanus...
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
I'd recommend a watch that reminds some people not to "duh" much.
Mine must be running slow, it says "Beer Thirty"...
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
+1 AC. Always go for the nixie tube wristwatch.
With all the "smart" watch hype and fashion, only the nixie tube is a classic.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
http://www.shopcasio.com/produ...
Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan, China)
Receives time calibration radio signals which keep the displayed time accurate
Auto receive function (up to 6 times per day)
Manual receive function
Signal: US WWVB, UK MSF, Germany DCF77, Japan JJY40/JJY60, China BPC
Frequency: US 60kHz, UK 60kHz, Germany 77.5kHz, Japan 40/60kHz, China BPC 68.5kHz
Tough Solar Power
200M Water Resistant
Duplex LC Display
Tide Graph (tide level for specific date and time)
Moon Data (moon age of the specific date and moon phase graph)
Digital Compass
Measures and displays direction as one of 16 points
Measuring range: 0 to 359 degrees
Measuring unit: 1 degree
20 seconds continuous measurement
Graphic direction pointer
Bidirectional calibration and northerly calibration function
Magnetic declination correction
Bearing memory
Altimeter
Measuring range: -700 to 10,000 m (-2,300 to 32,800 ft)
Measuring unit: 5 m (20ft)
Manual memory measurements (up to 14 records, each including altitude, date, time)
High altitude / Low altitude memory
Total Ascent / Descent memory
Others: Reference altitude setting, Altitude differential
Barometer
Display range: 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.65 to 32.45 inHg)
Display unit: 1 hPa (0.05 inHg)
Atmospheric pressure tendency graph
Atmospheric pressure differential graphic
Barometric change indicator
Thermometer
Display range: -10 to 60 C (14 to 140 F)
Display unit: 0.1 C (0.2 F)
Low Temperature Resistant (-10 C / 14 F)
Full Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow
5 Independent Daily alarms
Hourly time signal
World Time
31 times zones (48 cities + UTC), city code display, daylight saving on/off
1/100 second stopwatch
Measuring capacity: 23:59'59.99"
Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
Countdown Timer
Measuring unit: 1 second
Countdown range: 1 minute to 60 minutes, (1-minute increments)
Reset time: 1 to 5 minutes (1-minute increments)
Others: Time-up alarm, progress beeper
Battery level indicator
Power saving function
Full auto-calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099)
12/24 hour formats
Button operation tone on/off
Accuracy: ?15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)
Storage Battery: Solar rechargeable battery
Approx. battery life: 5 months on full charge (without further exposure to light)
23 months on full charge with Power Saving Function (without further exposure to light)
I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.
Rolex originally marketed the Milgauss towards scientists and engineers who needed an antimagnetic watch. I have an Omega Seamaster >15'000 Gauss due to my need for higher levels of anti-magnetic resistence but a love of mechanical watches. The TAG my brother in law gave me for a wedding present wouldngain 2 minutes in the course of the day at work because of the EM from all the gear. Next one I go for is probably. A Breitling Navitimer; can't beat the useful nerdiness of a circular slide rule.
I also do have a Citizen Eco-Drive (solar power) that syncs the atomic clock signal. If you're totally about precision, those, or the GPS-synced watches from Citizen and Seiko are pretty cool, too.
Not having had a digital watch since 6th grade, I have nothing to offer on that front.
"I don't want a watch that duplicates the function of my cell phone or computer," adds the original submission"
Actually all watches duplicate smartphone functions, including the databank variants.
With this in mind, 2 recommendations
1. A classic automatic mechanical watch that is deeply engineered to nerdist level of detail, and a bit of a cult item amongst watch lovers: a Damasko DA36 or one of its DA3x siblings.
Why? Because it has a difficult to scratch ice hardened case, an antimagnetic inner case for when nerds work on the large hadron collider, a special lubrication cell around the crown stem, a crown that decouples when screwing down, special high quality gaskets and more. The white dial siblings are fully lumed. A universal, crisp looking watch with appeal to nerds and engineers.
2. On the other side of the spectrum I find the Apple watch quite compelling and nerd-friendly. Current gen has gps, is swim proof, will actually make you look less at your phone, and it is simply a very very accurate watch. Notice how a shop display of radiosynced watches will in the afternoon have 2 seconds difference between the slowest and quickest sample while a table of apple watches run all in perfect sync. The secret is that even when it cannot sync to internet or gps, it has a thermocontrolled crystal which makes it into a higher accuracy device than a standard quartz watch, it is probably the most affordable high accuracy quartz watch on the market. This is something that I think should appeal to nerds.
CASIO Watch Lineage Tough Solar Radio Watch Titanium MULTIBAND6 LCW-M100TD-1A3JF Men's Watch
https://www.amazon.com/CASIO-L...
This watch is always on time because it synchronizes with atomic radios globally.
The battery never runs out because the watch face is a solar cell.
You don't have to take off the watch because it is water resistant to 5 bars/50 bars.
It looks like an "adult" watch though it has standard digital features:
Date, world time, stopwatch, countdown, and alarms.
The titanium makes this watch almost indestructible.
The sapphire glass only had a minor scratch when a person fell pinning my wrist to a rock face.
Everything still worked, but I replaced the glass anyway.
Not bad for 4 years.
tl:dr; ... this watch will outlast YOU.
I'm with justthinkit; no watch, no cell, no need.
For someone a little deeper than you, he implied there's no need to get a new watch. Especially since reader students said he had a cell.
When I started wearing one everyday, you had to wind it. Everyday. They had self winding ones.
Later, they had LED models you had to press a button to see.
I eventually had some kind of waterproof w/ alarm, stopwatch, countdown (casio or timex ironman).
I tried the Timex Datalink (beam your calendar from outlook to your watch) and followed all the reverse engineering to get it working with Linux. After the case started getting eaten away, I switched back.
Then my RSI started & my wrist would hurt so I took it off at work sometimes. The strap broke & I got another. That broke a week later.
By that time, I was carrying a phone on my hip. I no longer have something on my wrist. I use the pocket watch (phone) now.
I got a fit bit for Xmas. I don't think I care to put it on.
But since you haven't gotten too many real answers to your question (which, if I understand correctly, is a request for a durable, long-lasting watch that just does what watches are supposed to do), I'll inform you of what I wear: the Casio G-Shock MT-G 900. I can't remember exactly when I got it, but it's been at least five years ago. It has an easy-to-read face with backlight, a steel band that doesn't get worn much with age, a radio receiver that syncs the time with the Fort Collins transmitter, and a solar-powered battery. I didn't have to actively charge it (by putting it on the windowsill during the day) until the past year. The only problem is that it's a little bit pricier than your old watch, but not by much.
Rob
With all due respect, Woz wears the one that I make.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
I still wear and use Casio Data Bank 150 calculator watch as well. I have not found a good replacement for it. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I was thinking that once upon a time, Slashdot was my favorite "Nerd Watch", and what might be a good place to go to watch stuff for "Nerds". The appropriate term is wrist device, I also liked the term used in Crest of the Stars, the correct spelling of which escapes me. Searching for my best guess turned up no hits.
Casio Lineage Tough Solar Radio controlled MULTIBAND 6 LCW-M300D-1AJF
Nice looking analog display + plus digital for a few things. The best feature is that the time never needs to be set (radio sync to NIST) plus never needs a new battery (solar). Super happy with this watch. Around $140.
Is that an Undertale joke? LV in Undertale was initially said to mean "love" but later is said to mean "Level of violence".
A single application, and any IoT device will be permanently secured: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... I'd like my $25k now, thanks!
Rule 35 of the internet: "If it can be hacked, it will be". - Charles Stross
I bought a Treehut watch made from wood. I find the woodworking fascinating, and the leather band very comfortable. Yes, it's not a nerd watch in the sense that it doesn't "do" anything nerdy; but I have a very nerdy phone in my pocket.
No, I will not work for your startup
I neither wear a watch nor carry any time-keeping device. The world is saturated with time-keeping devices these days. Clock in my vehicle, gui shows time, microwave oven clock when not near the computer. Seriously don't need one. Sorry to spoil someone's desire to sell more product.
Good for you. Some of us like to go outside.
Cheap, reliable, does what I need it to.
When you said "nerd watch", thought you meant something like a "nerd alert"...
Don't wear a watch, haven't for 20 years. The Casios were cool, though.
I stopped wearing watches a long time ago, but recently started wearing them again. My thought is that you should have thee watches...
A dress watch (analog dial), for weddings, funerals, etc, a waterproof watch (dive style) for skiing, swimming, jetskiing, etc., and a nice casual watch for a night out on the town, work, etc. Because most people don't wear watches these days, people will come up and ask you what time it is and to comment on your watch (if it's a nice watch, not a cheapie plastic one) and it's a good conversation starter.
I'll probably pick up a Garmin watch for hiking because of the GPS and trail tracking capabilities. But that's as intelligent as my watches get. Smart watches don't appeal to me due to their clunky design and the lack of battery life. In addition, I prefer analog dials to digital, but that's just me...
Anyone try one of those cheap "Smart Watches" you see on Amazon? Here's one I looked at:
CNPGD Bluetooth Smart Wrist Wrap Watch Phone for IOS and Android, Black
(search on Amazon).
It has been selling for $9 ("price has dropped by 53%!"), but I'm not sure about the quality of these watches. This particular one gets crummy reviews, but are there any that are worth getting?
To be more specific: are there inexpensive watches that will do most of what the Apple Watch does (whatever that happens to be --I don't know) without the expensive price tag? I'm including Android watches; the watch doesn't have to sync to an Apple iPhone, since Android phones are much cheaper and more accessible to the thin wallet.
404555974007725459910684486621289147856453481154 in hex is "You sank my Battleship?"
[GPG key in journal]
I haven't worn a timepiece since the 80s, so when I saw the headline, "What's The Best Nerd Watch", my reaction was: "Huh? It's not Slashdot? Dunno maybe ARS or stackexchange?"
Well, nothing sets off my Nerd Alert like spotting someone sorting a smartwatch from previous decades.
I dunno, it sets off my "Hipster Alarm." It's usually triggered by shrill whining, and an attempt at 70's and 80's lingo which they don't grasp. Oh and polyester...
Om, nomnomnom...
I bought a Nixon Mission when it came out, and I've been extremely pleased with it: it runs Android Wear, meaning it integrates well with my phone; it's comfortable; its battery lasts a workday easily, and charges quickly for sleep tracking at night; it's waterproof down to a hundred meters, as well as being made with Gorilla Glass III, a high-impact chassis, and a stainless steel raised bezel, so it's pretty much indestructible (I've tested it with a thermal shock of 100C -> 20C and no problems); and even the default watch face is cool and elegant.
If I had to mention a downside, it's the lack of a speaker or a heartbeat sensor, and the three Nixon apps (surf and ski information applications) that came rolled into the OS cannot be removed, but I can live with that.
Hyperbole: I use it liberally!
This is old stock for sale. I think the seals have a limited shelf life.
Simon's Rock College
The problem with all these advanced (android wear, ...) smartwatches is the abysmal battery life. Typically a couple of days.
Most of this power is used to replicate what your smartphone can do.
Fitness trackers have features such as a very noticeable vibrator (can be used as a silent alarm clock), step/heart/sleep sensors, smart unlock for your phone, etc... Features that really add to what your phone can do without trying to do too much. As a result, these trackers are typically much cheaper and have a much higher battery life than full smartwatches. You can get a Mi Band for $15 and the battery lasts a month.
And even if these are called fitness trackers, you can use one even if you don't care about the "fitness" part. Notifications alone can justify it.
The best nerd watch is the watch you make yourself - showing off your nerd abilities. The soldertime watches are starting points, bonus for whatever you add to the base design.
Nerds are rarely impressed by "products". You only need money to have a "product". A self-assembled kit is minimum, self-designed even better.
If i ever had to wear a nerdy watch, that would have been it.
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
It's an Apple watch for people who go outside.
The battery lasts a month unless you're using the GPS then you'll have to charge it daily, but it charges very quickly in a magnetic USB cradle with pogo contacts.
The normal kit comes with a heart rate chest strap and you can get cadence sensors, speed sensors, power meters, and such that link with it over radio.
You can load different watch faces, widgets and even program your own.
It has Bluetooth to link with your phone for notifications.
One built-in widget is Find My Phone. If it's close enough to have a Bluetooth connection, your phone will start chiming, vibrating and blinking the camera flash LED.
It's waterproof.
The display is transflective and has a backlight, but as it's made for people who go outside, the display definitely looks better in sunlight.
In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
That requirement alone pretty much leaves you buying a nice Swiss analogue watch and, as a nerd, marveling at the technical feat of engineering that went into creating something that can keep time (and date) without the use of any electrical components.
Plus, it'll last a lifetime, the battery won't die out, can still be serviced many years from now, doesn't need to be charged every night, won't be rendered obsolete and will actually look nice on you.
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Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
The last time I wore a watch was when I took my boy's Cub Scout pack camping a few years ago. Four days in the rural parts of Oklahoma, crappy Cell service (T-Mobile at the time). Dug out an old sports watch from the 90's and wore it the four days, and put the cell phone away. Was able to get the boys to all the scheduled activities on time, without messing with the cell phone.
Back in the 80's I had the Casio calculator watch. Lots of fun, miss that watch.
He who laughs last is at 300 baud.
I wore databanks for many years, ending in the ninetries, when I could not find them any more, even on business trips to Tokyo. There were registers where you could write short bits of text. I used these to store my car registrations, and a few phone numbers. This is the sort of thing you would have on your phone these days. However, if your phone goes flat, it is sometimes useful to have a duplicate. Alarms and Reminders. I had an app on my work computer but if I was not at my desk, I missed it. If I am not wearing the watch, it would pop something on the screen. A calculator (I rarely used this). A light (this flattened the battery if you used it to see things with).
Okay, this all sounds pretty sad, but back in the day it was handy. We could do all sorts of things better. There are much smarter ways of entering text. We could have a solar cell over the front face to charge it. it could have a low power mode if the solar cell was not seeing anything, rather than having the display always on. You could keep your passwords in it, knowing that it could not be hacked.
I don't think it will happen. It now feels funny to have something on my wrist. Possibly secure USB drives with tiny displays on keyrings will take over the role.
The Skyhawk may not be to OP's liking as it's a bit Flava Flav-esque, but don't let that dissuade you from Citizen Eco-Drive. I've been rocking a titanium Citizen for fifteen years now as well. https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/... is an image of one of its brothers. They're built like a tank, never need a battery replacement (though eventually the rechargeable will need changing, but that is possible), and this one has the benefit of having a countdown timer in the digital portion of it.
If you want to go all-out nerd cred, there are upgraded versions that will receive WWVB (and its global peers) timekeeping broadcasts, or even full on GPS time from the satellites. They do have a bluetooth-enabled line called Proximity, but I'm suspect of any consumer technology-tied device with a long projected lifespan, as the lifecycles are totally different.
The truth about Scientology, Xenu, and you: Operation Clambake
Anyone try one of those cheap "Smart Watches" you see on Amazon? Here's one I looked at: CNPGD Bluetooth Smart Wrist Wrap Watch Phone for IOS and Android, Black
I don't know. Based on the size, it appears to be a bit cumbersome...
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
I wear a 1955 Roamer Swiss mechanical watch on a cordovan leather strap. Manual winding, 17 jewels, 35mm case. I wouldn't have it any other way; wearing it makes me happy.
Unless you are one of the tiny subset of the population that both dives and needs to tell time while doing it there really isn't much point to them anymore. There are more accurate clocks everywhere, including on your phone.
If you are going to wear something on your wrist go with a fitbit.
Didn't you RTFS?
I don't want a watch that duplicates the function of my cell phone or computer
He needs a watch without that redundant "telling time" feature.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
Firstly: "kept track of my schedule and the current time." How painful is it to get a proper schedule into that watch? That alone is true nerd-dom, to spend an an hour a week typing tiny text into a watch...
:) Basically: ~8 months on a regular watch coin cell (CR2032 I believe) and you get an analog watch, and an activity tracker (think fit bit) and vibrator alarm that looks and acts like a regular watch. Very light and not smart watch bulky. You can swim, sleep, run and it tracks each one with data presented in the phone app. Syncs automatically via BluetoothLE. It also changes time zones when you do! So a watch.. with benefits.
I went another way: Been wearing the WiThings Activite Pop for a year now and it has helped me a lot. About to switch to the Activite HR if they would ever actually ship it.
Funnest thing is setting the time from the app, making the hands sweep around the face in sync with dragging your finger around a circle in the app.
The any-day-now to be released HR model tracks heart rate (duh) but also will do event notifications from the phone. 1 month on a charge.
1 Dachshund + 1 Dachshunds = A Paradox.
I picked up a Casio Pro Trek PRW 2500 a while back at a cheap price (under 110 pounds = $134 inc. tax) and really like it. It's radio-controlled, solar, water resistant to 200 metres, altimeter/barometer/compass and has a cute power saving feature (display goes blank if it's dark for an hour and then re-appears if you tilt the watch towards you or press a button). Only complaint is that you can't flip the "wrong" US date format (MMDD) back to the "correct" format (DDMM).
Yes, Casio have a smartwatch which looks really nice, but is hellishly expensive and even in its monochrome power saving mode, it still needs to be charged at least weekly, whereas my Pro Trek never needs a charge and the battery will probably last 10+ years.
My only caveat to this is that you're not "supposed" to wear a watch to weddings or funerals, because you're not supposed to be concerning yourself with time at these events.
But then...everyone else has their phones anyway. Manners are dead, says the old man.
It's not as if other people can see it unless you roll your shirt or jacket sleeves up.
Checks wrist (since watch hasn't been taken off for months). It's a Casio, brought for my birthday about 10 years ago by my wife ; waterproof to far deeper than my SCUBA certification will ever be ; solar powered ; time corrected daily by LW radio from MAningen, IIRC. Because it's a gift, it never gets removed except to exchange it for a proper diving watch (ratchetted bezel) when I'm going down to the harbour to go diving. The diving watch is analogue (for ease of reading in low-light conditions) and cost about 15 pints of beer at the time of purchase (~8 years ago); gets a new battery when I take my tanks for testing.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
You can set what alerts you and what doesn't, it is a great fitness tracker, GPS, etc... You can respond to text messages, or reject phone calls from your wrist. (Handy when cycling) The "find phone" feature helps me when I can't remember where I set my phone last. I only charge it when I'm in the shower, but the battery easily lasts a couple of days. It's water resistant, but me personally, I wouldn't take it in the ocean. It's lightweight, and small, but can still display a map of my rides. If you get the right face (there's even an LCARS face), it's quite pleasant to wear. I thought it would be a fad, but I'm sold now. I'm not a huge fitness nut, but still really enjoy wearing it.
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
Breitling Navitimer has a built-in slide rule!
So the fact they're showing them as being in-stock means either they're false advertising or you're the one with a failure.
I know where my money sits.
A "smart watch" need only be as smart as one chooses. I'd recommend something like a first-gen Moto 360, now going on eBay for less than $100. Install calendar app, turn off all notifications except calendar (or even those if you're willing to look at watch calendar.) Choose a simple watch face, and you're done. You do have to charge them, though; probably every other day, dump it on the wireless thingy. That's probably a deal-breaker for you, though.
Especially if you wear it on your wrist.
You want a nerdy watch, that's also huge and ugly? You want a Razer Nabu. This is going to be my next watch, when I'm a bit less broke. It's semi-smart, with an extra display for messages etc. Also I like big ugly digital watches!
I've got one of them - love it! Takes me back to the 1980's when we judged a watch on the number of buttons it has.
Indeed. And of course you have to be able to call your car with it.
-- Cheers!
I wear a $600 watch, and I can't say anyone has ever asked me about my watch...
When I was briefly wearing my Pebble just before they went out of business, I did get people asking me about it though...and that one only cost $99.
I don't know that there are many people out there looking for expensive watches to see someone's status.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
I went with the Omega X-33. It is a tool watch, but it is a luxury tool. The count down timers were the deciding feature and I use them regularly. It will take a punch, I can wear it in the shower or in a down pour, is flight certified by the ESA, and the Solar Impulse modle is just beautiful to look at. Another alternative to consider would be the Seiko SKX that Redford wore in 'All is Lost'