Gadget of the week: Casio G-Shock Bluetooth Watch

The world of watches has seen a major technological shift lately with bigwigs like Apple and Google rumoured to launch smartwatches soon.

Telling time has never been so in vogue as it is right now. Casio has joined the bandwagon by unveiling its latest G-Shock watch the supports Bluetooth function. Here are some of the features and review of the watch that might tempt you to pick it up.

Pros

The phone is Bluetooth compatible. You can link your phone to the watch to access a range of services on the watch itself. These include incoming call alert on your phone that can be alerted on your watch by sending out a beep or vibration. In a similar way, the phone also supports push notification and can alert the user about social media updates such as those on Facebook and Twitter on the mobile device. The push notification is extended to emails as well wherein a beep and/ or vibration can alert the user to incoming mail.

Another feature is Phone Finder. This feature allows the owner of the watch to be alerted when the phone goes out of range. By sending a warning tone to the wearer, the watch can inform users in case their device is not on them. Moreover, this Casio G Shock watch has a time adjustment function, which enables synchronizing with time data received from the phone. Furthermore, it has a built-in tilt sensor to detect movement in the watch, while it is in power-saving mode and to automatically reconnect to the phone.

This Casio watch can also pick up location information from the phone and update the time zone automatically.

Cons

The biggest con of these watches is that they work only with iPhones currently. They can only be synced from iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S. When asked about an Android update, neither M Naka, MD of Casio India nor Kulbhushan Seth, VP, Casio India could throw any insight. All these functions are thus rendered absolutely useless unless you don’t have an iPhone to pair this watch with.

The Phone Finder feature, too, is a bit of a gimmick since the feature does not function if the stolen phone has been switched off after being stolen. Moreover, the range of its effectiveness leaves a lot to be desired as well.

Verdict

The Casio G Shock Bluetooth watch, officially called GB – 5600AB and GB – 6900AB, comes with a two year battery life and is priced at Rs 9995. It’s not that bad an investment at that price considering you still get G-Shock range’s durability and sporty look. But if you’re looking at it solely from a smartwatch point of view, we suggest you wait till Sony, Apple and Google release their watches before making a purchase.