> 2016 - First Casio outdoor watch to run Android Wear OS
Could you imagine the situation they were in as the most high-tech watch company in the world? For mainstream relevance you now have to anchor yourself to a smartphone platform that is either a) hostile to your very existence or b) completely abandons their platform and leaves you and your customers out to dry.
I know people complain about car manufacturers being hostile to CarPlay and Android Auto. But I think in the long run, the executives are being smart. Looking down the history of other companies that turned over responsibility of their user experience to tech companies - there's not a good track record of long-term successes.
I still think about the way the CEO of Nokia back in 2010 described what it would be like for them to abandon their in-house OS for Android: "Peeing yourself to stay warm".
> I still think about the way the CEO of Nokia back in 2010 describing what it would be like for them to abandon their in-house OS for Android: "Peeing yourself to stay warm"
This has intrigued me because eventually that’s what they ended up doing - although with two major caveats.
Firstly, the mobile space did not have room for 3 players - MS tried very hard and their Nokia phones were pretty good. But it was just one platform too many. They just couldn’t find a niche for itself as Android was being used everywhere due to their open source branch. Proves the point made by you though, there wasn’t space for a second Android if MS were to embrace open source. Nokia tried hard with Meego - I loved the UI but the market was moving at light speed back then.
Secondly, HMD started by branching off from the Nokia of yore and their Android devices are also very good.
I’ll always miss my old Nokias, they were the duopoly with the BlackBerry in the pre-smartphone era.
The phones themselves were very good. I have a functional Windows phone in a drawer, that I sometimes charge (and it still works!), but after playing with the tile UI for few minutes... eww
Casio were decidedly not the most high tech watch company in the world in 2016. The Apple Watch had come out in 2015 and Android watches had been around for years before that.
> The TM-100 was a highly unique wristwatch with the ability to transmit speech via radio. Outfitted with an FM transmitter and microphone, the watch allowed users to wirelessly broadcast their voice to a radio tuned to the right frequency simply by speaking toward the watch
> The unique CMD-10 delivered remote control functionality for TVs and VCRs. Its function-minded layout of large remote control buttons ensured intuitive operability. Users could turn their TV or VCR on or off, change channels, adjust the volume, and more using the watch on their wrist.
And then there is the sad one, too:
> The ever-innovative G-SHOCK brand takes a new step, launching a virtual community where people can co-create and interact with one another via digital platforms like NFTs and the metaverse.
I had CMD-10 as a kid. It was fun when it worked, but it wasn't pairing well with most TV sets and video players. Though it's possible I just didn't know how to set it up properly.
The temperature sensor was an interesting idea. Wonder if smartphones will ever get that. Probably not, since it is cheaper to get this information online (but then it is often inaccurate).
I used to have the W-520U and it was the best watch I've ever owned ...also the only watch/thing I ever lost in my life, I left it at the gym class in school and the next day boom, gone.
My favorite series since 10-20+ years ago is the ProTrek, which I guess it's part of G-Shock but I don't see them in the site. (I guess the PRT-1GPJ is there at 1999).
Joey et al.’s work ports the SPICE astronavigation library to the on board ARM m0 giving you a complete orrery in a classic F91W “Terrorist” watch. It is fantastic!
I really love being able to get an estimate of when and where The Moon will rise, or where Saturn is right now. Timekeeping and astronomy are two of the oldest forms of science we have and I love being in constant touch with them via the newest science we have: computers! (The source is all open and available for you to hack on, including a nifty emulator.)
On the subject of modding, you can also get upgrade kits for popular Casio watches which replace all of the plastic and resin components with high quality steel and sapphire ones, to build a deluxe terrorist watch.
Love my G-shock GW-6900. Only weak point is the resin strap, which needs replacing every few years. I do not want a 'smart' watch that needs to be regularly charged and is bleating at me all the time.
I run a 5600, I am not super familiar with the rest of the g-shock line but the straps do appear to be the weak point of the whole thing. I found an adapter that allows me to use nato style nylon webbing straps. I mainly wanted it so I could replace the straps easier, but I have not had a strap break yet. A word of caution and a recommendation. The first adapter I got was also made of resin and broke in about the same amount of time the resin straps did(~ year) I found a company called ritchie strap that sells a steel adapter which has so far lasted ~ 6 years.
On the needed adapter, webbing straps are intended to feed directly through the strap pins but g-shocks tend to have a very narrow and tight strap attach pitch(16mm), the webbing does not fit well and I wanted a wider 24mm strap. I do not want to be to damming, I think the narrow pitch is intended to be stronger than a wide pitch but it does make things inconvenient for us g-shock with webbing strap connoisseurs.
According to this their most recent innovation was in 2023 with a "virtual community where people can co-create and interact with one another via digital platforms like NFTs and the metaverse."
I think they should have mentioned the ABL-100 from 2024 [0]. It is probably their most interesting recent watch.
It has a step tracker, sets time via Bluetooth from a smartphone, and it is in a classic digital Casio style similar to the A168W and A158W.
It's disappointing. It reinforces the cliché that most hardware companies don't understand software.
The GPR-B1000 was promising, as it signaled Casio might be heading towards making watches with advanced features like GPS, yet a bit different from regular smartwatches and close to their traditional models. This model was tied to a phone app, but I thought this was OK for their first iteration.
Fast forward to 2023, their expensive DW-H5600 was very disappointing. They included a Polar heart rate monitor, which are known for their reliability. Nevertheless, hear rate readouts are extremely noisy to the point of being useless. Also, setting up the watch requires pairing it with a Casio app, which is absurd for a non-smartwatch.
I would love to be able to buy a normal watch that offers heart rate monitoring and basic GPS tracking but can be operated fully offline, doesn't need updates, and will not become abandonware in 5 years time. Garmin is nearly there with some models. Some Casio, Withings, Polar, and Suunto models also have interesting features but overall still far from that ideal goal.
Besides, in many regulated environments you can't have a watch with hardware radios like Bluetooth. Only Garmin seems to understand this. Suunto had terrific models, but is slowly falling behind and has been sold to a Chinese conglomerate.
I've been pretty happy with my Garmin Instinct Crossover. It looks like a regular watch, and so if Garmin decides to drop support for it, then it still has like a 2 month battery as a regular watch.
I facepalmed when I read that last entry. I had a G-Shock watch for a long time, it was a great watch, I have a lot of sentimentality towards it, but I do not see any reason why anyone would want an NFT for it.
There existed watches with the same digits, features and buttons before that, but they were in steel. 1989 is about when Casio transitioned from metal to resin.
The metal watches were succeeded by the A158W, which is chrome-plated resin on the outside, same electronics module as the F-91W on the inside, and likewise is still in production.
After the resin case of my A158W eventually broke, I got a vintage W-34 with a broken movement and put the A158W's module inside. (It will get a SensorWatch PCB once I am done with my firmware mods)
Steel replacement cases for a F-91W are now also available on Aliexpress, so you don't have to hunt down a vintage watch if you want real steel.
The F-91W is such a fun watch. Super functional, you're not scared of damaging it, because A) You can't and B) it's like $25.
The backlight is my absolute favorit feature. It's completely pointless. It can barely light up the hours, and only the left most digit and Casio never bothered to fix it. Absolutely delightful.
Casio is still super hit or miss with backlights. I have a Casio Lineage LCW-M100TSE-1AER and the light is even less useful for its display. Otherwise it's very nearly a perfect watch for me.
It's interesting to see how the analog display remained dominant and kept the scope for being artistic and rich, while the digital display appeared exhausted of it's curiosity and awe of 70's and can no longer be made to look trendy.
“The debut of the GW-300J introduced a new line — The G — driven by a passion for creating the ultimate wristwatch: one that would never break, never stop, and never fail to keep precise time.”
I have worn the same GShock GW-6900 continuously, all day and night, every day for 15+ years.
I wore it in war, diving in the pacific, skydiving, on stage pitching, on TV shows and am currently wearing it
I’ve replaced the band ONCE and it keeps perfect time and the backlight is a handy light in a pinch.
Another GW-6900 fan here. I think you've done pretty well to only have 1 replacement band in that time. Maybe that is because you don't take it off at night!
The only other thing I have with similar levels of toughness is the rogue leather hat I wore for at least 20 years.
https://rogue.co.za/collections/headgear
But I eventually sweated a hole in it and had to buy another one.
Casio should release one of their "game and watch" products again, or create a new one based on the old models. Production cost cannot be higher than that of a normal watch, and a lot of people would love to own one.
I am always disappointed when I see products like their pac man watches that just have a print on it without any game related functionality. This has damaged the brand a lot already, and tbh, after many years being a hard core Casio fanboy I have moved on. But one more gaming watch...
I don't know about their customer service but I have bought a few of their watches recently and they seem as good as ever. (Which is the reason I don’t know about their customer service, of course)
> 2016 - First Casio outdoor watch to run Android Wear OS
Could you imagine the situation they were in as the most high-tech watch company in the world? For mainstream relevance you now have to anchor yourself to a smartphone platform that is either a) hostile to your very existence or b) completely abandons their platform and leaves you and your customers out to dry.
I know people complain about car manufacturers being hostile to CarPlay and Android Auto. But I think in the long run, the executives are being smart. Looking down the history of other companies that turned over responsibility of their user experience to tech companies - there's not a good track record of long-term successes.
I still think about the way the CEO of Nokia back in 2010 described what it would be like for them to abandon their in-house OS for Android: "Peeing yourself to stay warm".
> I still think about the way the CEO of Nokia back in 2010 describing what it would be like for them to abandon their in-house OS for Android: "Peeing yourself to stay warm"
This has intrigued me because eventually that’s what they ended up doing - although with two major caveats.
Firstly, the mobile space did not have room for 3 players - MS tried very hard and their Nokia phones were pretty good. But it was just one platform too many. They just couldn’t find a niche for itself as Android was being used everywhere due to their open source branch. Proves the point made by you though, there wasn’t space for a second Android if MS were to embrace open source. Nokia tried hard with Meego - I loved the UI but the market was moving at light speed back then.
Secondly, HMD started by branching off from the Nokia of yore and their Android devices are also very good.
I’ll always miss my old Nokias, they were the duopoly with the BlackBerry in the pre-smartphone era.
The tiles UI was simply not good.
The phones themselves were very good. I have a functional Windows phone in a drawer, that I sometimes charge (and it still works!), but after playing with the tile UI for few minutes... eww
Casio were decidedly not the most high tech watch company in the world in 2016. The Apple Watch had come out in 2015 and Android watches had been around for years before that.
> "Peeing yourself to stay warm".
Which in-house OS this was about? For Symbian, "burning platform" was at least honest.
I was having such a nice time reading all that until the final entry in 2023. Yuck.
why?
looks like DW-5000C - not so good, but "yuck" is a bit too much, no?
Some of cool and the wild ones:
> The TM-100 was a highly unique wristwatch with the ability to transmit speech via radio. Outfitted with an FM transmitter and microphone, the watch allowed users to wirelessly broadcast their voice to a radio tuned to the right frequency simply by speaking toward the watch
> The unique CMD-10 delivered remote control functionality for TVs and VCRs. Its function-minded layout of large remote control buttons ensured intuitive operability. Users could turn their TV or VCR on or off, change channels, adjust the volume, and more using the watch on their wrist.
And then there is the sad one, too:
> The ever-innovative G-SHOCK brand takes a new step, launching a virtual community where people can co-create and interact with one another via digital platforms like NFTs and the metaverse.
This one too:
> Simply holding the watch’s built-in speaker up to the receiver of a push-button telephone allowed users to place calls to stored numbers
I had CMD-10 as a kid. It was fun when it worked, but it wasn't pairing well with most TV sets and video players. Though it's possible I just didn't know how to set it up properly.
The temperature sensor was an interesting idea. Wonder if smartphones will ever get that. Probably not, since it is cheaper to get this information online (but then it is often inaccurate).
I used to have the W-520U and it was the best watch I've ever owned ...also the only watch/thing I ever lost in my life, I left it at the gym class in school and the next day boom, gone.
http://www.digital-watch.com/DWL/1work/casio-w-520u
My favorite series since 10-20+ years ago is the ProTrek, which I guess it's part of G-Shock but I don't see them in the site. (I guess the PRT-1GPJ is there at 1999).
https://www.casio.com/us/watches/protrek
https://www.casio.com/europe/watches/protrek/brand/collectio...
https://www.casio.com/intl/watches/protrek/30th/history
The incredible Sensor Watch after-market board is really worth a mention on a thread like this:
https://www.sensorwatch.net/
Joey et al.’s work ports the SPICE astronavigation library to the on board ARM m0 giving you a complete orrery in a classic F91W “Terrorist” watch. It is fantastic!
I really love being able to get an estimate of when and where The Moon will rise, or where Saturn is right now. Timekeeping and astronomy are two of the oldest forms of science we have and I love being in constant touch with them via the newest science we have: computers! (The source is all open and available for you to hack on, including a nifty emulator.)
On the subject of modding, you can also get upgrade kits for popular Casio watches which replace all of the plastic and resin components with high quality steel and sapphire ones, to build a deluxe terrorist watch.
https://skxmod.com/
I'm not sure if aftermarket PCBs like the Sensor Watch work in those aftermarket cases though.
Love my G-shock GW-6900. Only weak point is the resin strap, which needs replacing every few years. I do not want a 'smart' watch that needs to be regularly charged and is bleating at me all the time.
I run a 5600, I am not super familiar with the rest of the g-shock line but the straps do appear to be the weak point of the whole thing. I found an adapter that allows me to use nato style nylon webbing straps. I mainly wanted it so I could replace the straps easier, but I have not had a strap break yet. A word of caution and a recommendation. The first adapter I got was also made of resin and broke in about the same amount of time the resin straps did(~ year) I found a company called ritchie strap that sells a steel adapter which has so far lasted ~ 6 years.
On the needed adapter, webbing straps are intended to feed directly through the strap pins but g-shocks tend to have a very narrow and tight strap attach pitch(16mm), the webbing does not fit well and I wanted a wider 24mm strap. I do not want to be to damming, I think the narrow pitch is intended to be stronger than a wide pitch but it does make things inconvenient for us g-shock with webbing strap connoisseurs.
According to this their most recent innovation was in 2023 with a "virtual community where people can co-create and interact with one another via digital platforms like NFTs and the metaverse."
I think they should have mentioned the ABL-100 from 2024 [0]. It is probably their most interesting recent watch. It has a step tracker, sets time via Bluetooth from a smartphone, and it is in a classic digital Casio style similar to the A168W and A158W.
0: https://www.casio.com/intl/watches/casio/standard/vintage/ab...
Then they stopped snorting coke and did a sensible walk-back?
Considering the heyday of Casio watches was in the 80's, maybe they need more coke.
It's disappointing. It reinforces the cliché that most hardware companies don't understand software.
The GPR-B1000 was promising, as it signaled Casio might be heading towards making watches with advanced features like GPS, yet a bit different from regular smartwatches and close to their traditional models. This model was tied to a phone app, but I thought this was OK for their first iteration.
Fast forward to 2023, their expensive DW-H5600 was very disappointing. They included a Polar heart rate monitor, which are known for their reliability. Nevertheless, hear rate readouts are extremely noisy to the point of being useless. Also, setting up the watch requires pairing it with a Casio app, which is absurd for a non-smartwatch.
I would love to be able to buy a normal watch that offers heart rate monitoring and basic GPS tracking but can be operated fully offline, doesn't need updates, and will not become abandonware in 5 years time. Garmin is nearly there with some models. Some Casio, Withings, Polar, and Suunto models also have interesting features but overall still far from that ideal goal.
Besides, in many regulated environments you can't have a watch with hardware radios like Bluetooth. Only Garmin seems to understand this. Suunto had terrific models, but is slowly falling behind and has been sold to a Chinese conglomerate.
I've been pretty happy with my Garmin Instinct Crossover. It looks like a regular watch, and so if Garmin decides to drop support for it, then it still has like a 2 month battery as a regular watch.
I facepalmed when I read that last entry. I had a G-Shock watch for a long time, it was a great watch, I have a lot of sentimentality towards it, but I do not see any reason why anyone would want an NFT for it.
Post pandemic was a wild time for executives. All the video game company CEOs too were on the NFT train.
AI mania wiped all that away instantly.
I was really surprised to find out that the F-91W was first released in 1989. I had assumed it was even older than that!
I wasn't too surprised to see their blurb leave out it's other (alleged!) known use
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W#Usage_in_terrorism
There existed watches with the same digits, features and buttons before that, but they were in steel. 1989 is about when Casio transitioned from metal to resin.
The metal watches were succeeded by the A158W, which is chrome-plated resin on the outside, same electronics module as the F-91W on the inside, and likewise is still in production.
After the resin case of my A158W eventually broke, I got a vintage W-34 with a broken movement and put the A158W's module inside. (It will get a SensorWatch PCB once I am done with my firmware mods)
Steel replacement cases for a F-91W are now also available on Aliexpress, so you don't have to hunt down a vintage watch if you want real steel.
The F-91W is such a fun watch. Super functional, you're not scared of damaging it, because A) You can't and B) it's like $25.
The backlight is my absolute favorit feature. It's completely pointless. It can barely light up the hours, and only the left most digit and Casio never bothered to fix it. Absolutely delightful.
Casio is still super hit or miss with backlights. I have a Casio Lineage LCW-M100TSE-1AER and the light is even less useful for its display. Otherwise it's very nearly a perfect watch for me.
It's interesting to see how the analog display remained dominant and kept the scope for being artistic and rich, while the digital display appeared exhausted of it's curiosity and awe of 70's and can no longer be made to look trendy.
Check out the Armitron 7-segment LED Watch. I bought it for the retro feel of having ultra lo-fi digital time but without an LCD.
Lots of people still like G Shocks and digital casios. They are very popular among college students in the U.S
Very cool! I've had a F91-W for years and never knew the history. I thought it was way older than '89.
https://youtu.be/euNmIoe83FQ?si=LL0RCulF2ibWo6no
I wish there were more watches like the IA-1000.
A flip watch goes so hard. Would be a cool flex
From the 2000s section:
“The debut of the GW-300J introduced a new line — The G — driven by a passion for creating the ultimate wristwatch: one that would never break, never stop, and never fail to keep precise time.”
I have worn the same GShock GW-6900 continuously, all day and night, every day for 15+ years.
I wore it in war, diving in the pacific, skydiving, on stage pitching, on TV shows and am currently wearing it
I’ve replaced the band ONCE and it keeps perfect time and the backlight is a handy light in a pinch.
Probably the best purchase I’ve ever made
Another GW-6900 fan here. I think you've done pretty well to only have 1 replacement band in that time. Maybe that is because you don't take it off at night!
The only other thing I have with similar levels of toughness is the rogue leather hat I wore for at least 20 years. https://rogue.co.za/collections/headgear But I eventually sweated a hole in it and had to buy another one.
I feel the same about my GW-M5610. I've only had it for about 7 years so I'm still on my original band.
worth noting that there are many casio watches that are very similar to the g-shock series but are not g-shock.
they're probably worse but still incredibly good. I have one of these (W-735H-1AV - https://www.casio.com/intl/watches/casio/product.W-735H-1AV/)... Got it for ~20 euros off amazon in 2018 and it's still rocking.
I never had to change the battery (so far) but I had to change the straps twice.
I really would like some official casio faces on my apple watch.
Could the 80s Data Bank watches be considered one of the first PDAs?
Yes, absolutely.
As I was going down this list I was mentally checking off basically every feature of the Apple Watch, somewhere introduced by Casio a decade+ earlier.
I always had Casio watch when I was a kid. Nowadays, I prefer having none on my wrist. As a developer, it hinders my hand movement when typing.
Casio should release one of their "game and watch" products again, or create a new one based on the old models. Production cost cannot be higher than that of a normal watch, and a lot of people would love to own one.
I am always disappointed when I see products like their pac man watches that just have a print on it without any game related functionality. This has damaged the brand a lot already, and tbh, after many years being a hard core Casio fanboy I have moved on. But one more gaming watch...
Unfortunately Casio QA is garbage today. And don’t expect competency from their customer service
Still consistently better quality than 99% of the clones out there.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
It's a pretty ordinary claim, to be fair.
It's the first time I've heard of it, and I consider myself pretty plugged in when it comes to watch news.
I don't know about their customer service but I have bought a few of their watches recently and they seem as good as ever. (Which is the reason I don’t know about their customer service, of course)
not true