The iWatch dream took a bit of a hiding a few weeks back with Apple’s decision to enlarge the iPod nano which previously, was looking like it could – with some work – be morphing into a future iOS-based watch device. As we wait in hope, Casio has delivered the next best thing with its latest G-Shock – a watch that hooks up with your iPhone and pushes notifications right through to your wrist.
That’s right, the G-Shock GB6900AA wristwatch syncs with your iPhone via Bluetooth, bringing notifications conveniently to your wrist and allowing you to look and feel like a Power Ranger leave your device in your pocket for the most part. Far from a gimmick, I think this is what they call natural progression, and with more general consumer products companies looking to embrace the smartphone and tablet boom, this kind of implementation could solve the issue of our incessant need to check our iPhones every ten seconds.
The GB6900AA will let you know of incoming calls, SMS messages, and of course, emails, and if your handset is out of range, it will presume you’ve perhaps misplaced it and push through an alert so you can retrieve it. If you’ve actually lost your device, the G-Shock includes a novel Find Me feature, which forces your iPhone to kick up a fuss by means of vibration and alarms.
I’m no Gaultier, but from what I gather, the G-Shock is a pretty fashionable accessory, so will fit nicely alongside its California-designed companion. It offers vibrating alerts, too, and although it doesn’t allow you to respond to any of these notifications, that’s something we can certainly hope for in future.
It incorporates Bluetooth Low Energy technology, meaning its extra-curricular activity won’t put any noticeable drain on your battery compared with any other watch, with Casio touting around two years usage (based on 12 hours of daily Bluetooth notifications).
As with many G-Shock series, the watch comes in a bunch of colors including black, gray blue, brown, and white. At $180, it’s a very good investment for any techie looking for a new wristwatch.
We’ll be holding off until Casio teams up with Apple to provide Siri support, but the move once more demonstrates just how much further we can integrate our mobile devices into other products.
(source Casio)
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