VEA Sportive Training Watch

With more and more portable devices now available for people to use, it may become quite inconvenient to bring them all with you at any one time. It might even become quite uncomfortable having all these devices in your person when you are going around, no matter how essential they may be for your daily life. For example, how can a jogger bring a mobile phone, mp3 player and even a digital camera without feeling uncomfortable jogging having to bring all these? A simple solution would be getting a single device integrating all these features and more, much like the upcoming VEA Sportive Training Watch.

The VEA Sportive is more than just an ordinary training watch. Aside from being a training watch that helps you keep track of data like distance traveled, speed, heart rate, and calories burned, it also has other interesting features. This watch also comes with basic mobile phone functionality with Bluetooth connectivity to help you make and receive calls. And that's not all.

The VEA Sportive also has a digital camera and an mp3 player built in. it also comes with 8GB of storage and an SOS button that sends location and other info in cases of emergency. Oh yes, have we mentioned that it can also tell the time on its 1.5 inch touchscreen display? The VEA Sportive is expected to be available in Europe by the July 14th. It may not be a watch for the penny pinchers since it is expected to cost around 399 Euros or around US$578.
source: Gadget.com

Sprout Eco-Friendly Watches

Wrist watches are fairly common accessories that most people usually have. While they may have quite a lot of other features, being eco-friendly is usually not one of them. But that is going to change with this new line of eco-friendly watches from Sprout.

The Sprout Eco-Friendly Watches are considered as 80 to 86 percent biodegradable watches. This means that users need not feel guilty throwing them away when they get broken since the materials used in them break down and eventually turn to dust over time. Materials used in making Sprout watches include corn resin which has the same shelf life as plastics, organic cotton for straps, bamboo for its clock face, and mineral crystal for its protective lens. It also runs using a mercury free battery. The Sprout Watch Collection is available at Amazon with prices ranging from US$30 for the entry-level models and up to US$75 for high-end versions.
source: Gadget.com

You aren't a real geek unless you solder your own watch

The Solder : Time from Spikenzielabs is an easy to solder wristwatch kit that has a laser cut acrylic casing that allows you to see the internal PCB, electronic components and battery (CR2032). There's a velcro wrist band included, but you can also wear it as a badge with optional badge clip. This looks like a fun project for both young and old that can elevate your geek cred by several levels. The kit can be purchased for $29.95 or if you're too lazy to build one, you can get an assembled watch for $39.95
source: The Gadgeteer

Casio squeezed Bluetooth 4.0 into their latest G-Shock

The latest G-Shock watch from Casio boasts the usual array of shock and water-resistant claims, and now it can add FCC acceptance to the list, having passed through that government agency's approval process. So, why did this wristwatch hit the FCC in the first place? Well, the rugged little timekeeper is packing Bluetooth 4.0 in its bag of tricks, which lets the wearable gadget communicate with your smartphone. No word on a release date, but Casio did mention a fairly broad “sometime in 2011″ window when it was first announced back in March. Here's hoping that its FCC debut will speed the shock-filled process along.
source: 2DayBlog.com

CyberTrek Cool Watch

Gadgets and Gears has another of those artistic time pieces for our consideration. The CyberTrek Cool Watch is made of a dark stainless steel and has an adjustable band. A series of 12 blue LEDs mark the hours, 12 red LEDs mark five-minute intervals, and four lights in the center indicate 1 minute. Press a button and the LEDs light up and display the time. The CyberTrek Cool Watch is now $69.95.
source: The Gadgeteer

Vanity Mirror Watch from Gadgets and Gear

If you like to always have a mirror at hand, perhaps one on your wrist will suffice. The Vanity Mirror Watch from Gadgets and Gear looks like a polished mirror until you need to know the time. Press a button on the watch to light up red LEDs that display the time. The Vanity Mirror Watch is normally $79.95, but it is now available for $59.95.
source: The Gadgeteer

Tokyoflash resurrects readable Rogue watch with combo LCD/LED display

Tokyoflash is famous for selling geek-friendly and borderline indecipherable timepieces. However, and surprisingly, not every watch the company hawks is unreadable. One of its more easily interpreted wrist clocks, the Rogue, has been resurrected with an always-on LCD display (a rarity from the shop) and a brightly colored LED backlight in your choice of red, green, blue, or orange. Like the RPM, the Rogue SR2 tells time with a series of unnumbered, inner and outer rings that represent hours and minutes — all you need to do is spot the gaps. Sure, it requires you fire a few more synapses than that cheap digital Casio you've been wearing, but think of it as mental exercise — it's like wearing Brain Age on your wrist. You can order one now for $179 at the source. If you can't imagine how it works, then hop pass the jump for the demo video.
source: 2DayBlog.com

ECWOX release a new series of 'Elegant' Spy Watch in Korea

ECWOX, a Korean company who's in the business of Gadgets and other electronics goodies announced that it has now a new line-up of "Elegant" of Spy watches made to be as discrete as possible and still be capable to shoot 720p video at will. Waterproof and available for both men and women these watches are expected on the Korean market shortly and later worldwide via some of ECWOX's distributor.
source: Akihabara News

ECWOX Elegant Spy Watch Series

It seems that discreet video recording seems to have become more and more popular. Even gadgets like watches have being affixed with built-in cameras in order to have this video recording function. And even more surprisingly, there are watches like the new ECWOX Elegant Spy Watch Series that give the watches that touch of elegance that even James Bond would approve.

ECWOX, a Korean company, has come up with the Elegant Series of attractive looking spy watches that feature discreet video recording function in 720p. These watches are designed to be waterproof as well. Not only that, these spy watches are available for both in men and women styles. The ECWOX Elegant Spy Watch Series is expected to be available in the Korean market any time now. It might also be made available in other countries later on. As to how these spy watches may be priced, that seems to be confidential for now.
source: Gadget.com

Review of the Benarus Remora

In the ever expanding world of independent watch makers, it can be hard to know if you are buying a fad that will flash in the pan and one day leave you with an unreliable and unserviceable watch. There are so many new companies sprouting up and making sports watches for an eager online market that keeping them all straight can be tough. Recently, we had the opportunity to spend some time with the new Benarus Remora. You might remember Benarus from our review of the Moray and the Worldiver GMT Auto, two excellent dive watches that represent only part of the model line up from Benarus, a company that is always making new limited edition watches (Barracuda, Moray, Moray II, Worldiver GMT, Sea Devil, 1km, Megalodon, Megalodon 2, Bronze Moray). Due to their popularity all of these models have sold out, except for the new Remora. The Remora takes the vintage style tool-dive archetype and adds some definitive maturity.

44 x 13 mm
42mm Ceramic bezel
Miyota 9015 Automatic Movement
Stainless Steel Case
22mm lugs
Mesh bracelet and rubber strap
Sapphire Crystal
Limited production of 150 units
Variety of dial styles/colors
Cost: $610-650

The shape and profile of the Remora case is really special and rather unique. I have reviewed other watches that have hooded lugs but the Remora is the perfect shape. Please see the photos to see the concave edging on the bottom side of the case, and notice the beautiful curvature on the sides of the case. The crown fits perfectly into its guards and the edge of the crown is very easily gripped and feels sure footed in its connection to the Remora's movement. The movement in the Remora is a Miyota 9015, a top shelf asian automatic movement from Miyota which is a subsidiary of Citizen watches. Miyota is known for their 8215 movement, a well priced, simple automatic movement that never really wowed collectors or kept up with the reputation of the ETA 2824 it was designed to compete with. The 9015 was introduced in 2009 and features 24 jewels, hacking, handwinding, and a 28,800 VPH heartbeat. This movement is meant to be levelled directly at ETA with the 2824-2 and the 2892-A2. Those are high expectations, the 2824 is a basic enough movement but is also the work horse for a great many Swiss automatics. Even more difficult, the 2892 in all its variations is considered to be ETA's best movement and is the building block of many high end manufactures calibers. So how does the 9015 actually work out? The crown action is easy and sure, simple to set the date and time, winding is smooth and without much noise. Furthermore, the accuacy is excellent in this example. I have been wearing the the Remora on and off for about a month and have found this watch to run reliably between 0 and +4 seconds a day. This is absolutely excellent and makes this one of the most accurate independent divers I have reviewed to date.

So with a beautiful case, strong and accurate movement, and excellent mounting options show the Remora is a very respectable watch from a good brand, but it has another trick up its sleeve. The Remora features a ceramic bezel that is made from a much harder material than the normal stainless steel or aluminum. Ceramic bezels are generally seen on models from Rolex, Omega, or Hublot. Its fantastic to see innovation like this trickle down to watches that the average buyer can afford. Just the replacement ceramic bezel on a Rolex would cost more than an entire Remora so this isnt a small feature that was just tacked onto the Remora because everyone is doing it. Benarus has included the ceramic bezel because they predict people will wear these watches and occasionally hit them on door jams, ledges, or worse, the ground. Ceramic should help keep the Remora looking fresher longer, its not indestructible, but its better than aluminum or stainless steel. The dial is a deep black that is medium gloss. This is the numeral style dial with 12, 3, 6, and 9 painted on while other hours get large dots of luminous paint. The luminosity of the paint is excellent, very bright and long lasting and is matched with a lumed pip on the bezel at 12 o'clock. The dial is sparse and fitting for a diver like the Remora.

The curved shape of the case and the excellent build quality and materials make this a fitting companion for your wrist. It seems as though benarus is striving to make the best watch possible for a reasonable price and while the Remora is not an example of haute-horlogerie, it is a very nice watch with a quality movement, good build quality and a ceramic bezel. Combine the features with a slick vintage diver look and 500m water resistance its definitely hard to find a fault in the new Remora except that Benarus has limited production to only 150 units. Luckily, if you miss this one, you can always wait and see what surprises Benarus has in store with future models.

By James Stacey
source: Watch Report

Haptika Braille Watch on Kickstarter

Today we bring you an interesting new watch project seeking funding via Kickstarter.com. The concept is called “Haptika” and its a modern take on the Braille watch, no port-hole crystals or noisy talking watches required. Kickstarter.com is a site where ideas can be funded by audiences of the site, its sort of crowd sourced venture capital. In exchange or a donation of $5 or more, you can be part of the project to bring the Haptika watch into reality. The Haptika is a modern looking watch with a horizontal path for swiping ones finger across a membrane that imprints the current time in a four cell structure. A blind user would read 0-8-3-5 for 8:35am. It seems like a great idea and a pledge of $250 or more will get you your very own Haptika watch, a t-shirt and a braille wrist band. They are looking to raise $150,000 total and have 9 days left to hit their goal and with over 33o total current backers the project seems to be gaining steam and its understandable given the cause that it supports. Follow this link to check out video explaining the idea and pledge if this is a project that deserves a place on someones wrist.
source: Watch Report

The New Rolex Explorer II

Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the 1655 Explorer II, Rolex has announced the new model which features a series of changes over the outgoing Explorer II. The new series (ref: 216570) is available with a black or white dial, features an all orange GMT hand, and houses the new 3187 Rolex calibre in a larger 42mm case (last gen was 39mm). Rolex has made this new chronometer movement entirely in house and and it features some of their cutting edge technology including Paraflex shock absorbers and a non-magnetic Parachrom hairspring for excellent timekeeping and durability.

This movement allows the GMT hand to be independently set apart from standard timekeeping and is read using the 24hr fixed bezel. The all orange GMT hand is noteworthy as it follows the style of the original Explorer II from 1971. The new 42mm case is made from 904L stainless steel which is standard on Rolex sport models and is matched with a sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating and a cyclops for date magnification.

Water resistance is unchanged at 100m but Rolex has updated this new model with its signature chapter ring that repeats “rolex” around the circumference of the dial, this is really the only change we aren’t wild about as it is quite flashy for what once was a tool watch. The outgoing generation was due for an update and Rolex had teased the possibility of an all orange GMT hand on a future explorer at Basel 2010. We haven’t seen a price listed yet but it is expected to be a little higher than the $6325 USD that the outgoing model was listed at.
source: Watch Report

Tissot Announces Seastar 1000 Chronograph

In anticipation for Basel 2011, Tissot recently released photos and details of their new addition to the Seastar line. Dubbed the Seastar 1000 Chronograph this new model’s case stretches an almost insane 48mm wide and houses the entry level ETA C01.211. The C01.211 is generally seen in Swatch chronographs and is a cheaper option than the venerable ETA 7750. The Seastar 1000 chronograph will be available with an optional PVD finish to match either blue/black or orange/black color schemes. Not to be confused with a fashion accessory, this new Tissot will boast 300m water resistance, a helium escape valve and a sapphire crystal. While the combination of some smart and minimalist styling with respectable stats makes this Tissot seem appealing, we cant help but wonder how the 48mm case and bargain movement will effect long term popularity.
source: Watch Report

Ingersoll Oklahoma IN2802BK Review

The Ingersoll watch brand has its roots in classic Americana; lending an antique flair to a modern, globally sourced timepiece. Recently, we took a look at the Buffalo III and came away impressed with the aesthetic and price point. Today we will look at one of its brothers, the Oklahoma, a thoroughly classic looking timepiece even when compared to the rest of the Ingersoll brand.

Ingersoll IN2802BK

45 x 14.5 mm
Stainless steel case
Mineral glass crystal with glass caseback
Leather Strap (22mm lugs)
Day, date, year, 24hr.
Automatic movement (30 hr power reserve)
30m WR
3 year warranty

The Oklahoma features a movement that tracks time, day, date, month and 24hr time. The glass case back allows you to see the inner workings of the Asian sourced movement. The top pusher advanced the month register at one o'clock while the lower pusher advances the year register (will only track the year to 2021). At three o'clock there are separate apertures for the day and date, both of which are well executed with black text on a white background. The sides of the case are brushed while the back is polished. The hands and markers are painted in orange luminous paint, a very cool and modern touch that almost looks like patina if it weren't for the clean and un-aged dial and glow of the paint. The dial is rather busy and much of the information it brings you is generally unnecessary – it definitely would have been nice to see a chronograph version given the tachymeter scale along the outside of the dial.

That said, I love the way it looks, almost steam-punk in some ways. The small markings around the large dial registers is an especially nice touch and helps in the legibility of the dial. The large orange hands are incredibly easy to read and the pin tip on the end of the second hand reaches to the very outside of the dial and minute markers, an excellent and increasingly rare touch. As an added flair, you get an oversized onion crown that is very simple to operate and looks funky between the stop watch style pushers. Both the crown and the pushers are finished to match the details in the bezel. While this a no showy high end swiss watch nor a tough dive watch, I still loved wearing it, it is in many ways different from anything else we have reviewed at Watch Report.

If you have a boney wrist the large crown may dig in from time to time and I did find myself wearing it a little higher on my wrist than normal. It would have been nice to get a sapphire crystal upfront and a mineral in the display back, currently the display back is standard glass and may not hold up over the years. Outside of the glass back there is little to complain about with the Oklahoma even as an everyday watch its very good for the price. Ingersoll lists the MSRP of the Oklahoma at $270 which is a fighting price given its competition and the multitude of quartz options at this price point. If you're looking for a little old world charm to contrast your sportier watches, or simply want to wear something interesting and uncommon, the Ingersoll Oklahoma should be up to the task without breaking the bank.

By James Stacey
source: Watch Report

Benarus Announces New Moray Ti47

Benarus Watches announced earlier today that they are taking reservations for the newest iteration in the Moray series. The new model, dubbed the Ti47, is available in a three hand design and as an automatic chronograph. As the name suggests the cases are made of titanium and measure a mammoth 47mm across. The three hand model is slated to cost $950 and feature 2,000m water resistance, measure 18mm tall, and feature and ETA 2824-2 movment. The chronograph model will cost $2,300 and boast 500m water resistance, a 16.6mm height and be powered by an ETA 2894 movement (chronograph version of the ETA 2892). As these are early renderings details may change but we think they look great and almost any dive watch can be improved by incorporating titanium. You can make a reservation and get more details on Benarus’ website.
source: Watch Report

Garmin unveils new GPS watch with touchscreen

The Garmin Forerunner GPS watch is a very much welcome product for hikers, but now they're adding some awesome 2010 technology into their brand new Forerunner 610. The new watch gets some diet and is now slimmer, and gets touchscreen that you can tap to flip menus instead of feeling around for a host of bantam buttons.

For your $350, it'll display distance, time elapsed, and pace all on one tiny screen, though you can add other metrics, such as heart rate. The 610 is also the first in the line with a run / walk alert, which keeps Auto Lap and other features active even when it detects you're walking.

Also, you can upload your runs to the web in unbearable detail, but this watch jumps on the social bandwagon with “Virtual Racer,” a Nike Running-esque community where you can compare your stats with strangers'.

As usual, Garmin guarantees that it'll work well through sweat, rain, and touchscreen-friendly gloves. It's available now on Garmin's site if you really want some touchscreen on the run.
source: 2DayBlog.com

Casio unveils its new GF100 Watches

Casio's flagship timepiece collection proudly announces the newest edition to the G-Shock family, the GDF100.

A brand new case design for G-Shock, the GDF100 has a front-facing pressure and temperature sensor built into the case/bezel at the 9 o'clock position. The pressure sensor measures barometric pressure as well as converts barometric pressure readings into relative altitude readings based on International Standard Atmosphere conversion values stored in the watch's memory.


For greater visibility and performance during the critical stages of climbing or descent, both temperature and altitude can be viewed on the watch display simultaneously.

Additional GDF100B features includes G-Shock's legendary shock resistant structure, 200M Water Resistant, Super Illuminator LED Backlight, World Time (31TZ/48 City), 5 Independent Daily Alarms, Hourly Time Signal, 1x100th Sec. Stopwatch, Countdown Timer, 12x24 Hr. Formats and Mute Function.
source: Akihabara News

Modern Times: “Revolutio” Watch Design

Man's obsession with keeping track of time has led him to engineer numerous time-telling devices throughout history. From ancient sundials to modern wristband watches, we've come a long way in this pursuit. It looks like the path from now on will not be signed so much by the appearance of new instruments but rather by the innovation in design, a perfect example of which is Mickael Chrost's concept for the “Revolutio” watch.

In keeping with the minimalist trends that pervade contemporary art in all its forms, Mickael presents us with a watch immediately remarkable for its clean, stripped-down appearance. The “Revolutio” consists of three concentric metallic rings placed on a rubber wristband. The outer ring is branded with four dashes of light that stand for what would be the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 on a regular watch, while the inner circles show miniature triangles that represent the minute and hour hands, respectively. In essence, it's an analog watch with a fresh twist and it may appeal to lovers of the traditional and the cutting-edge alike.

The outer ring stays put, the other two rotate in order to indicate time. It's as easy as that, there's no need of a face to get the job done. In the past, men used to tell time by gazing up at the celestial bodies. The idea of rings that orbit planet-like around each other to fulfill a similar purpose is certainly stimulating.

Faceless watches with holes at the center have been done before, take for instance Phillipe Starck's Fossil O-Ring Digi. Still, Mickael has polished the notion enough to make it his own and the “Revolutio” stands out for its sheer cool factor.

A standard watch engine makes the rings turn, though one wonders where it might be placed. Besides, the issue of bothersome buckles is solved through the incorporation of a slick magnetic clasp as a means of attaching it to your wrist.

Simple color variations keep things crisp and make the watch as much a fashion accessory as it is a practical object of daily use.

Some concepts ought to remain as such; the “Revolutio” is definitely not one of them. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled just in case this baby goes into production.
source: Walyou