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Casio Reveals Its G-SHOCK SmartWatch – With Song Recognition On Your Wrist



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Aug 03 2014
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Don’t reinvent the wheel – that’s what Casio believes while others such as Apple, Samsung, LG, Xiaomi and others are struggling the opposite. While these players thought they should reinvent watches to be smart, veteran watch maker Casio is taking it cool and didn’t bother to join the crazy crowd. Leveraging on its popular G-SHOCK lines of watch, Casio introduces its own smartwatch GBA-400.

CASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400

The existing Casio G-SHOCK watches are already built for ruggedness with features such as impact resistance and water resistant up to 20 ATM (200-metre). This means they are suitable for professional marine activity, serious surface water sports, skin diving and even for combat. The first G-SHOCK hit the streets of Japan in 1983 and since then has establish itself as the toughest watch of all time.

 

Thanks to creator Mr. Kikuo Ibe’s dream of “creating a watch that never breaks”, Casio claims each watch encompasses the 7 elements; electric shock resistance, gravity resistance, low temperature resistance, vibration resistance, water resistance, shock resistance and toughness. Hence, it’s not hard to imagine how G-SHOCK could survives all these years. 

CASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400 - twist it to scan through songsCASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400 - Bluetooth Smart connectivity

By 1998, a whopping 19 million G-SHOCKs had been sold worldwide. And just like Swatch watches, G-Shocks have become collectors items especially the “Frogman” model. In fact, the United States DELTA force wore G-Shock watches and certain models are flight-qualified for NASA space travel. As part of the triple 10-concept, Casio G-Shocks have a 10-year battery life.

CASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400 - Smartphone G'Mix application

Casio easily modifies its proven G-SHOCK with a huge rotary dial at the side, which acts as the user’s gateway to the smartphone. This allows control of music playback using twists and turns. You twist it to scan through songs on your device. Pressing a button on the watch will then play the one you choose. The watch communicates with the smartphone via the G-SHOCK+ and G’MIX apps.

CASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400 - Smartphone Sound Hound MenuCASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400 - Smartphone Sound Hound Menu Equalizer

In turn, the smartphone displays critical information on the watch’s high-contrast LCD screen. The communication between the G-Shock GBA-400 is via improved Bluetooth Smart wireless connectivity of up to 30-meters away. In order to listen to music being playing around you, it uses SoundHound to identify the title of the song and then display that piece of information on teh watch’s screen. Yeap, it is similar to Shazam.

 

Casio claims that the battery juice is sufficient to last approximately two years, even with two hours a day of mobile link use. The G’Mix application is a free download and the watch requires it to perform many of its key Bluetooth functions. It works with iPhones running iOS 7 or greater (yeah, that includes the coming iOS 8), Samsung Galaxy handsets running Android 4.3 or above, and a couple of Japanese-specific devices.

CASIO G-SHOCK G’MIX GBA-400 - Four Colours

Available in blue (GBA-400-2A), red (GBA-400-4A), black with a silver face (GBA-400-1A) and black with a gold face (GBA-400-1A9), the Casio G-SHOCK GBA-400 will be available from September 19th, 2014 (in Japan) and will be drill about ¥23,000 (US$224, £133, RM720) in your pocket. International availability and exact pricing are however, not known yet at this moment.

 

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