Click on the images to enlarge

Smart watches are in the news today, as Apple readies its own version and other companies struggle to make their smart watches as full featured as possible. Casio, with the new EDIFICE EQB-500, is going the other way, allowing an interface via Bluetooth with your smartphone, making setting and usage much, much easier.

The new EDIFICE EQB-500 has been specifically designed to make crossing time zones easier than ever before. World time watches are certainly very useful, but setting them accurately has always been a problem – cumbersome, difficult and often confusing. What world travelers need is a watch that syncs with the local time immediately, at the push of a button.
Well, the new Edifice timepiece and its Bluetooth interface with smartphones, has fulfilled this need. Managing world time is now as easy as pushing a Bluetooth button on the watch. The system covers 300 cities worldwide, offering an access to the local time even without a specific code.

Using the “Casio Watch+” App on the most popular smartphones, changing time settings for home or for the second time zone is quick and painless, as is setting alarms and saving stopwatch data. Wearers can also use the watch controls to check for new emails in whatever email account is registered in the application. And, the new Edifice has a “phone finder” feature, which helps to locate the smart phone when mislaid. And, to top it off, the EDIFICE EQB-500 is a real timepiece, not a blocky, black plastic thing that only is recognizable as a watch because it is strapped to the wrist.

CONNECTING
Casio is no stranger to using Bluetooth, having integrated the interface in the G-Shock line in 2012, and it has also been used in the CASIO sports watch line of fitness watches. The EDIFICE EQB-500 has a Bluetooth button and with one push, the watch is connected with the smartphone and the time can be set for about 300 cities around the world. In addition, one push of a button switches the two displays, making the home time the larger or smaller display at will. Of course, the watch will automatically update twice a year when the time switches to or from daylight savings time.
System compatible with: iPhone 4s to latest – Samsung Galaxy S4/S5/Note3

FULLY FUNCTIONAL
The EDIFICE EQB-500 is also a full featured chronograph, one of watchmaking’s most useful complications. Using this new technology, the chronograph can be used to time people or objects over a fixed distance – all users have to do is enter the unit of distance on the smartphone (either miles or kilometers). In addition, the EQB 500 can log up to 100 stopwatch records.

The EDIFICE EQB-500 from Casio is a quantum leap forward for world time watches, making setting and managing time zones effortless.

SPEED AND INTELLIGENCE
A fusion of dynamic styling with a sophisticated watch face. Advanced technology to control a vast array of functions coupled with multiple hands for creativity of expression.
EDIFICE - Multifunctional chronographs evolving through the power of electronics. That evolution has now leaped ahead to a whole new level. For the first time, Casio analog watches now support Bluetooth® SMART, providing extensive linked functionality with smartphones. You can access the correct time in major cities around the world with the single push of a button. The correct time precision of this watch, along with advanced technologies, has made this possible.
Using instructions from the smartphone, the correct time in any of over 300 cities worldwide can be displayed.
The superb quality and boldness of the all-metal design, and the essential quality of the watch, all embody advanced technology that ensures a high level of precision. Together, these innovations take multifunctional chronographs into a whole new realm. EDIFICE EQB-500

GLOBAL TIME SYNC.
Uses Bluetooth® communication to synchronize with the time information in your smartphone. Instantly accesses the time worldwide to display the correct time anywhere, anytime.

300 World time cities and Alarm setting function

AUTOMATIC TIME ADJUSTMENT
Access your smartphone with a single push of a button.
Now you can receive the correct time anywhere and anytime. A single button push accesses your smartphone. Using the time information in the smartphone, the watch automatically adjusts the time. It also supports automatic connection to your smartphone (up to once a day). No matter where you are in the world, it quickly receives the correct time for your location.

DUAL DIAL WORLD TIME FOR 300 CITIES
Shows the time for two cities simultaneously.
The dual time feature simultaneously displays the time for any two of 300 cities all around the world. You can check the Home Time (local time) and World Time using the hour and minute hands and the inset dial. And switching between the two time displays is simple, making for smooth and easy changes to time settings when you head overseas or return home.

SIMPLE SETTING
Quick access to the time in major cities around the world.
Simply select one of the 300 World Time cities from the world map in the smartphone app and the time for that city is displayed. You can also set functions such as alarms from your smartphone.Content is sent instantly to the watch, making it easy to configure the settings.

Source: Europa Star October - November 2014 Magazine Issue