CASIO G-SHOCK GB-6900A + ANDROID (I) (English version)

The reason why I did this article is to show how does the CASIO G-SHOCK watch GB-6900A (featuring Low Energy Bluetooth 4.0) and an Android phone (Japanese NEC Medias N-05D).

 

This is the watch at rest (no Bluetooth icon activated):

 

 

 

In order to have the CASIO G-SHOCK GB-6900A visible as a Bluetooth device, we have to press the top right button and the Bluetooth icon will flash:

 

 

 

From the phone we have to go to SETTINGS (options), enable Bluetooth,

 

 

 

and search for visible devices:

 

 

 

When both devices find each other, the Casio GB-6900A will display a password that we have to introduce into the phone:

 

 

 

Once the password is entered, the phone will ask if we want to receive email notifications on the clock (*)

 

 

 

When we finish pairing the devices, the watch will have the Bluetooth icon on and the mobile will show the CASIO GB-6900A device as connected.

 

 

 

From that moment, if we receive a call, an SMS or an email, the phone will vibrate and/or beep (configurable for each kind of alert). Also, if we separate the watch from the phone, the Casio will warn us shaking our wrist (it’s very useful when you go away and you forget your mobile)

 

 

 

After receiving a call / SMS / e-mail, the watch will show a short indication on the screen.

 

 

 

If you receive an SMS the watch animations are different:

 

 

 

To disable the Bluetooth on the watch, we just have keep pressed the top right button until it says Bluetooth OFF.

 

 

 

CONCLUSIONS:

• I found the CASIO G-SHOCK GB-6990A watch very useful. Specially for people who (like me) uses the mobile very often and some times we miss calls because we don’t hear the call, or we move a lot from our workplace and forget the mobile somewhere else.
• (*) This first generation of CASIO G -SHOCK Bluetooth is much more oriented to iPhone than Android phones (actually they only work on a couple of Android handsets from the NEC brand specifically designed for them). Although the GB-6900A supports Bluetooth 4.0 ( BLE or Bluetooth Low Energy ) we need a that supports BT 4.0 and some specific profiles that the MANUFACTURER has to implement in their ROMs. For example I have a Samsung Galaxy Note II , which supports BT 4.0 but all I can do is to pair both devices, I could not make use of the watch (nor can Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4 owners). I am writing a more technical paper on this issue
• I think this is the right step of smartwatches, more reasonable than other models like the Samsung Galaxy Gear. In my case I do not need a watch to let me see the weather (I have it in my phone) or take pictures (I can do it with my phone) or make phone calls (I do it with my phone!). But if the watch can shake my wrist when I’m receiving a phone call, yes that´s practical.

PROS :

• (CASIO says ) battery lasts two years.
• Works great with iOS (iPhone )

CONS:

• The battery is not rechargeable
• Only works with a couple of Android handsets from the Japanese brand NEC. The next generation of Casio G-SHOCK Bluetooth comes ready to work with most Android devices (such as the Samsung Galaxy S4).