The original smartwatches: Casio’s history of wild wrist designs
Sam Byford writing for The Verge:
Sam Byford writing for The Verge:
I was struck by how many smartwatch features considered groundbreaking today were around in some form years or decades ago.
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- Casio’s JC-11 could monitor calories, steps, and distance back in 1991
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- 1993’s CPW-100 used a compass to help Muslim wearers face Mecca for daily prayers.
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- These Casio models used infrared to control TVs and VCRs back in 1993.
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- These two watches from 1994 and 1995 could play simple multiplayer games over an infrared connection.
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- The PRT-1GP came out in 1999, and was the first watch to come with its own GPS functionality.
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- The “thermo-scanner” TSX-1300, from 1994, was able to calculate the surface temperature of an object by detecting its infrared radiation.
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- This UV-700 from 1994 has a UV sensor and skin type meter designed to help you be safe in the sun.
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- This DBC-V50 from 1999 has a built-in voice recorder.
“It was certainly intriguing not only to see an unparalleled array of gadgetry on display, but to hear the corporation responsible say it didn’t have much interest in adding to the list.”
…more on The Verge.
See also: Casio F-91W: terrorist watch
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