Casio GR8900a-1 G-Shock Review

This G-Shock GR8900a-1 watch is a robust and heavy looking watch, but in actual fact it is quite light in weight. But it is still extremely sturdy and if you want this as a sports

 watch them it is certainly up to the task. It looks great both on and off the wrist, and it is surprisingly comfortable too.

G-Shock watches are known for their functionality, and the GR8900a-1 is certainly no exception to that. It has some great features and they are all easy to use and access. This model has a new design, and gives you a multi dimensional look which adds to the character of the watch.

Of course, as with all G-Shock watches, the GR8900a-1 is shock resistant. So if you do want it for wearing while you go about your sports or activities then you can wear this in confidence that it will stand up to anything you put it through.

The GR8900a-1 also has a very bright LED light, that can actually be used for reading a book with. Also handy if you are camping out at night, or on a night walk and you need to read a map as it will provide ample light for you to be able to read from.

A closer look at the GR8900a-1 G-Shock

Solar powered

You may wonder how this watch keeps the bright LED light and the power hungry functionalities of the GR8900a-1 all juiced up. Well, it runs off solar power, and is extremely effective in harnessing the power of the sun and turning it into long lasting power to run the watch.

Even when being used to its full extent, with the light and functions all being used at time, you will still get a lot of life out of this. And it will continue to stay charged as long as you are outside in the light. This is a great way to keep this watch running to its optimal levels at all times.

The GR8900a-1 also uses a power save method. When the watch is left in the dark it will go blank so that no unnecessary power is wasted. If the power does get low on the watch, then there is a power indicator that will let you know that it needs charging so you can get it into the light.

World time

If you travel a lot, you will not have to worry about what the time is in other countries. The GR8900a-1 has 31 built in time zones, covering 48 worldwide cities. You can also turn your daylight saving on or off, depending on where you are. So when you land in a different country you just need to change it to the right time zone and it will automatically set the watch to the right time for you.

Stopwatch

The stopwatch on the GR8900a-1 uses 1/100 seconds so you get the most accurate times for your training or events you are at. You also have different measuring modes which include split times, elapsed times and then 1st and 2nd place times. These different modes will allow you to use the stopwatch more effectively in different situations.

Additional information

If you like to have an alarm on your watch, you will be pleased to hear that the GR8900a-1 has 5 different daily alarms that can be used. Set these up with different tones so you can associate a certain tone with a particular event or meeting you have.

There is a countdown timer on the watch too. You can set this to countdown from up to 24 hours. It will count down in 1 second intervals. The GR8900a-1 also has an hourly signal if you like to use one of these. If not, you can simply turn this off.

Final thoughts on the G-Shock GR8900a-1

This watch looks great, with the multi level face and the robust build of the watch. As usual with G-Shock watches, you get a lot of functionality, and this model has a really powerful LED light that can be used for reading. Overall the G-Shock GR8900a-1 is a great quality watch and also really good value for money at the price it is being sold for.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Hourly Time Signal
• Auto-Calendar
• Module 3285
• Approx. Battery Life Approx. 3 Years
• Battery CR2016
• Tones Button operation tone on/off
• Backlight Auto LED Backlight (Super Illuminator) with Afterglow
• Water Resistant Up to 200M Water Resistant
• Accuracy +/- 15 seconds per month
• Alarm 5 Independent Daily Alarms (One-time or Daily)
• World Time
• Flash Alert
• Stopwatch 1/100 Second Stopwatch
• Shock Resistant

Citizen CA0030-52E Eco Drive

Do you know any of the automatic, kinetic, solar powered, and eco-drive technology on watches? I know some watches used these kinds of technology. Some model have their own technology. Rolex uses an Automatic, Seiko uses Kinetic technology, Casio Protrek edition uses tough solar, and Eco-Drive technology is used by Citizen. But there are other model that use the same technology like automatic be used in Seiko 5 too.

In my recent article, I would like to write about an Eco-Drive Technology that is used by Citizen. Eco-Drive is the series name of a line of mainly light powered watches manufactured by the Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. The first Eco-Drive watches were sold in 1995. In other technology, Tough Solar is the name given by Casio to the solar powered battery charging system used in its G-Shock, ProTrek, Pathfinder and other lines of watches. A self-contained, environmentally-friendly solar cell provides a supply of energy to the watch. Spare solar energy is saved in a battery. Normally, the solar cell and rechargeable battery should be able to last as long as the watch.

Light as power source

Most Eco-Drive type watches are equipped with a special titanium lithium ion secondary battery that is charged by an amorphous silicon solar cell located behind the dial.^[2] The titanium lithium-ion composition precludes it from being affected from the regular charge/discharge cycle of other types of rechargeable batteries. Light passes through the covering crystal and dial before it reaches the solar cell.^[3]

Depending on the electronic movement model, a fully charged secondary power cell could run with no further charging anywhere from 30 days to 3,175 days (8.7 years), though most Eco-Drive men’s watch models offer a six-month power reserve.^[4] If kept in the dark for too long, some movement models engage a hibernate mode, where the hands of the watch stop running but the internal quartz movement still keeps track of time. If an ample supply of light is given, the hands move to the proper positions and resume regular timekeeping.