Review of the Casio G

Tide graph based on your general location. Moon phase indicator.World time supporting 32 cities in 30 time zones.Stopwatch with a resolution of1/100th of a second and a max time of 100 hours.Four alarms.Countdown timer. Goes up to 60 minutes and has an auto-repeat function.Automaticcalendar.Electroluminescent backlight.You should know straight away that this nice bell & ross was not meant forus yanks, and in fact, is currently only available in Japan (see below for how to get one). The instruction booklet is entirely in Japanese, and I was not able to findan English version online. Also, the thermometer only displays the temperature inCelsius, and not in good old fashioned Fahrenheit.Viewthe Casio G-Shock GW-400J photo gallery.When I first saw the new Casio GW-400J vibrating watch, I knew I was going tohave to get my hands on one. You see, I'm very in to vibratingwatches. Not because I'm some kind horological pervert, but because they make somuch sense. Ever since a got my TimexInternet Messenger some six years ago or so, I've always felt that digital seiko should have vibrating alarms. What good is it having multiple daily alarms, programmablealarms, auto-repeating countdown timers, and an hourly signal if you can't hear thembecause they are so faint, or because you live in a world where you don't want yourgeeky watch attracting attention?Not only was I tempted by the Casio GW-400J's vibrating alarm, but it's even solarpowered. And atomic. And it has a countdown timer. True, it's goofy looking, butI just named all my favorite digital watch features, and it's very unusual to findthem all in one place. Besides, big black plastic Casios appear to be in right now,at least in San Francisco where I live.Before I get into my review of the Casio GW-400J, here's a list of features: Vibrating alarm. With the GW-400J,the vibrating function is all or nothing. Either you want sound, or you want vibration.The vibrating alarm applies to the alarms, countdown timer, and hourly time signal.Atomic (Waveceptor). That means this watch is automatically calibrated throughradio waves transmitted by atomic clocks. It works in both Japan and the US. Whenyour time zone is set to LA, Denver, Chicago, or New York, the watch automaticallyknows to use the US frequency for time calibration rather than the two Japanese frequencies.Tough Solar. Solar cells around the face keep the watch's battery charged, anda sophisticated power-saving function will keep the watch powered for up to 19 monthswith no light.Water-resistant to 200 meters, or over 600 feet (which makes it suitable fordiving).Thermometer which measures both air and water temperature between -10 and about60 degrees Celsius (that's about 14 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, although the unitsare only in Celsius since the bell & ross was not intended to be sold in the US).