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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Casio G’MIX GBA-400 is a smart watch for music lovers
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Casio G’MIX GBA-400 is a smart watch for music lovers

Casio's new smart watch is designed to help music buffs control their music playback without touching the phone

Casio G’MIX GBA-400 is priced at Rs9,495 and is available on Amazon.inPremium
Casio G’MIX GBA-400 is priced at Rs9,495 and is available on Amazon.in

Casio G’MIX GBA-400 is a smart watch designed for music lovers. It is a bit different from the usual set of sports watches but has some of the elements of that breed as well, such as the water-proof exterior and a rugged design. It is priced at 9,495 and is available on Amazon.in.

Rugged and good-looking

The GBA-400 is a good-looking watch available in black, red and blue colours. It is ruggedly designed, courtesy the good quality plastic it uses and can cope up with mechanical shocks and vibrations better than regular smart watches. The watch strap is not instantly swappable. However, it is flexibly designed to accommodate people with slimmest as well as the broadest of wrists with ease. The watch is water-resistant for depths up to 200 metres, which means you don’t have to take it off while washing hands or swimming.

The multiple keys flanking the watch dial includes a rocker for adjusting the volume during music playback on the phone, and buttons to light up the screen in the dark, or activate Bluetooth pairing, for example. The watch dial has a diameter of 55mm and shows time in digital as well as analog formats. It also shows the soundtrack playing on the phone while the watch is connected to the phone. It looks good, but feels a bit hefty at 66g.

The watch strap is not instantly swappable
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The watch strap is not instantly swappable

How does it work?

The watch can be paired and used with any Bluetooth-enabled iPhone or Android smartphone. However, it won’t work by simply pairing it in the traditional manner. To use it, one needs to download a couple of Casio apps such as the G’Mix and G-Shock+. Both are free to download and available on both App Store and Play Store. In G-Shock+, you have to select the model number of the watch on the app interface, then press the circular button on the left hand side of the dial until the watch icon shows on the phone’s screen.

Pairing can take a bit of time, and the user might have to try it multiple times to finally get the phone to connect with it. Rebooting the phone once or twice might help.

Multiple features

Unlike conventional watches, you don’t have to struggle with the buttons on this watch for everything. The G-Shock app allows users to adjust time, alarm and the timer from the smartphone screen and import all that instantly to the watch. In case you want the watch to automatically adjust the time according to the time on your phone, you can synchronize your watch with the phone on a daily basis. This way the phone will send it the time zone once every day.

You can also change the time the minute and hours hand on the watch face shows using the option called “adjusting home positions" in the basic settings of the G-Shock app.

Pressing the button above the pairing button on the left side activates the Search Mode which allows users to search for music playing in their vicinity. It works with the SoundHound app which is free to download and is available on both the App Store and Play Store. Similarly, pressing the button below the pairing button serves as the pause and play button.

It comes with a built-in battery which doesn’t require charging after every couple of days
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It comes with a built-in battery which doesn’t require charging after every couple of days

Works without a niggle

Pairing was the only time when we struggled a bit. We didn’t encounter any accidental or abrupt interruption between the watch and the smartphone while using it. The commands are promptly relayed from the phone to the watch and vice-versa. In case you want to speed it up, you can switch on the high-performance mode.

The watch comes with a built-in battery which doesn’t require charging after every couple of days. It lasts up to two years.

Verdict

Despite its uniqueness and relevance for music buffs, we believe it won’t find many takers. In isolation, it works without a niggle and at the given price it is not very expensive either. The fact that a lot of smart watches also allow users to control music playback makes them a more interesting alternative to the GBA-400.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhijit Ahaskar
Abhijit writes on tech policy, gaming, security, AI, robotics, electronics and startups. He has been in the media industry for over 12 years.
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Published: 07 Sep 2016, 03:06 PM IST
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