Nordic µBlue nRF8001-Equipped Casio G-SHOCK Is The First Publicly Announced Consumer Bluetooth Low Energy Watch Product
Casio has revealed a Bluetooth low energy watch that employs Nordic µBlue nRF8001 Single-Chip-Connectivity to wirelessly link to Bluetooth v4.0-equipped smartphones and will join Casio's G-SHOCK brand of shock-resistant watches later this year
Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA recently announces that the first consumer Bluetooth low energy watch product to be announced – a new Casio G-SHOCK shock-resistant watch that will be able to communicate Bluetooth v4.0-equipped smartphones – is based on a Nordic µBlue nRF8001 Single-Chip-Connectivity Bluetooth low energy solution.
The Casio G-SHOCK Bluetooth Low Energy Watch includes the following features: Time Correction from smartphone to watch (ensuring the watch always displays the correct time – anywhere in the world); Incoming Call, Email and SMS Alert notifications from smartphone to watch – including the ability to stop smartphone ring alerts from the watch; and a Finder Function that enables users to locate a misplaced phone by activating the alarm and vibration functions of their smartphone from a button-press on the watch.
The Nordic nRF8001's class-leading ultra-low power performance (see 'About nRF8001' below) enables Casio's new G-SHOCK Bluetooth Low Energy Watch to offer a similar battery life to a conventional Casio wristwatch by being able to run from a single conventional CR2032 coin-cell watch battery for up to two years, while providing up to 12-hours per day of continuous wireless communication with Bluetooth v4.0-equipped smartphones and other devices.
The ability to use a coin-cell battery also means that the Casio G-SHOCK Bluetooth Low Energy Watch will weigh a similar amount (65g) to a conventional Casio G-SHOCK watch, and have a similarly small casing size (53.2 x 50.0 x 18.3mm) –all crucial for a product designed to be comfortably worn by users for long periods.
Bluetooth low energy (now a hallmark of the latest Bluetooth v4.0 specification) has been designed from the outset to extend Bluetooth wireless connectivity to compact, coin cell-powered devices such as watches. And Nordic has been at the forefront of the group that defined the Bluetooth low energy specification since becoming a foundation member of Nokia's Wibree Alliance in 2006 (the Alliance became part of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) in June 2007). Nordic contributed decades of expertise – gained in producing successive generations of class-leading proprietary and interoperable (ANT/ANT+) ULP wireless connectivity solutions within a field it pioneered. (See 'About Bluetooth low energy' below.)
"Bluetooth low energy opens the door to completely new ways of using watches as new applications are developed for smartphones," comments Etsuro Nakajima, Senior Manager within the Timepiece Division of Casio. "Although this will begin with allowing watches and smartphones to wirelessly communicate, our expectation is that over time a new category of watch product that we call 'smart watches' will evolve and be able to connect to the wireless networks of various kinds of devices that support Bluetooth low energy."
"We are delighted to see a Nordic µBlue nRF8001 Single-Chip-Connectivity Bluetooth low energy solution employed in the first Bluetooth low energy commercial watch product to be announced," adds Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor's Director of Sales & Marketing. "Especially given that the Nordic design team behind the development of the nRF8001 has just been nominated 'Design Team of the Year' in the 2011 Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) awards organized by U.S. electronics design title EE Times."
SOURCE: Nordic Semiconductor ASA