Casio produces a bunch of lines of watches, all aimed at different segments of the market. The Edifice line is Casio’s mens line, aimed at mid-range, activity and vibe-inspired looks. They’re typically not too pricey, feature stylistic flairs, and add in a bit of new technology. The creatively named ECB800DB-1A is a motosport inspired design, with looks that stand out with race-inspired design.

Inspired by elements found in motorsports such as speed, intelligence, and innovation, this smartly-designed men’s watch offers a bold design and enhanced timekeeping capabilities through smartphone connectivity.

First Impressions

This thing is big, shiny, and has very bold features. I’m immediately struck by the large subguage at the 6oclock position, with interesting markings for apparently speed and.. is that.. a fuel gauge? Or perhaps a solar charging battery meter? The black LCD display looks interesting with its cutoff top corners. Activating the light.. it’s shiny! There appears to be a white LED behind the LCD, and a white LED shining brightly onto the analog face of the watch. The lighting works, but there’s a ton of glare. The metal bracelet.. shiny, and hollow.

On the Wrist

Once sized, the ECB800DB-1A metal bracelet fits just fine. The clasp of the bracelet is a single locking design, and the bracelet appears to be hollow. It looks nice and shiny on first glance, but as I was handling it to size it, and wearing it, it becomes apparent that this bracelet is hollow, fairly lightweight, and maybe not the most solid. It generally works and fits the watch, but it’s only as good as a glance.

The watch is big and bold – the chunky chromed pushes stick out a bit, and in wearing the watch you’re certainly making a statement. I haven’t always been the biggest fan of analog/digital hybrids, but in wearing this watch for a week, I appreciated the easy legibility of the LCD, and the quick glances of the analog hands. The carbon fiber texture of the face does give it the motorsport aesthetic, and I’m sure if I was “down at the track” it would blend in just fine.

Feature Review

• Black ion plated bezel – Dark and shiny, but picks up fingerprints fast.
• Stainless Steel Band – Hollow, but shiny and fitting with the style of the watch.
• Solar powered – I LOVE solar powered for electronic watches. Now that solar power can be essentially hidden behind the printed face, I think all electronic watches should have this. It seems to work well.
• Double LED light
  LED light for the face – Yikes – what glare! This is just a small square LED positioned at the 7oclock position on the edge of the face, which glares across the face of the watch. Sure, it illuminates the hands, but there’s so much glare, it’s almost unusable. Way too bright, way too much glare. Additionally, that raw LED is not covered up or hidden.. just a big yellow chunk of LED sitting there. This could be done much better.
  LED backlight for the digital display . Yep, it works, but the white led illumination is not anywhere near as even as an EL backlight. Additionally, the LED shows off the rough edges of the LCD display. Kinda unpolished.
• Mobile link (Wireless linking using Bluetooth®) – It works, and pairs with my smartphone. But the utility of the app is marginal, and not very well thought out. Not super user friendly, and seems to value style and looking technical over actually being usable. Of particular note, the keyboard that’s used for naming alarms is a proprietary in-app keyboard that barely works, NOT the native iOS iPhone keyboard which is usually presented for typing in apps. I’ve never seen an iOS app use a proprietary keyboard instead of apple’s native iOS keyboard.. how is this even acceptable on the app store?
• World time – Works, and shows the city.
• 1/1000-second stopwatch – Yep.
• Target Time alarm – Yep, i suppose if you were a motosport spectator? But if you’re a racecar driver, you’re never actually going to use this to time your laps.
• Countdown timer – Yep
• 5 multi-function alarms (with daily, 1 time, schedule)
• Hourly time signal – Yep
• Hand shift feature (Hands move out of the way to provide an unobstructed view of digital display contents) – Essential for a hybrid like this
• Battery level indicator -There we go
• Full auto-calendar (to year 2099) – Yes
• 12/24-hour format – Yes
• Button operation tone on/off – Yes, glad they have this.
• Power Saving (display goes blank and hands stop to save power when the watch is left in the dark) – Cool feature, but am i really going that long without seeing the sun? I hope not.
• Regular timekeeping – It works!

Final Thoughts

• Brand & Model: Casio Edifice ECB800DB-1A
• Price: USD$350
• Who we think it might be for: Motorsport enthusiast looking for their first themed watch, who wants some nifty features to show friends, but who will actually use the watch as a daily beater.
• If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Fix the backlight to eliminate all of the glare, and finish the integration of the LCD Module to hide the edges better. Improve the app look and functionality – get rid of that non native keyboard, make the app actually easy to use. There’s so much more you can do with an LCD display on a watch and a bluetooth link – unleash it all!
• What spoke to me the most about this watch: I appreciate they’re going for a somewhat accessibly priced theme watch, with looks good enough for a construction site boardroom, solar power, and minor bluetooth features.

Specs

• Neobrite
• Black ion plated bezel
• Mineral Glass
• 100-meter water resistance
• Case / bezel material: Stainless steel
• One-touch 3-fold Clasp
• Stainless Steel Band
• Solar powered
• Double LED light
  LED light for the face (Full auto LED light, Super illuminator, selectable illumination duration (1.5 seconds or 3 seconds), afterglow)
  LED backlight for the digital display (Full auto LED light, Super illuminator, selectable illumination duration (1.5 seconds or 3 seconds), afterglow)
• Mobile link (Wireless linking using Bluetooth®)
• World time
  39 time zones* (39 cities + coordinated universal time), daylight saving on/off, auto summer time (DST) switching, Home city/World time city swapping
  *May be updated when connected to a smartphone.
• 1/1000-second stopwatch
  Measuring capacity:
  00’00”000~59’59”999 (for the first 60 minutes)
  1:00’00”0~23:59’59”9 (after 60 minutes)
  Measuring unit:
  1/1000 second (for the first 60 minutes)
  1/10 second (after 60 minutes)
  Measuring modes: Elapsed time, lap time
  Recorded data: Up to 200 records (measurement lap times)
  Target Time alarm
• Countdown timer
  Measuring unit: 1/10 second
  Countdown range: 24 hours
  Countdown start time setting range: 1 second to 24 hours (1-second increments, 1-minute increments and 1-hour increments)
• 5 multi-function alarms (with daily, 1 time, schedule)
• Hourly time signal
• Hand shift feature (Hands move out of the way to provide an unobstructed view of digital display contents)
• Battery level indicator
• Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)
• 12/24-hour format
• Button operation tone on/off
• Power Saving (display goes blank and hands stop to save power when the watch is left in the dark)
• Regular timekeeping
  Analog: 3 hands (hour, minute (hand moves every 10 seconds), second), 1 dial (speed indicator)
  Digital: Hour, minute, second, pm, month, date, day
• Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month (with no mobile link function)
• Approx. battery operating time:
  6 months on rechargeable battery (operation period with normal use without exposure to light after charge)
  19 months on rechargeable battery (operation period when stored in total darkness with the power save function on after full charge)
• Size of case : 53.5 X 49.2 X 13.7 mm
• Total weight : 168 g
• LED:White