Proximity from Citizen - George Jetson Would Love This!

This is sorta fun!  I remember back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (1977/1978) my grandfather gave me what was then a "cutting edge" LED watch from Texas Instruments.  It weighed (I'm exaggerating here) about 3 pounds and had very basic functionality.  Hit the button once for the time, twice for the date.  A red LED image would display.  And as we were effectively losing the quartz race to the Japanese - needless to say it was more of a show pony than a work horse.  To quote my grandfather explaining the situation to the nice people at Texas Instruments "the dang thing is less than 3 weeks old and it upped and died on the boy."  We promptly shipped it to the service address, received the repaired watch back after two weeks, and a brand new one back a week later.  Before the month was out, both had died.

Needless to say, this is the watch I suspect he would have wanted to give me - had it been available!

 

Courtesy of Citizen

 There is a reason why Citizen continues to be able to move forward and innovate - because they make good stuff that works! And I suspect that their new Eco Drive model the Proximity will be no exception to this.

Courtesy of Citizen

Yes, you've got the basics - time, date, etc., but for those of you ready for some George Jetson style features, here's the run down.  It is essentially a perpetual calendar chronograph, with Blue Tooth capability, and it is all powered by Citizen's indomitable Eco Drive technology.

Now, I know what you're thinking - why on earth would I want Blue Tooth in my watch?  And actually, the folks at Citizen suspected you might ask the same question:

Why Would You Want to Sync Your Proximity Watch to Your iPhone®?    

Time/Date Sync:
No need to manually set your watch again. This cutting edge timepiece will sync to the GSM time and date after your phone has adjusted for a new time zone or a time change – the ultimate in convenience. 

iPhone® Search:
Can’t find your phone? No problem. Easily locate your phone by simultaneously pushing the buttons on your watch. An audible alert will sound even when your phone is in silent mode. 

Call & Email Alert:
Expecting a call or email? With a subtle vibration and movement of the second hand, your watch will alert you to these notifications. 

Calendar Event Notification:
Sync with your iPhone® calendar to prompt your watch to vibrate and remind you of scheduled events. 

Bluetooth® Link Loss / 10-Meter Sync:
Get too far from your phone? Your watch will vibrate to let you know when you have moved out of range. Simply reconnect with the press of a button once you’re back in range. 

I for one love the iPhone search and the time/date sync.  These are two features that I would actually use and really appreciate.

And the good news for all of you traditionalists out there, it still has some pretty cool functions and features for the more everyday:

• Citizen Eco-Drive: Light-Powered Environmentally Clean Energy Source
• Perpetual Calendar
• 1-Second Chronograph,
  measures up to 60 Minutes
• Local Time (Second Time Zone)
• 12/24 Hour Time with AM/PM Indication
• Non-Reflective Crystal
• Dual Power Reserve Indicator
• 100-Meter Water Resistant
• Perforated Leather Strap with Contrast Stitching
• 45mm Case
  
  
  Now I realize that generally speaking, this blog is usually more devoted to mechanical watches - but I have to say that Citizen has hit a nerve with this one - and in a positive way.  Disagree?  Call me next time you can't find your phone ; )
  
  
  www.citizenwatch.com