Yesterday, Casio doubled down on its Android Wear proposition by introducing its second device, the Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20. While the name is certainly a mouthful, there"s plenty to like about the watch, offering quite a bit for the avid adventurer.
First and foremost, this is a very large watch, measuring in at 15.7mm thick. If you are going to be wearing it day-to-day, get ready to have folks asking questions about what"s on your wrist, and be prepared to have difficulty in layering a cuff over the device. Although the size of the WSD-F20 is big compared to some other Android Wear devices, it is pretty much on par with other rugged multi-purpose watches that offer more complex features like Garmin"s fēnix series.
As for the display and build, the 1.32-inch dual-layer display is clear and easy to read under bright lights, but we would need to test it properly to see how it performs outdoors under sunlight. The build quality of the watch feels good - although the buttons do feel quite squishy, making it difficult to gauge whether you have actually activated a button.
Another thing to note is the magnetic charging terminal in the upper left-hand portion of the watch; since it plugs in and juts out quite a bit, there really isn"t an elegant way to have your watch charge, unless it"s positioned on a stand.
While the watch does offer the standard look and feel of Android Wear, there are quite a bit of tweaks on Casio"s side that accommodate its specialized apps. Since the watches were in demo mode, it was not possible to see the GPS and other elements come to life, with a majority of the features just presented in "mock-up" form.
For those interested, the Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 should be an enticing entry in the rugged smartwatch category that will retail for $500 when it makes it way to market on April 21.