View the Xonix MP3 Watch photo gallery.

The Xonix MP3 watch is essentially a simple quartz analog watch embedded inside a small and equally simple MP3 player on top of a 256MB USB storage device. Although the Xonix MP3 watch packs a fair amount of functionality into a single device (including the USB cable, tucked neatly away in the band), Xonix manages to keep both the size and the price very reasonable. If you're really into watches, or you're really into MP3s, I'll warn you right from the beginning that the Xonix MP3 watch will seem like too much of a compromise in both respects. However, if you just need something that tells time, and you just happen to want to have a few of your favorite albums with you at all times, the Xonix MP3 watch could be exactly what you're looking for.

Features of the Xonix MP3 Watch

• Built-in MP3 player. The Xonix also plays Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, and WAV files.
• 256MB of storage. At least my model has 256MB. The capacity of Xonix MP3 watches ranges from 32MB to 256MB. (There's a table below that shows how capacity actually relates to music quantity.)
• Portable hard drive. The Xonix MP3 watch stores more than just MP3s. You can copy any file that will fit onto the Xonix and use it as a backup device.
• Built-in voice recorder. There's a microphone built in next to the headphone jack that allows you to record up to 18 hours of voice notes. Listen to this sample recording to get a better idea of the quality.
• Simple analog quartz watch. It's not fancy, but it does its job.
• Multiple equalizer modes. Choose between pop, rock, jazz and classical.
• Built-in 2.5mm headphone jack. You won't be using your Bose QuietComfort headphones with this watch without an adapter, but 2.5mm is still a standard size, often used for things like phone headsets.
• Built-in USB 1.1 jack. The Xonix MP3 watch actually has a short USB 1.1 cable and jack tucked into the rubber strap (the watch comes with a USB extension cable for less accessible USB ports). The USB cable is used for both recharging and data transfer.
• Five hour battery. This is no exaggeration. I tested the battery and found it lasted almost exactly five hours. It takes about two hours to fully recharge.
• Automatic power off. Stretch that five hours out as long as possible. When the MP3 player is paused, it will automatically shut off after two minutes. It will also shut off two minutes after all the tracks on the watch have played, just in case you've fallen asleep.
• Upgradable firmware. Firmware is software that runs in read-only memory and usually manages specialized and relatively simple devices. As the name implies, it is somewhere between software and hardware. You want firmware to be upgradable so bugs can be fixed without having to replace the hardware. The process of upgrading the Xonix MP3 watch's firmware is very simple.
• Sequential and random modes. Either play tracks in order, or let the watch decide what track you hear next.
• Simple file management. When you plug the watch in to your computer, it gets mounted just like an additional drive or volume (Mac) as though it were a digital camera or a portable memory card. Once the watch has been mounted as another drive or volume, just drag and drop or delete MP3s and other files from Windows Explorer or the Macintosh Finder. (After deleting files, be sure to empty your trash so that the files are actually removed.) You can also delete tracks and voice notes from the watch itself.

Update (1/30/2005): Wrist Watch Review just posted a good review of the n6HR.

Suunto Watches (the website, not the actual manufacturer of Suunto watches) has started taking pre-orders for the long-awaited $399.99 Suunto n6-HR Microsoft SPOT watch which is supposed to ship January 6, 2005. It looks like the Suunto n6-HR, if it indeed materializes, will be the first MSN Direct SPOT watch to combine a heart rate monitor with the MSN Direct service which offers wireless connectivity through FM radio waves to deliver things like news, weather, stocks, movie times, instant messages and more, directly to your watch.

The Suunto n6-HR looks very much like the Suunto n3i, though with a redesigned band, and a heart rate monitor. Features will (allegedly) include:

• MSN Direct compatible.
• Heart Rate Monitor (with two customizable limits & three training zones).
• Stopwatch with multiple lap and split times.
• Training Logbook with 20 logs.
• Chrono with three training timers.
• Interval timer.
• 3 programmable daily alarms.
• Dual time (shows the time in multiple time zones, and updates automatically as you move from one time zone to another).
• Water resistant to 100 meters (10 BAR, 10 ATM, or 330 feet).
• Plastic case with a scratch-resistant mineral crystal.
• Suunto n6-HR Training Manager PC Software included.
• USB recharger included.

The Nike Lance 4 Titanium Cycling watch is the star of Nike's ACG Oregon outdoor watch collection. Inspired and partially designed by five-time (consecutive) Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, the Nike Lance 4 packs an impressive set of features into a relatively lightweight and even fairly nice looking (in an outdoor sports watch kind of way) titanium case.

Before I list all the features of the Nike Lance 4, I want to talk about one feature in particular: the altimeter. Since cycling -- and especially the Tour de France -- is so much about ascents and elevation, naturally the Lance 4 contains an altimeter. The problem with most altimeters which are built into watches, however, is that they are barometric altimeters, which means they attempt to measure your altitude by measuring the atmospheric pressure, and in some cases, the temperature. That also means natural changes in atmospheric pressure dramatically influence altitude measurement. Usually the best way to use a barometric altimeter is to calibrate it before you begin your ascent using a GPS, map, or a nearby sign, then to measure your ascent as quickly as you can before the atmospheric pressure changes. Since that obviously won't work for races that span days or weeks and hundreds or thousands of miles, Nike incorporated their patented Zero Drift technology into the Lance 4 cycling watch. Zero Drift technology is apparently able to determine whether a change in atmospheric pressure was caused by changing weather patterns, or by an actual change in altitude. Very clever, assuming it works.

If you're looking for a moderately priced, high quality, very cool, and totally unique looking watch to surprise someone with this holiday season (or even to surprise yourself with), you might want to check out something from Seiko's new Sportura collection. The inspiration for the Seiko Sportura design was high performance sports cars, and each watch clearly has the feel of a complex but exhilarating dashboard in the type of car I will probably never be able to afford.

The Seiko Sportura collection consists of four models (SLQ017, SNL015, SNJ005, and SNA451), each with its own unique look and feature set, and each in a different (but relatively affordable) price range. All the watches in the Sportura collection start off with the following set of features:

• Jet black dials.
• Scratch-resistant, anti-glare sapphire crystals.
• Screwdown casebacks and crowns.
• Stainless steel bracelets (also available in leather, however).
• Double-locking clasps with push-button release.
• Water resistant to 100 meters (10 BAR, 10 ATM, or 330 feet).
• Japanese quartz movements (though only two of the pieces in the collection actually require batteries).
• Very bright luminous hands and markers.

Now that we know what all the watches in the Seiko Sportura collection have in common, I'll cover each watch individually, starting with the least expensive.

View the Tissot T-Touch photo gallery.

The Tissot T-Touch is the wilderness lover of the Tactile family which currently consists of the High-T, the Silen-T, and the newest member of the family, the Tissot Navigator 3000. You might not guess just from looking at it, but the Tissot T-Touch feels just as at home in the woods, in the mountains, or on long treks as it does in the office or at a cocktail party. The T-Touch combines good looks, rugged functionality, and impressive innovation in way you rarely see in the watch world.

Features of the Tissot T-Touch

• Touch crystal. I love showing this feature to people for the first time because they are almost always completely amazed. Like the rest of the Tactile family, the T-Touch has a touch-sensitive sapphire crystal. Rather than jamming repeatedly on a mode button, simply activate the crystal with the right center button, then touch the crystal in one of seven different areas to change modes, or to return to the default time mode.
• Compass. The Tissot T-Touch's built-in compass can measure magnetic north as well as calculate geographic north.
• Thermometer. The range of the T-Touch's built-in thermometer is -10 C (15 F) and 60 C (140 F). (If you're in an environment which significantly exceeds that range, you should be more concerned about your life than your watch.) It is accurate to about 1 degree C (1.8 F), and the resolution is .4 C (.7 F).
• Barometer. The range of the built-in barometer is 300 hPa (hectoPascals), and it is accurate to + or - 3 hPa. The resolution is 1 hPa.
• Altimeter. Wherever you have a barometer, you usually have an altimeter, as well, since it is possible to calculate altitude by measuring atmospheric pressure. The range is -400 meters (-1300 feet) to 9000 meters (29,500 feet) with a resolution of 1 meter (3 feet).
• Chronograph. Resolution of 1/100 of a second, maximum time of 9:59':59". The T-Touch's stopwatch can record a single split time.
• Alarm. The alarm is a daily alarm -- nothing special -- though it is nice and loud, which I really like. The only thing I don't like about the alarm is that the only way to set it is by incrementing or decrementing minutes which can get a little tiresome if the time you want to set it to is 12 hours away. Fortunately, the minutes do speed up the longer you hold down the buttons (there are three different speeds) which makes it better, however I would rather be able to set the hours, minutes, and meridian separately.
• Analog and digital displays. The LCD can be configured to display the time or date, or data from one of the other many functions. The analog portion of the watch is even used to convey different types of information depending on the mode. (More on the watch's hands below.)
• Dual time zone display (unofficial). This is not an official feature of the Tissot T-Touch, meaning I guess you're not really supposed to do it, but there is a process you can go through to synchronize the analog time with the digital should they ever fall out of step with each other for any reason. If they can be synchronized, I hypothesized, they can be un-synchronized. And indeed they can. During the synchronization process, when the instructions tell you to line the hands up precisely at 12:00, simply add your second time zone's offset, and suddenly you have watch capable of displaying dual time zones.
• Bidirectional rotating bezel. The bezel contains the four compass points rather than numbers so it can be used to orient a map.
• Semi-perpetual date. That means the T-Touch does not have a pre-programmed date function. Rather, it knows how many days are contained in each month, and can generally do a pretty good job of keeping track of the date that way, but gets tripped up between February and March. The instructions say, "For February it is necessary to reset the date when it is only 28 days" which at first I thought must be a typo. According to those instructions, the watch always assumes that it is a leap year, and adds an extra day to February. I tested the watch to see if this was actually the case, and discovered that this was indeed the watch's behavior. A little strange, if you ask me. If I were designing a watch without a pre-programmed date function, I would assume that every year was not a leap year and give February 28 days since leap years only come along every four years (unless the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400). Anyway, this is a minor point, but something Tissot might want to consider changing in the future. The point is, if you get yourself a Tissot T-Touch, make sure you check your date every year around March 1st.
• Metric and American units.
• Water resistant to 30 meters. (3 ATM, 3 BAR, or 100 feet).
• Luminescent hands. (No backlight for the LCD.)
• Quartz movement. For all of you who got here by doing a search on Google for "Tissot T-Touch battery," it takes a Renata CR 1632 which should last about 12 months. I know that seems a little short, but consider all the features it's expected to power.
• 42 mm in diameter, 150.36 grams.
• 2 year warranty.

There's not much information available on these new Porsche Design watches yet, but apparently they have recently announced a new PTC 911 limited edition. The most notable features of the new Porsche Designs include:

• 40mm titanium case.
• Double sapphire crystals (one on the face, obviously, and one on the back so you can see inside).
• Interesting looking rotor which looks like a wheel, visible beneath the sapphire crystal on the back.
• Available in black, yellow or red.

The Porsche Design PTC 911 watch starts around $4,800 for the least expensive. You can also purchase the entire set of all-titanium models along with matching miniature 911s for roughly $16,000.

There isn't a whole lot of information available on the new TechnoMarine ceramic ladies' watches, but here's what I know so far:

Although TechnoMarine is not the first to create a ceramic watch, they are the first to add color. Apparently, the process of making a ceramic watch is such that it's very tricky to add color, and therefore all previous ceramic watches have been white, black or gray. TechnoMarine has seemingly mastered the process, however, as they now offer some very cool looking new ladies' watches in blue, baby blue, pink, brown, black, white, and orange.

This isn't ceramic like so many saucers we've all dropped and broken over the years. These watches are constructed out of industrial strength ceramic formulated from a combination of two different types of metal powers, extremely high temperatures, and very high pressure. The result is a substance that is apparently about as hard as substances get (not counting diamonds), and is used to protect spacecraft from the massively high temperatures they experience while reentering the earth's atmosphere. If it's good enough for the Space Shuttle, it's probably good enough for a chronograph.

I'll admit that Watch Report tends to be a little biased toward men's watches, but being a pretty big G-Shock fan in general, I have to make the occasional exception for Baby-G's. If you're a guy, and you're about to head off to Google to search for a more manly watch, aren't you forgetting that it's almost the holidays, and that Casio Baby-G watches make wonderful and affordable gifts?

As far as I know, these are the first G-Shocks (Baby or otherwise) to appear as anything other than round (or roundish) since the initial square G-Shocks were introduced back in 1983. They rounded out in 1987, and have remained that way until now. Not only are these newest Baby-G's square, but they're colorful, sophisticated, and fun. In the words of David Johnson, vice president of Casio's Timepiece Division:

"Casio's newest timepieces are trendy, stylish and extremely functional. The Baby-G's are the perfect accessory for today's busy lifestyle, matching
supreme style with advanced features that make your life easier. The new square Baby-G's are just the right thing to add a dash of rogue style to the latest spring looks. On the flip side they can add the necessary polish to an outfit for the boardroom. As versatile as they are chic, they're a sign of the times. It's hip to be square!"

While I'm pretty sure these words were actually written by someone in PR and/or Marketing as opposed to being uttered by David Johnson himself, I wouldn't disagree with them. Now let's have a look at features.