Casio Spotlights Leadership In Smartwatches

DOVER, N.J., Aug. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The wearable technology industry is here to stay with smartwatches and fitness trackers migrating from geek to chic. In the midst of this market shift, one company has remained focused on its mission to deliver innovative and stylish timepieces that provide smart functionality. With a product portfolio consisting of more than 4 models of Bluetooth-enabled timepieces, Casio America Inc. provides consumers with the most options in smartwatch technology. Consistently at the forefront of the timepiece industry, this year Casio will also celebrate anniversaries for three of the company's flagship timepiece models.

Category leadership and elevating the timepiece industry to new standards is not new for Casio. This year, Casio is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the Casiotron, the world's first wristwatch with an automatic calendar function. The Casiotron's introduction helped modernize the wristwatch industry during a time when timepieces were undergoing a revolution from mechanical to quartz mechanisms. The company recognized an opportunity to leverage its calculator expertise and apply it to the new quartz digital chronometers, which resulted in a watch that not only showed the hours, minutes, and seconds on a liquid crystal display, but also had a unique function that could automatically determine the number of days in a month, thus raising the bar and setting a new industry standard.

This year is also the 30^th anniversary of the CD-40/401, a databank phone number storage wristwatch and the 25^th anniversary of the BM-100WJ, a digital watch with a sensor for forecasting weather trends.

Casio continued its category leadership into the new millennium and since 2011, the company has provided consumers with Bluetooth-enabled timepieces that sync to a smartphone to get email/call alerts, control music, and set alarms. In 2014 alone, Casio has announced 4 new Bluetooth-enabled timepieces across its core and G-SHOCK lines. This includes the new Casio OmniSync STB-1000, a Bluetooth-enabled timepiece that syncs with popular fitness apps to help keep consumers on track during their workout routines.

"As a watch manufacturer first, our timepieces have always been 'smart' because they've delivered what consumers wanted – reliable, trusted timepieces that keep time and provide much-needed functionality," said Shigenori Itoh, CEO of Casio America Inc. "What the industry views today as 'smart' was simply the next evolution for Casio nearly three years ago when we began offering Bluetooth-enabled devices. As a result of this foresight, Casio is the leading provider of connected timepieces."

To Casio, a smartwatch is more than something that can connect to another device. It must keep accurate time, provide two-way operation of a watch and smartphone, be water resistant, weather the elements, and have a substantial battery life. Casio has been known for its innovative time-keeping technologies for decades, and its line of Bluetooth-enabled timepieces is no different. They deliver smart functionality in addition to all of the time-keeping features and benefits that fans have come to expect from Casio over the years. In particular, by leveraging Bluetooth technology, these timepieces open the door to any number of smart possibilities that allow consumers to create customizable devices for their wrists.

For more information on Casio's line of Bluetooth-enabled timepieces, visit www.casiousa.com.

About Casio America, Inc.
Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to realize its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit www.casiousa.com.

SOURCE Casio America, Inc.