[EDIFICE REVIEW] ECB-30P-1A – a very sophisticated and functional watch

It’s time to talk about the new ECB-30P-1A in our review on the CASIO fan blog or magazine (as you wish). If there is a watch that responds to contemporary human achievements while remaining faithful to thousands of years of tradition, it is the CASIO EDIFICE line. The conservatives get the hands and the additional analog window, while the young people and other innovation lovers get the synchronization with the phone and the digital windows.

Thinking about EDIFICE watches, I can hardly call the EDIFICE brand very famous. Either CASIO does not want to invest much money in promotion, or the sales are good as it is. Nevertheless, my subjective observations say the opposite – I see more people with EDIFICE watches rather than with any other CASIO representatives [vintage products don’t count)), there are too many of them]. They can be used by different people: a doctor in the local medical examiner’s office, a taxi driver, a student, etc. I’m not going to lie the models also differ depending on the environment: from simple EF-121, EFV-120 to fresh EQB-1100.

I’ve long wondered why this is the case: a watch not very popular in its online marketing presence, yet the most common on the streets? The answer is very primitive, and I’m even embarrassed that I didn’t figure it out immediately. The whole reason the brand is so famous is because of what’s called “storefront marketing.”

Enter any offline watch store, go to the CASIO desks, namely the men’s watches and… BINGO – you will find a lot of EDIFICE watches in entirely different colors in front of you. And, as a rule, inexpensive and not the newest [at least I noticed that]. EDIFICE has no competition when a man/guy/friend just needs a nice wristwatch. Okay, with the reasons solved, although it is not quite clear whether you need to know all this information)), let’s move on to the new product called ECB-30P-1A.

The ECB-30 series was not something astonishing and new for me. The product resembles its family member called ECB-900 [or whatever?], but the matter is not in the look but in the “stuffing”.

Yes, most likely, the Japanese decided not to bother with design and just implemented “modern dreams” in a relatively conservative “body”. What’s interesting – the watch now supports Bluetooth synchronization, which means you can install the CASIO WATCHES application and enjoy new patterns of using the watch: automatic time correction [as soon as your phone is nearby, so immediately], control the choice of time zone and other tricks [we’ll consider later].

As of bad, the watch is no longer “solar,” and the battery will turn into a pumpkin after two years of use. This, of course, is my overstatement, and I’m constantly trying to prove one simple thing – there’s nothing catastrophic in replacing the battery. You can walk into [almost] any mall and find an authorized replacement service. I’ve changed many batteries this way before, and nothing has fallen off.) But it’s still worth fixing such a fact.

Wait, but the ECB-900 also supports Bluetooth synchronization, then what is the difference that makes our hero new? Hmm, it turns out only in the look and support for CASIO WATCHES application instead of EDIFICE CONNECTED. And in general, CASIO can’t come to a single decision: to make one app for all watches, for a separate collection or for a different series of watches? There is already a G-SHOCK MOVE APP, G-SHOCK CONNECTED APP, EDIFICE & OCEANUS CONNECTED APPs; when will it end? Still, I think they’re going towards the next distribution: watches with simple functionality [like our today’s hero] will support CASIO WATCHES app, and more sporty, unique features will be focused on the G-SHOCK MOVE APP.

Since it’s already about design, let’s look at it. The ECB-30P-1A got just the standard dimensions [52.3 × 48.7 × 12.9 mm]. The watch is not thick, but it’s not thin either.

I love this size and think it fits almost everyone [except children]. The watch reeks of seriousness. It has a very austere design. I was uncomfortable with the presence of such a gadget on my wrist when wearing sports shorts. Business suit, regular CASUAL clothes, but not sports.

The only exception may be the automobile sport for which this child is intended. Yes, the ECB-30 series continues the concept of Speed & Intelligence, combining automobile speed with modern technology. In our case, the automobile speed is the multi-layered design of the dial with mechanical elements [like an additional window reminding of the speedometer on a sports car] and amazing accuracy [which gives the connection with the phone] + rubber strap [with tread like on a sports car]. You get it, the ECB-30 and a sports car are like one unit.

The strap is indexed “PUR”, which means it’s still a dense polyurethane, not a stretchy piece of rubber. I was also surprised by the thickness of the strap – a very thick piece that will last forever.

What is this extra window at the 6 o’clock position? I suggest it is the seconds counting in the stopwatch mode, but let’s go into the CASIO WATCHES APP to be 100% sure. Notice I’m not running to the manual because that’s not relevant anymore. The app is more convenient.

CASIO WATCHES APP

It is my first time in this app [I’ve used others before], and I was surprised to see a few changes. Now you can see a feed of the latest Instagram content on the home screen, even without registering. It is a great move by the marketers, but this content is still not as cool as ours.)

You must log in with your CASIO ID on the My Watch tab. I wanted to use the guest mode, so I wouldn’t have to log in, but it didn’t work. Okay, registering … Fortunately, there is registration with social networks, which means I will not fill anything extra.

Okay, add the watch and a list of supported watches. I was about to press the button to synchronize, but no. This time I have to enter the module number. Damn. I didn’t expect that coming.

And then the next thing happened…

I needed to fill in the purchase date, and then I was frozen. What if this is how I register the owner, and after that, the new owner will not be able to log in?

Since I had to check this information with the official representative, I decided not to take the risk. Let me remind you, the watch is not personal, I have to return it to my local authorized dealer, so I cannot afford such a luxury. But I promise to clarify this information, and I will update this material if it is not a problem.

Intuitively, I realized that the analog window at 6 o’clock is responsible for counting seconds in stopwatch mode, but only in designated intervals: 20, 100, 120 seconds. Well, the stopwatch in the watch is very powerful, because it can count seconds to a thousandth of a second. This, of course, is a feature only for Formula I fans, because the watch is designed, among other things, to track lap time of your favorite racing team. So, the review will be without detailed screenshots from the application, but this is not an issue. I simply like to observe the course of a hand in an additional window because there is NO second hand in the WATCH. And that, to be honest, doesn’t make the model very traditional. After all, the presence of a second hand is a particular charm in watchmaking, but that is too personal. You can turn on the running of seconds in a digital window, and you will have a countdown. The presence of the second hand would further reduce the battery life, so the Japanese decided not to take the risk.

The watch also features a scheduled timer function. The timer takes information from an app on your smartphone when syncing via Bluetooth [Calendar for iOS and Google Calendar for Android], which you need to set in the calendar in advance. The start and end of the scheduled timer are shown on the watch’s LCD display, and an alarm beep accompanies the countdown. As you make changes to the calendar, the watch automatically adjusts the timer settings.

Other features such as world time and phone search do not need an additional description but still characterize the watch as an innovative product, not just a simple analog device.

The last point I would like to draw your attention to is backlighting. Yes, it is excellent in the ECB-30P-1A. Illuminates both the digital windows and the hands with a powerful LED. It works well and is very bright, so you’ll love it. There is also automatic activation depending on the viewing angle of the wrist [when you turn your wrist], but I did not activate it and I do not advise you not to. There will be false activation at unnecessary times, and the battery is not solar.

Conclusions

As you can see, I have a lot to write about when the ECB-30P-1A is on my wrist. This watch’s potential will not be understood by many people, but it deserves top marks even for its primary function. Traditional look, automotive styling, advanced technology – you definitely won’t get bored with an ECB-30 representative.

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