INTRODUCTION

   Ever wondered which are the 3 most well-known watch manufacturers according to most people and not just watch collectors and/or enthusiasts? Well i did and so last month i asked a total of 20 people (relatives, friends and FB fans) who surprisingly gave me similar answers. So the 5 most well-known watch manufacturers based on the answers of all of them are Rolex, Tag Heuer, Citizen, Seiko and Casio with Rolex and Casio taking the first two places since these were mentioned by pretty much everyone. Now although there's not a single person that i know of that owns a genuine Rolex watch this brand is the equivalent of Rolls Royce (in watches) so it's hardly a surprise that most people know of them. What i didn't expect came later on when i asked all of them if they were aware of a specific model manufactured by one of those watch companies and the only one some of them knew was the G-SHOCK line by Casio. Casio however has many similar lines including the PROTREK one and today we got their latest PRG-240 model to review.

   Casio was founded in 1957 with the development of a revolutionary calculator. Casio’s small, fast calculator greatly increased office efficiency, and before long people had their own personal calculators. Thanks to this technology, it is easy now for anyone to perform calculations, leaving people free to concentrate on creative thinking. Over the years, Casio has developed many other groundbreaking products. Our watches became critical tools for planning and living daily life. Our electronic dictionaries provide a wealth of knowledge in a tiny package. Our electronic musical instruments deliver the joy of playing music for people of all skill levels, and our digital cameras make it easy to turn the excitement of the moment into a precious memory. All of these developments supported people's intellectual creativity, and that is the essence of how we see Casio's role in the world.

   Compared to my first Casio watch the PROTREK PRG-240 looks like it was taken from a Star Trek movie both in terms of appearance and functionality. I mean ok my original G-SHOCK had a temperature reader, world time and an 100M water resistance but that was just about all the extend of its features. The PROTREK PRG-240 on the other hand offers full auto illumination according to the amount of light around it, two zone LCD screen for easier reading, an digital compass that detects the magnetic north, an altimeter working up to 10.000 meters (air pressure based), sunrise/sunset times (geographical location input required), an barometer which informs you of the weather behavior, an thermometer working from -10 and up to +60 degrees Celsius, world time, an stop watch that can measure times of up to 24 hours (1/100s accuracy), an countdown timer with a max time of 24 hours, 5 daily alarms, automatic calendar, 12/24 hour timekeeping, an directional bezel, water resistance of up to 10bar/100m, time accuracy of -+15s per month and finally a solar rechargeable battery (2.3v/18mAh) that never needs to be changed (or not for at least 10 years or so). Like if this very long list was not enough however the PROTREK PRG-240 has even more functions available (less important ones) which you can check on the next page (it does however lack the radio-set functionality of the more expensive versions). So the time has come to get really close and personal with the Casio PROTREK PRG-240 and see exactly what it is that makes the mid/high end PROTREK like unique.