Casio announces new iPhone-friendly G-Shock smart watch

There’s been a lot of talk lately about a rising accessory category called “smart watches.” They’re essentially wristwatches with the ability to connect and share data with smartphones — think the Pebble, or the Strata.

Today, Casio has officially announced that it’s throwing its hat into the smart watch ring with a new line of iPhone-friendly G-Shock wristwatches. They actually look like regular watches, until you see what they can do…

Casio’s smart watch uses the low-powered Bluetooth 4.0 standard to connect to your iPhone 4S or 5 and performs a handful of useful functions. It can alert you of incoming notifications, help you locate your missing phone, and more.

The notification feature seems pretty limited. From what I gather, it only works with calls and emails. But the watch can also send a signal to your iPhone to play an audible alarm, in case you misplace it, and it can sync to its Clock app.

The Bluetooth v4.0 G-Shock runs on a standard coin-type battery, and Casio says that it should last for 2 years, provided it stays connected to your iPhone for 12 hours a day. Luckily, the watch as an auto disconnect-recconnect feature.

Casio is selling the watch through select retailers for around $180. That might seem kind of pricey for its limited amount of features, but the G-Shock line is notorious for being rugged and water resistant, so there could be interest here.

What do you think of Casio’s Bluetooth-enabled G-Shock watch?

[MacRumors]