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The Sony ICF-CD3iP has them all: it’s a nifty table clock which can very well be found at your bedside, in your living room and even in your office, boasting a dock for your iPod and iPhone and even more to it. You also get a high-quality CD player, dual alarms, a radio, a charger for your Apple gadgets, all for around $100. I know it looks like a ridiculously low price for such a mix of handy features, yet the Sony ICF-CD3iP is about to hit the stores soon and you’ll convince yourselves of its capabilities.

I must add that the dual alarms can be set for both your clock and Apple devices simultaneously, and this is truly convenient. On the visual side, the Sony ICF-CD3iP boasts a large negative screen with black background and white, easy-to-read lettering, telling the week day and all the info associated with the functions: alarm, radio frequency, CD track and time, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

When most people think of the digital age and its computers, satellites and mobile phones, the silicone chip is at the foremost of people’s minds. Yet, despite its importance in shaping the world around us, many of the technologies that we take for granted would not be possible without the atomic clock.

The first atomic clock was developed in 1955 by British born Dr Louis Essen who worked during WWII, on high-frequency radar which led him to develop a resonance wavemeter, that was used to successfully measure the speed of light.

Using the same technology he developed the first accurate atomic clock in 1955 at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK. It was based on the resonance of the caesium atom.

According to quantum theory, atoms can only exist in certain quantized energy states depending on the orbits of electron about their nuclei. A cesium clock operates by exposing the atoms to microwaves until they oscillate at one of their resonant frequencies. It was discovered that a caesium atom would resonate at 9,192,631,770 hertz (times a second).

Because of this exactness in resonance and the high number of oscillations atomic clocks (sometimes referred to as caesium oscillators) are exceptionally accurate. Essen’s first device was accurate to a second in a thousand years but the next generation of atomic clocks are now so accurate they will not lose a second in several hundred million years. Read the rest of this entry »

The watch is one of the most popular personal jewelry items on the market and dates back to the 14th century with the first wind up watches that one carried in a pocket. Today the same components used to make wind-up watches remains pretty much the same as those from the beginning. The basic parts of a wind-up watch are a spring to provide power, an oscillating mass for the timebase, two hands, a numbered dial, and gears regulate the ticking rate to the hands on the dial.

Bulova began seeking new technology for watches in the 1960s and replaced the oscillating balance wheel with a transistor oscillator replacing the wind-up spring with a battery. This new technology used a tuning fork, but the search was on for an even more accurate method of keeping time. Integrated circuits were being developed now and becoming less expensive and the LED technology was being introduced as well but the problem watchmakers faced was to find a new timing element and creating a circuit that would be able to run on a battery small enough to place in a watch.

The new element decided upon was of course the quartz crystal. They had been used for years in radio transmitters, receivers and early computers. The reason quartz is so accurate is that it is unaffected by most Read the rest of this entry »

Casio is one of the largest and well known watch makers in the world. Casio watches are known for being good quality and long lasting. Casio is also at the forefront of new technology in the watch industry. Casio was the first company to really dominate the world of calculator and data bank watches. In fact, Casio is created the first data bank watch. Today Casio keeps changing and perfecting their data bank watches.

Casio sells watches of all types. The calculator and data bank watches come in many different styles. There is a data bank watch style to suit almost anyone. There are streamlined versions and the high tech looking versions. Data bank watches have been around since the late 70s and Casio became a major player in this industry in the mid-80s when these watches were most popular. As technology has grown, Casio has managed to keep up with it while also keeping fashion on the forefront.

The calculator watches were the original data base watches. These watches looked like a regular watch with a digital display, but had the addition of a numbered keypad located under the display. The keys were small and the watch was quite larger than a typical watch. As technology grew Casio was able to make the watches smaller and introduce other features. Thus the data bank watch was created. The earliest versions of Casio data bank watches still functioned as a calculator but also could store information so it could be used as an appointment or address book. Read the rest of this entry »

Seiko is one of the world’s leaders in the watch industry. They are a large corporation with various brand names. Seiko is the manufacturer behind the new kinetic technology which has revolutionized the watch wearing experience. Kinetic technology is the brains of hard work at Seiko and is a feature on new watches made by the brands of the Seiko corporation. This technology is hard to duplicate which means Seiko is the leader and top producer of this technology.

Kinetic watches were first introduce by Seiko in 1988, but they did not start using the name kinetic until 1992. Developing the kinetic technology was not an easy task. It took six years and plenty of troubleshooting to finalize the kinetic technology for use in watches. Early issues including problems with protecting the rotor from shock, keeping electricity stored and stabilizing the electric flow. Once past these issues kinetic energy was revealed to the world and has been going strong ever since.

A kinetic watch needs no battery because the kinetic technology makes it create its own energy. By using the motion of the watch wearer, the watch powers itself and stores the energy for use later. It is as accurate as a battery powered watch without the hassles of having to change a battery. Even if the power supply of the kinetic watch is depleted there is no need to open up the watch or do anything to it except simply putting it on and moving it around so it can recharge. Read the rest of this entry »