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AWG-500 - it's here!

3K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  oldspice 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm at work, so no pictures yet (sorry Antonis!), but here's a quick "first impressions" post:

Specs: Solar/atomic, world time, countdown timer, stopwatch, one daily alarm, hourly signal. Module number 4359 (same as the GW-1700, in case you're wondering). No .pdf manual on Casio's site yet, and the included manual's in Japanese. However, the features are pretty straight forward for a G-Veteran like me ;-) .

Size: Much thinner than I had expected. Compared to the GW-1600 I'm wearing, I'd say the AWG-500 is about 1/8" thinner. I definitely prefer a beefier watch, but the slimmer profile definitely fits under a shirt sleeve much better.

Fit and finish: The resin band is not at thick as my other G's which makes it very flexible. It still feels substantial, just not as "heavy duty" as my other resin G's. The strap is also shorter than most of my other G's. It's about the same length as the G-2300, as a reference.

Features: Top notch. I have multiple solar/atomic models and firmly believe this is the way to go. Syncing to the atomic clock in Ft. Collins, CO was flawless.

The placement of the LED light on the bottom works very well, however, like other LED-enabled modules, some of the sub-windows are hard to read in the dark. But, reading the time is not a problem at all.

Also, the inclusion of a countdown timer (although just a 60 minute one) is quite nice. So many of the ana-digi models lack this feature and I'm happy to see it on the AWG-500.

Aesthetics: Very nice. The watch face is the same dark blue-ish/purple-ish as most of the newer solar models and works very well with the dark black resin color of the case and strap. The hands contrast nicely with the face so reading the time at a glance is quite easy. The color of the buttons (bright red!) will take getting used to (sorry Sjors!), but their look fits well with the overall theme of the watch.

I'm liking the watch and am glad to add it to the collection. Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good update to the venerable AW-500 and fits somewhere in the upper middle range of the current line of G Shocks, in my opinion. :-!

Pics forthcoming....
 
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#10 ·
I've been overall dissappointed with the Casio lume on hands and dial. It lasts, like, 5 minutes then fades, even after being in bright light. Or so on my two Ani/Digi models. Glad there's still a light! Some improvement needed on the lume, I think.
 
#12 ·
oldspice said:
Aesthetics: The color of the buttons (bright red!) will take getting used to (sorry Sjors!), but their look fits well with the overall theme of the watch.

I'm liking the watch and am glad to add it to the collection. Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good update to the venerable AW-500 and fits somewhere in the upper middle range of the current line of G Shocks, in my opinion. :-!

Pics forthcoming....
Hi Oldspice -

It's sounding very similar to the thin 400 models and certainly looked it on the photos.:-X

The red buttons were a trademark of the original in black;-)

Looking forward to those pics:)

All the best - OZZIE

P.S. They just cannot crack the original feel of the original FROGMAN'S, RAYSMAN, GAUSSMAN, FISHERMAN, etc. The quality is not their, but what do the young guys know:-D
 
#13 ·
PICS!!!!

Disclaimer: Sorry for the crappy quality of the pictures and the mess on my desk!

The first is just the AWG-500 on it's own. Then comes a series of comparison pics: the AWG-500 and TC Froggy, the Raysman, a GW-1310, and (continued in the next post) the KING. Then, there's a and a happy family shot (or at least the partial family!)

Enjoy!
 

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#17 ·
great pics! may I ask a few more questions?

you mentioned that the time was easy to read at night. when you said that, were you referring to the analog hands or one of the tiny digital windows? since this is an LED, I was curious if the hands are legible WITHOUT using the led. I think I detect a bit of lume on the tips of the hands.

are the small digital windows legible at all at night with LED?

finally, how legible are the digital windows under direct overhead light.

again, great pix of a cool watch, quite unique design, I say.

cheers
 
#19 ·
FreeDiver said:
great pics! may I ask a few more questions?

you mentioned that the time was easy to read at night. when you said that, were you referring to the analog hands or one of the tiny digital windows? since this is an LED, I was curious if the hands are legible WITHOUT using the led. I think I detect a bit of lume on the tips of the hands.

are the small digital windows legible at all at night with LED?

finally, how legible are the digital windows under direct overhead light.

again, great pix of a cool watch, quite unique design, I say.

cheers
Sorry I wasn't more specific about that point. The analog hands are very easy to read at night with the LED enabled. The digital readouts are near impossible to read with the LED enabled. In fact, since the windows have negative displays, they're pretty hard to read in any light (except direct sunlight - then those bad boys shine!).

Without the LED and in the dark, the hands are relatively easy to see when the lume coating is good and charged. But, not nearly as easy to read as when the LED is enabled. For good lume coating, look no further than the G-1600 (THE KING) - it needs little to no charging and the lume coating on the hour/minute hands is very, very bright. The AWG-500's lume coating isn't nearly as intense. Also, the hour markers on the face are all lume coated and show up as well as the hour/minute hands. There is no hour marker at 3, 6, or 9 o'clock.

Hope that helps. Let me know if there are any other questions. :)
 
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