Brando Workshop Touch Panel Watch

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

September 04, 2003

In this time when all things retro are back in style, Brando Workshop is riding the wave with their Touch Panel Watch.

Doesn't this watch just scream Atari and 80s Music?

Of course, no watch in the early 80s came with an LCD touch screen which included an 8 digit simple calculator, a daily alarm, a calendar with year, month, day and week display, and best of all - the ability to display the time from any of 16 different pre-programmed cities.

The display on the Touch Panel Watch is typical for an LCD watch, dark numbers on a grey face. The calculator does simple math: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

I found that the touch-screen buttons on this watch were so tiny that it was best to use a stylus when trying to enter information. Here you can see the 16 different time zone/city choices. Clicking on any given city will display its time...perfect for anyone that needs to keep up with that sort of thing.

This watch is not overly large, so unless you have a tiny wrist it shouldn't feel too bulky.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to program this watch - you can easily set the time and date from their respective screens without reading an instruction manual. This watch is not water or shock resistant, and it doesn't have a backlight...but for this price you won't cry if you leave it on a counter somewhere or get rained on.

I would be the first to say that this style isn't for everyone. You have to have a sense of humor to wear a watch that looks like a direct descendant of the 80's Casio Calculator Watch, but if you like kitschy things and want to feed your inner nerd, then you might want to check this watch out.

Price: $14

Pros:
Inexpensive
Handy calculator
Day/Date/Year display

Cons:
No backlight
Not shock or water resistant