Casio unveils an explorer's smartwatch with GPS that you can recharge with the sun

(Image credit: Casio)

Casio is showcasing two new smartwatches and a couple of other gadgets at CES 2018, but it's definitely the watches that stand out. 

In particular, if you're the sort of person that likes to go on long treks into the truly empty parts of the world, you'll probably want to pick up the Casio G-Shock Rangeman GPR B-1000, which comes with a built-in standalone GPS system.

It's solar powered, which is nifty in itself, but more importantly you can harness that solar power in the middle of the wilderness to recharge the built-in GPS whenever and wherever you need it. 

If you're lost and your battery packs for other devices are dead, in other words, just set the watch on a rock in the sun for four hours, and it'll recharge the GPS to the point where it could be used for around an hour. 

That's the kind of feature that could easily save your life, particularly if you repeat the process as needed on the long path back to civilization.

Beyond that, it's resistant to mud and cold, and it comes with an altimeter, barometer, compass, and thermometer. You can get it in either black or olive green for $800 (around £590 / AU$1,020) on Casio's G-Shock site beginning in April 2018. It's pricey, yes, but it might be worth it depending on what kind of trip you're planning on taking.

Casio also revealed a new, limited-edition color option of white for its Pro Trek WSD-F20, which we reviewed a year ago. In Casio's words, the color is supposed to complement the appearance of crystalline fluorite, "which is sometimes used as a raw material in outdoor wear."

For that matter, Casio announced that the WSD-F20 line also now supports a new "Journey" watchface that shows the map of your current location behind the hands of the analog setting, along with upcoming checkpoints on a preprogrammed itinerary.

Casio is also using CES as an opportunity to show off devices it announced late last year, such as the G’Z Eye Action Camera.

Beyond watches

Casio says the rugged camera applies the durability tech used for its G-Shock line to its Outdoor Recorder camera technology, which makes some sense since the device looks like the lovechild of both product lines.

Casio is also showing off its 2.5D Printer, which takes a middle road between standard printing and 3D by focusing on creating textures such as real-feeling leather and fabric. 

Specifically, Casio is using CES to show off an education-focused platform for teachers that "meets the special needs of a visually impaired student and enables them to adjust the curriculum based on the student’s learning speed."

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