
Seiko 80s Computer Watches (2005) - krige
http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/nerdwatch/seiko-computer-watch-fun/
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woliveirajr
Having one Casio databank on my wrist while being a child was one of the
things that always amazed me and pushed me to electronics and computers.

How could those watches do calculations and store phone numbers on a so small
thing? And being 7-years old, I didn't even have phone numbers to store on
it...

~~~
partisan
I received several of these as gifts throughout my youth. I had almost
completely forgotten about these and this website brought back good memories.
They seemed like a little slice of science fiction, especially the ones that
would light up with a press of a button giving off that cool blue light.

I wonder if kids nowadays have a sense of wonder from the devices they have or
see. Growing up, we had a variety of single use devices which allowed us to be
amazed when the next device came along. Nowadays, the devices all roll into
one little palm sized device so what is left to be suprised about?

~~~
Patrick_Devine
Yes, they have a sense of wonder. It's innate. My kids constantly want to
learn how things work.

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mrob
The alternative keyset on the UK01-0010 is katakana, not kanji. In modern
times it's usually used for foreign words or for emphasis, but in the 80s it
was often the only Japanese writing system available on computers, because its
characters have the simplest shapes and are legible on the lowest resolution
screens.

Katakana (カタカナ): simple angular shapes, phonetic syllabary.

Hiragana (ひらがな): simple but more curved shapes, phonetic syllabary.

Kanji (漢字): complex shapes, looks like traditional Chinese, logographic.

~~~
viewer5
> or for emphasis

Could you elaborate? I took a Japanese 101 course in college, and we only
learned about it being used for foreign/loanwords.

~~~
jdeeny
It can be used similarly to italics in English writing.

~~~
digi_owl
Makes me tempted to equate them to block letter and cursive respectively.

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bitwize
I love these watches. I never knew there was a wristwatch with a built-in
BASIC! The mind of kid-me would have been blown.

Something about their styling screams "high tech" \-- in the same sort of way
the aesthetics of old _Transformers_ episodes scream "high tech" \-- even
though both the technology and the styling are dated by today's standards.

The setting of the Disney short attached to _Moana_ \-- called "Inner
Workings", I was able to date to the early-mid 1980s, based on the industrial
design of the main character's alarm clock, wristwatch (a Seiko-like), and
office computer. It's always great to see interest in that era's design and
devices.

~~~
TapamN
The page doesn't make it clear, but the watch doesn't run BASIC, the keyboard
does. The watch just works as a screen. On it's own, the watch just has some
basic databank (with 2K of RAM) and timekeeping features. It supposedly
supports small programs running from RAM when disconnected from the keyboard,
like the Timex Data Link's WristApps, but I can't find any real details on it.

A somewhat more detailed explanation of the watch is here:
[http://cdecas.free.fr/computers/pocket/uc2000.php](http://cdecas.free.fr/computers/pocket/uc2000.php)

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tluyben2
I have some of these (my collection has only few watches to indicate where
they are in the computing timeline) and they are nice. I find the feeling and
looks better than most smartwatches today and of course the battery life is
very good compared. I have other small 'pocket' computers from the 80s[0]
which have amazing battery life. I sure miss that.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_PC-1211](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_PC-1211)

~~~
digi_owl
And now i am reminded of the TRS-80 100.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100)

While not pocket sized, it was a portable computer that would run on 4xAA. And
even had a built in modem (300 baud).

BTW i wish i could find a "receipt printer" that didn't cost an arm and a leg,
and that didn't require thermal paper.

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biofox
Here's a video on an early HP calculator watch. While not on computer watches,
it has a nice introduction on the early history of calculator watches:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGQrsSEaZkI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGQrsSEaZkI)

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mzs
Neat my wristwatch has two Easter eggs:
[http://forum.pocketcalculatorshow.com/topic/casio-easter-
egg...](http://forum.pocketcalculatorshow.com/topic/casio-easter-eggs)

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agumonkey
No mention of the TV
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisxYBm8QzU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisxYBm8QzU)

Enjoy the amazement

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ramgorur
amazing, but what kind of display is that? how does an LCD render the white
noise so smoothly? very strange.

~~~
agumonkey
IMO I think the LCD is so "lame" it filters noise naturally.

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Yhippa
The picture of the game reminded me how much fun it was to live in this world
where this was the "high technology" of the time. It looks very similar to the
TI-81 I used to cut my teeth on when I started programming. There were so many
restrictions it was a nice challenge to try to do things to push the limits of
the available instructions. I can't imagine growing up today where computing
environments are much more complex off the bat.

~~~
digi_owl
Given what people do with a C64 even today, it seems that the human mind
thrives under restrictions.

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gargravarr
Just proves smartwatches are nothing new. Seiko made some beautiful hardware,
and the ones with the keyboards will continue to be usable - shame about the
others that require obsolete software!

A timely article considering the state with Pebble. Shows Seiko was ahead of
the game, with information on your wrist as an extension of your computer.
Pity I never had anything this cool in my youth.

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ramgorur
80's Japanese electronics were way ahead, my dad had one casio FX-602p
calculator, I think still we have that one at home. It had an interface on the
top and you could attach the calculator to a box like device and that device
had 3 audio outputs. Then you can plug those audio jacks into a cassette
player to save and load programs.

btw, the word "seiko" means "starchild"

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FrancoDiaz
Brings back memories of being into those LCD/LED watches as a kid back in the
70s/80s.

~~~
plg
Nintendo Game N Watch!

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notyourwork
I remember my doctor had one of these and I would always inspect it while in
his office.

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spraak
Tangentially reminds me of the HP RPN calculators that my grandfather gave me.
So much fun programming them in BASIC :)

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agumonkey
lapdock circa 82 [http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/06/s...](http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/06/seiko-uc2000-uc2200.jpg)

~~~
digi_owl
Ugh, rubber dome keys.

I think my first encounter with a computer was a ZX81 clone with such a
keyboard...

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FrancoDiaz
Those keys aren't as bad as the Atari 400 [http://www.vintage-
computer.com/atari400.shtml](http://www.vintage-computer.com/atari400.shtml)

~~~
digi_owl
heh, "kid proof". More like usage proof.

Only place i recall seeing such keys were on some industrial machine or
other...

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agumonkey
You don't like that slick touchscreen with subtle tactile feedback ?

~~~
digi_owl
touche.

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franze
External iWatch keyboard - starting kickstarter now!

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lgleason
reminds me of this song :)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGKhV6WsNrA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGKhV6WsNrA)

