[Edifice Review] ECB-10DB-1A – no time for unnecessary things

When speaking about smartwatches, most people probably mean something like a mini-computer on a wrist with a solid set of capabilities focused on providing information about our environment or human body indicators. The Japanese have their own opinion on this issue – Edifice Smartphone Link line focuses on Bluetooth and wireless synchronization with your smartphone, and “smart” stuffing just means a quick adjustment of the essential watch functions and automatic time correction. The engineers decided to give us an opportunity to enjoy wireless features of classic watchmaking for an affordable price [ECB-10 can be classified as an average Casio].

I began to have “a weakness” for the Edifice Collection when the ECB-10 press release with its octagonal bezel was announced for the first time.

The octagonal form factor has long been used by many luxury watch brands [mainly Swiss], and it attracts by its sleek design and a kind of male “charm” [I think readers understand what I’m writing about].

I stuck to the ECB-10 bezel at my first visual contact. The body itself has a usual shape, but the bezel is octagonal, and it rises above the major watch part [for about 3 millimeters].

The finishing in the “hair” texture is fantastic – this is when you can see the tiny strips on the metal. I could not notice a single flaw on the treated surface – everything is perfect and smooth here. The edge is mirrored. When you look at the side, the watch also looks spectacular. It’s a pity the coating was not ionized [with scratch protection] – so you have to protect the beauty with double efforts.

The glass is mineral, and it is placed on the same level as the bezel. It may upset someone [as the glass is more vulnerable to bumps and scratches], but it is only my opinion.

I would also like to mention the paired screws on the sides – they are fakes, but you can see the Japanese care and attention to detail even here. The screws are tightened at a perfectly even angle, although I used to come across other Edifice series where such proportions were not observed. Well, that’s just for perfectionists. 

The watch is quite heavy [167 grams] and feels both in hand and on the wrist. Well, that’s quite evident. The steel band adds a lot of weight. The links here are not solid [stamped], but I will not dwell on this point, although this point is crucial for many people. The standard locking clasp and separate links for “shortening” are typical to most steel bracelets.

I don’t know about you, but I love ana-digi dials – stylish, informative, and comfortable. Some people are more interested in “hands,” but I can’t do without digital windows.

The crown was turned into a button to correct the time and solve problems with manual settings. I think you have already guessed I am beginning the most crucial part of my review – testing the wireless features. First, I install the EDIFICE Connected app [available for Android and iOS] on my smartphone. I launch it and select ECB-10 from the list of available series. You will also see a window-tip on connecting the watch – hold down the bottom right button for 2 seconds. The electronic window says “CNCT,” and the application reports a successful connection.

We skip the welcome screen, and the app asks for calendar access – you must allow it for the Schedule Timer to work correctly [details later]. What I love about Casio’s Bluetooth is automatic time adjustment and time-zone synchronization. No need to dig through hundreds of manual pages, just a couple of actions on the screen.

The main menu offers a small interactive guide to watch functions, with tabs for all modes – current time, timer, alarm, stopwatch, and world time.

Let’s check the stopwatch function. I switch to the corresponding mode and start the count by pressing the lower left button. The digital display shows minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. The stopwatch, by the way, is very accurate – measuring increments reach 1/1000 of a second. The capacity reaches 24 hours. After a small test, I go to the application and visualize the result. First of all, I press “Log Import” for the data to be transferred to the application. After that, you can see detailed information about the individual laps [if there were any] in the form of graphs and indicators and the time of the best [fastest] lap.

World time is a unique Bluetooth synchronization feature. You can select any of 300 cities worldwide on the interactive map [only 38 cities in the watch’s memory are available without a smartphone] and enjoy easy switching between the current and second time zone.

The Utility tab is exciting, as it contains an entirely new feature Casio introduced with the ECB-10. It is called Scheduled Timer, and it works very simply – the watch displays the remaining time until the scheduled event/meeting. The event is set in the Calendar app [I use Google Calendar], and the synchronization works automatically, and I already see the scheduled time – 8:30 in the digital window. The round window at the 8 o’clock mark may be confused with a tachymeter, but it’s not. The hand shows the remaining time to the nearest scheduled event. Thankfully there are micro divisions on the scale, and you can approximately estimate the number of minutes left. If the meeting is more than 2 hours ahead [the scale limit], the hand will point to the “Over” mark.

I am sure this timer option will find its implementation in the business industry, where you need to monitor your schedule continually. You will agree there is not always time to open the calendar and look for meetings scheduled there, and that is where the ECB-10 comes in handy. When the current meeting is over, the watch switches to the next one – there can be up to 5 of these events simultaneously.

When 10 minutes are left, the “SOON” indicator appears in a window and a countdown [minutes and seconds] starts.

Switching to and from the current time is done by pressing the lower left button.

When the scheduled time approaches, SOON changes to START, and the watch beeps if you forgot about the event.

The ECB-10 also has the classic timer as a separate mode. The indication takes place both on the digital display and with the help of the mode hand.

Five independent alarms and an hourly signal – this is where the Utility tab ends.

The auxiliary settings in the EDIFICE Connect application are phone search, indication settings [12/24-hour format, date type, and language for the day of the week, where Russian and other languages are also present].

Double Super Illuminator is also here – independently for the hands and the digital windows.

I was pleased with the Hand Shift [when the hands go away not to overlap the digital panels]. I found only one disadvantage of the ECB-10 – the battery works only two years. Yes, it can be changed without any problem, but you have to bother with it every two years. It is a little frustrating.

ECB-10 Comparison Table with similar Edifice Watches

Conclusions

The ECB-10 is first and foremost appealing by design, thanks to its premium octagonal bezel. The ability to connect with a smartphone is a much-needed thing, which the Japanese have started to implement already in the relatively inexpensive series, and it’s a significant trend. A bonus in the form of a Scheduled Timer not to miss a scheduled meeting comes in handy if you have very little free time. But the scope of such a timer can be much wider than just business.

Author Yamakot, special for casioblog.ru and casiofanmag.com. All Rights Reserved…

Edifice ECB-10 Photo Gallery

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ECB-10 Profile / Casio Edifice
Average Amazon Price: 230$ (yes, we may earn a commission on qualifying purchases from our links to Amazon)
Year of first release: 2020
Nominations: best design, best functions
The most distinctive specs:
– Edifice Connected App (you may manage all watch settings through your phone)
– Mobile link (Wireless linking using Bluetooth(R)) (for time sync with your phone data)
– Schedule Timer (A new Schedule Timer feature links with a phone’s calendar app*1 to display appointment start times and end times on the watch display and alert you to appointments with a watch alarm)
– 100-meter water resistance (good for swimming but not for deep diving)
Other colors and full specs: ECB-10 Wiki Page