 top notch for functionality & value |
| Review Date: October 11, 2004 |
| Reviewer: B. Dirks, Jamesport, MO USA |
| I have had this unit's previous model, the DBC-150, for about 5 years. I am not easy on watches, this watch has been worn swimming, biking, construction work, I now build cabinetry and use the calculator all the time for quick calculations. If I'm with a customer and they give me a phone # when my laptop isn't turned on, I simply punch 2 buttons then enter in the phone # for later viewing, if I want to make multiple scedules and be reminded at a certian time, no problem. For the money, I haven't found a better watch for me. I will tell you that I don't think it looks nice enough to wear to church, I wear a less functional but nicer looking watch for that! |
Databank DBC-150 - is there a better watch?
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| Review Date: January 31, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Bill Bernstein, Bon Air, Virginia |
This watch is about the cheapest high-utility watch available. I bought one of the first Databank watches in 1984 and it lasted 13 or 14 years (yes, I'm an ultrageek) then a broken key forced me to update to the DBC-150. Except that the band breaks every 1-2 years from drying out (replace with Timex TX22G3 band ~$8), I can't recommend a better watch.
-Main clock
-stopwatch to 23h59m
-countdown timer from up to 23h59m w/ autorepeat function
-4-function calculator with single memory
-150 memory memo each with 8 alphanumeric + 12 numeric per memory (a little tedious to create a memo but no more than any other watch)
-one general alarm
-alarmed scheduler (12 alphanumberic event name, trigger date/time) with memory shared with memory (e.g. if you have 50 memos, you can have 100 scheduled titled alarms)
-26 zone world-time with dual-display; can be set independent of the main clock (dual display of main clock and world-time - one look while traveling keeps you time oriented)
-illuminator total back-light (doubles as a flashlight in extreme darkness)
Beware that this watch takes a 22mm replacement band but not all 22mm bands will work - the axle cowling of the watch body allows only a band with thin axle loops which are uncommon with most replacement sport bands. Department stores tends to be sold out so if you want to buy mail-order, be sure to get a Timex TX22G3 ($8) or the DB series black-resin band from Casio (usually $15-$25). |
the only watch i own..
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| Review Date: January 10, 2004 |
| Reviewer: J. N. M. ROBLES, London, UK |
I bought this watch for the first time in Chinatown NYC in 1994. Because I scratch it after a few years (3 or 4 in average), I replace it everynow and then.
I got my last one in downtown Miami for $50 last summer.It features, 150 phones/schedules, calculator, alarm, time zones, timer, stop watch.. nice display, nice touch. And most important, it has the iluminator buttom which displays a nice blue neon light around the plastic case. You'll learn how to use in just a minute. |
A truly great timepiece.
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| Review Date: December 1, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Richard D. Roman, Chicago suburbs |
| From a utilitarian standpoint this is a great product. Why spend big $ on a watch that only tells time. This product give date, and time, has two alarms, has a scheduler, has a stop watch, a timer, a second time zone mode, a calculator, and 150 places to store names and phone numbers. All for less than $75. You can keep your fashion statements and glitz. Practical is the way to go. And this is practical with a capitol "C". This is the third watch of this type and brand that I have had in the last 20 some years (my previous watch is still running but a little cranky at times). So my investment is certainly very reasonable considering I use it every day, day in and day out. |
My work and travel watch
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| Review Date: January 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: T. Thomas, No. CA |
| I've been using this databank model since the late 70's, when the memory was more limited, and you couldn't change the battery quick enough to save the data! I still hate entering the data, and now I have more of it! I find I get about 5 years from each watch before something goes. I use all the functions daily,except the stop watch. The present models allow me to get the battery changed and keep the data. My last watch went cookoo when I was at the equator last spring. I don't know if it was the humidity, or the polarization, but the functions quit. Eventually they all returned except the divide function, and I really missed it. Got another databank. I am a female with a 5 3/4" inch wrist and find the resin bands work great for me. Only had one incident where the band broke. Would love for Casio to come out with colored resins in this model, also computer interface for data, and while I'm fantasizing, how about a "build your own functions" model where I can get GPS, foreign language and a host of other needs! I picked up a colored databank multi-lingual in Singapore (I haven't seen them offered in the USA), but I don't want to travel with multi watches. I keep watching the line, looking for the next best thing! |
Best calculator watch ever
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| Review Date: June 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Gadget Geek, Kalispell, MT |
I have used calculator watches since I bought my first one in 1986. And I have now owned 3 of these. This is the good old standard, durable and functional and well-performing. There are "better" models that I have had which sacrifice usability for larger screen space, but they are so convoluted that you have to read a 700 page manual in order to learn how to use it. By contrast, this one is mostly straight-forward, with only a few special features needing a manual or experimentation to be learned.
My last watch was the "superior" e-Data Bank, which was effectually useless, IMHO. When the watch started giving me strange, intermittent power issues, I gladly used the excuse to buy another one of these.
One of these watches will last you a few years, until you have beaten it to heck and it finally starts to fall apart from wear and tear. The most common issue is scratching the crystal face from brushing your hand against a wall. But then, that will happen to any watch.
The one thing that will not last very long on this watch is the band. I will go through about 8 wristbands throughout the life of this watch. But the occasional band and replacing batteries once or twice a year is fine, considering this watch has a typical life for me of about 4 to 5 years.
I have had the earlier models with the tiny white light illuminating the face, but the electroluminescent ("EL") light on this is superb. It puts out so much light, in fact, that I sometimes use it as an impromptu flashlight in the dark of night. Do that a few hundred times, and there goes the battery. ;-)
I also prefer this watch because of its number of buttons. The "more advanced" (notice I keep using quotation marks when referring to the other piece of useless technology) watch will use one fewer row of buttons, so that simple operations require more button presses, and it becomes ridiculous to do simple things like calculating the mpg for the latest fill-up on my car. Heck, it didn't even have a memory function like this one does!
I do have to say that I would love to see Casio build the ultimate watch, based off of this platform. They have had MP3 player watches and still have a few versions of TV remote controls on watches, but they of course sacrifice calculator functionality to do so. Shame. I would like to see even an advanced version of this watch, with larger memory pages, allowing more text and including (more usable) e-mail addresses, for instance, which the e-Data Bank claimed to be able to do (but I still couldn't get it after months of experimenting, and the manual was ridiculous).
My first calculator watch had a Space Invaders-style game on it, as well as a tone generator, so that you could play music by pressing keys on the keypad. Thinking of this and with the advances in other electronics, I keep thinking this watch should be capable of more bells and whistles, but of all the calculator watches out there today, this is the most useful and usable.
And in case I haven't been clear on the fact, using the functions on this watch are mostly intuitive. You don't have to do funky key presses to get certain things to work. And the two-week calendar display of upcoming events is very nice. All the info you need is right there when you look at it. And so on...
Do not waste your money on any other version of this or any other watch. This is the one! :-) Enjoy! |
great watch for my work
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| Review Date: October 11, 2004 |
| Reviewer: B. Dirks, Jamesport, MO USA |
| I like functional pieces, this is that functional piece, I can set it to remind me of multiple scedules, I can store customers phone #'s even if my laptop isn't turned on, I use the calculator all the time, and it has a timer I use occasionally also. I've had mine for about 5 years, and unlike the previous reviews, I have never attempted to keep it dry, even going swimming with it. The batteries go down every year or two, they are easily replaceable at Wal-Mart. Note: this watch has been replaced by the DBC150-1 |
Great features
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| Review Date: October 14, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Bill,, San Diego, CA USA |
| This is a mature product, but its combination of timer, stopwatch, daily alarm, multiple day/time alarms, and calculator, plus other features, still seems unbeatable. |
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