Sander Muller’s odd wall clock is an analog answer to the digital watches available from Tokyoflash: baffling! [via Unplugged and Engadget ]

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Continue Time, a wall clock

Nike’s new running Sportband goes on sale on Wednesday. I got the chance to try it out on a couple of short runs over the weekend, and I must say it’s pretty rad. The function of the Sportband is pretty much the same as the Nike+iPod system , which has been out for several years. The Sportband is the simple, no-frills wrist band version that doesn’t play music or talk to you. If you’re the type of runner who needs to listen to music all the time, and you already own an iPod Nano or Touch, this won’t excite you much. Personally, I often skip the tunes if I’m running with friends, and it’s awesome to have the option of not having to wear an armband and headphones while still tracking my run. The Sportband “talks” to the Nike Plus sensor in your shoe the same way that the iPod version does, but there are several other minor differences besides the above: * There are only two buttons on the Sportband &mdash one that starts, stops, and resets the distance meter, and another that switches views between distance, pace, time, and calories. These are really the only two buttons you need. No awkward fumbling with iPod controls just to get your run on. * Metrics are easier to see when they’re on the wrist vs. on your triceps or in your pocket. * With the old Nike Plus, you had to calibrate the sensor by running a known “control” distance. With the Sportband, you don’t have to do any additional runs &mdash just map out your run using a program like Gmaps Pedometer and use that as the calibration basis. * The little black display bit comes off the armband and plugs directly into your USB port, then automatically uploads runs to Nike Plus. No extra adapters = sweet. * When you’re not running, it’s just a watch. Tells time = useful. * For $59, it’s totally affordable. By the way, I am keeping my word about running a marathon &mdash although admittedly I’m starting with a half-marathon, I have been training five-six times a week. Sportband User Guide [Nike]

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Review: Three miles with the new Nike+ Sportband

Patek Philippe’s “Electronic Master Clock System” from 1975 is a real gem. The unit features independent minute and seconds comparators, and displays the time in five different cities, including New York, Tokyo and Buenos Aires. Interested? This one went for 4,800 via Bonhams . [via Mr. Jones ]

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1975 Electronic Master Clock System

Disclosure: I am not a watch person. My wrists are on the dainty side, so I find bigger watches cumbersome. Growing up, I hated that my watchband tended to make my skin stink after a few wash and wears. Today, I carry a cell phone, which does more than an adequate job of providing the time. That said, I was stoked to get my hands on Rip Curl’s latest Ocean Search tide watch . At the same time, I downloaded tideApp for my both my desktop and G1/Android [via Cool Tools ]. After the jump, find out which tide tool I prefer and why… Considering Rip Curl’s watch boast a titanium and stainless steel body, the rugged timepiece is relatively lightweight and fairly comfortable. It is rated to 200m — not something I need when I’m surfing, but could come in handy should you take up recreational freediving or *knock wood* get dragged down by a shark and live to tell about it. The face comes in black or white. I had black (pic above). I can’t really be sure, but based on pictures, the white face seems preferable in terms of functionality. Between a noticeable screen glare, dark face, and short backing light (3-5 seconds), I found it somewhat difficult to quickly read, especially some of the smaller icons like the tide direction arrow. Auto-luminescence would remedy this (I’ve seen cheaper Casio’s with that feature). On the plus side, and more to the point, the display and settings are relatively easy to grok. The watch’s Automatic Tide System (ATS) features 200 preset breaks (100 less than Quicksilver’s Harvard ). I was able to quickly toggle my way to Mavericks, which isn’t where I surf, but it’s close. To customize for a different beach, from there, you need to program in the average time offset for the desired break (a bummer if your paddling out at lesser-known spots and/or have no idea what that even means). I should add, however, that all the pre-programmed beaches are not listed in alphabetical order, but by region (at least in the case of the West Coast). This is great if, for instance, you’re on surf trip, heading north from San Diego to Malibu to Steamers in Santa Cruz. Since the watch retails for $350-400 , I’d argue some of these minor annoyances are less than minor — especially if you consider tideApp not only provides comparable data, but is 100% FREE . Granted the watch has a moon phase function, but so does tideApp. OK, the watch has a compass (nifty). But so do a lot of smart phone apps. Right, but can you take a smart phone out into the surf? No, but once you’re out in the surf, how necessary are any electronics? IMHO, and again I’m neither a watch person nor a hardcore surfer, data is only useful in the run-up to actual surfing. Since it still takes me a boatload of energy not to wipeout or get swallowed up by the white wash, I don’t want or need the distraction of knowing that high tide is coming in an hour or that I’m gonna be 30 minutes late to work. My opinion could likely change when I’ve started shredding (or been fired). For now, I’d rather save the $400, invest half in a new iPhone, download the free tideApp, and use the rest of the money on other surf gear, like a board bag, more dexterous gloves, or a smaller, $55 waterproof Freestyle watch . No way it’ll handle the beating the Rip Curl could, but I wouldn’t expect it to.

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Tide Widget vs. Watch [Verdict: Save Your $]

A few months ago, I blogged about a web-based analog clock that features the time held up by hot Japanese women. Good news: it’s now available as an iPhone app. If you use this to set your alarm, then the girl showing that time you want to wake up will appear on your screen when the alarm goes off. If you like the girl holding up 8:15 better than the girl holding up 8:20, it’s incentive to wake up five minutes earlier. Get it on iTunes [via Asiajin ]

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New iPhone app features pretty Japanese girls telling time

Spiegel’s history of digital watches has some delights in store: this model, from Seiko, has a built in drum machine. Historic Digital Watches (Machtrans) [Spiegel via Ffffound ]

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Seiko drum machine watch of the 1980s

Hironao Tsuboi’s LED watch conceals its digits in the spaces between links, giving it the appearance of a plain metal strap when not activated. Product Page [100per via Geekologie ]

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The watch with no face