Reinventing itself

There was a time when Casio watches meant being modern, contemporary and oh so stylish. Over a period of time, as competition increased, Casio kind of fell off the “coveted” brand list. And the company too stood still, not knowing how to reinvent itself. Though it has managed to keep some of its relevance intact, Casio is not a “preferred” brand like the way it was earlier.

To thus avoid a “Kodak” moment, where the photo film company refused to change with times, Casio is now taking competition head-on.

Forty years after it launched its first digital watch, yesterday, Casio introduced its first smartwatch, a $500 model that uses Google Inc.’s Android operating system. It is targeted at outdoor enthusiasts with applications for hiking, cycling and fishing. It is also planning on more watches in the future which could also have features of business applications. Casio already makes hand-held terminals for workers in warehouses or stores to keep track of inventory or scan packages.

Its good to know that Casio is more than alive and kicking; it could probably be the closest to tough competition for Apple.