Casio’s A158 Watch Now a Retro Desk Clock You Need

Casio’s A158W digital wristwatch has remained relevant for decades with its simple design and reliability. Now, Casio brings that design from your wrist to your desk with the DQD-851J-8JF desk clock. Scheduled for release on October 25 in Japan, this desk clock channels the aesthetics of the A158 with modern updates.

Designer: Casio

The DQD-851J-8JF borrows design elements from the A158W, including the silver-toned casing and familiar digital display. The clock’s body echoes the classic curves and rectangular silhouette of the A158 watch, giving it a nostalgic appeal reminiscent of the 1980s.

Introduced in the 1980s, the Casio A158W became popular for its utility, affordability, and retro aesthetic. It offered a digital display, LED backlight, and water resistance, making it versatile for all lifestyles. Even today, it remains a favorite among minimalists and retro watch enthusiasts.

The DQD-851J-8JF desk clock pays homage to the A158W while incorporating modern features. One key addition is Wave Ceptor automatic time adjustment, which synchronizes the clock to the Japan Standard Time radio signal (JJY) broadcasted from transmitters within Japan. Note that this feature is exclusive to Japan, and it will not function with radio signals in other regions. The clock also includes a thermometer and hygrometer, providing insight into indoor comfort. Additional features include a snooze alarm, 12/24-hour format, full auto-calendar, and an amber LED backlight.

The desk clock captures the iconic look of the A158W. From the rectangular digital screen framed by the brushed silver-tone bezel to the tactile buttons, every detail evokes a retro vibe. The clock features a larger, easy-to-read LCD screen with bold black digits for readability. It is compact yet stable, measuring 102 x 117 x 48 millimeters and weighing 185 grams.

The amber LED backlight offers a warm glow, reminiscent of the original wristwatch’s light. The buttons for adjusting settings are placed intuitively, similar to the wristwatch, for easy interaction. The brushed finish of the casing and slightly raised bezel add to its retro charm.

The DQD-851J-8JF is powered by two AA batteries, offering about one year of battery life—convenient and low-maintenance, much like the original A158W.

Casio’s decision to create a desk clock inspired by the A158W honors the enduring appeal of a product that has outlasted tech trends. The A158W’s straightforward nature makes it timeless. With the DQD-851J-8JF, that appeal now lives in a new form factor, ideal for any desk or nightstand.

For those who cherish the A158, the DQD-851J-8JF brings that classic vibe into other parts of life. Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering Casio’s digital nostalgia for the first time, this desk clock is an excellent way to celebrate a design that has stood the test of time. Pre-orders are available in Japan.

The post Casio’s A158 Watch Now a Retro Desk Clock You Need first appeared on Yanko Design.

This 3-in-1 cooking appliance includes a stove, a convection oven and a grill with magnetic skewers!

Decker is a multilayered kitchen appliance which has a stove, a convection oven and a grill, that helps young professionals with their busy lifestyle cooking or heating up food quickly while also presenting the feeling of grilling outdoors. Devoid of fossil fuels like coal, and using electricity it creates a smokeless experience, perfect for an urban kitchen or a balcony.

Young Millennials and Gen Z users who to stay in urban apartments and community housing have little access to the experience of cooking food on a grill. Indoors, using a BBQ grill not only creates a fire hazard but most living quarters prohibit the use of them as there is a lot of smoke and soot. Most of the users, also prefer to use healthier food sources and means of cooking. However, with something like a sous Vide option, the authentic grill taste is not achieved which is a clear smoked flavour and the experience of cooking on a grill top.

“We worked to understand the core user and their daily habits, likes, and dislikes as well as the environment in which the product is likely to be used. Using a bunch of observational research as well as qualitative questions, we were able to get a ton of insights into how we can move away from the traditional kitchen appliance,” said the team.

Meat/Veggie Divider
Food can now we cooked separately without mixing or contaminating veggies with meat and can be served without any issue for vegetarians and vegan preferences.

Top Glass Lid For Keeping Food Warm
A heat resistant shott glass lid protects the heat and keeps the food warm and doesn’t let it go dry. Using the smart app, you can maintain a consistent temperature until you are ready to consume the food cooked.

Residue Tray
With all the messy fat and oil seeping down, the residue tray helps clear out the gunk and the messy residue. It is completely detachable and can be used to dispose of waste easily and clean it without having to handle it within the device itself.

Triple Decker
Decker is designed to be used every day to cook, heat, and grill food. It is made up of a traditional electric stove, a convection oven, and a grill top to cover various aspects of cooking. So it’s not just a seasonal appliance but can be used everyday.

Smart Docking
The Convection oven and grill docks on to the hot plate stove through contact points to provide a multi layered cooking experience. The appliance is designed to be devoid of visual clutter yet intuitive enough to access all the features and key areas

Efficient Heat Distribution
The placement of the two electric heating coils for the hot plate stove and the grill create a top and down heat just like in a woodfire oven cooking food evenly and efficiently

Magnetic Skewers
The back base of the grill has a magnetic base to hold any metal skewer in place and making it easy to roll and grill meat or veggies.

Stackable And Modular
With the contact points connecting each appliance, power can be transmitted easily to each of the coils independently so that the appliance is not only efficient but also can cater to various use case scenarios. With the smart docking feature, it can be easily assembled or disassembled to create multiple cooking features.

We created a clear yet functional UI that displays options as and when the functionalities are selected. The display screen is a hi definition OLED display that is touch sensitive with multi touch as well as provides haptic feedback to the option selected. With the three functional elements of a stove, grill, and oven, the options for each use case are already mapped out so the user doesn’t have to navigate through a whole bunch of visual clutter thus creating a Dynamic UI.

UI Components
Drawing inspiration from Skuemorphic elements of existing physical appliances, we worked to create a sense of familiarity in the user interface but modernized and minimally depicted a lot of the interactions.

A digital control interface was designed for the appliance to make sure that there are no physical buttons but there was no reduction in options. An intelligent interface that would bring together various options as and when the functionality of the appliance demanded it, added a sophisticated and ease of use. The functions for the Oven would update based on the selection, where as if it was the grill function selected the control interface would update to reveal the relevant functionalities so the user was presented with zero visual clutter and options that were irrelevant to the function being used.

Designers: Vyasateja Rao, Joel D’silva, Anil Ramesh, and Arun Kumar of Analogy Design

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This exercise bike’s minimal aesthetics means it looks good even when not in use!

Fitness is paramount in current uncertain times where work from home is the only way to keep yourself and loved ones safe. That comes with a caveat though – restricted physical activity. Even though you have all the fancy home exercise equipment you tend to get bored of it and overtime ditch it altogether. Take the exercise bike for reference – with passing time it becomes more of a cloth hanger defeating the whole purpose of buying one! So how about an exercise bicycle which will keep you engaged to work out more, and when not in use, can be sported as an attractive living room installation?

Shard Exercycle designed by Analogy Design is crafted in a way that focuses more on aesthetics and function rather than the statistics that are displayed upfront. The brass metal outer frame encapsulates the fiberglass body which has the pedals, handlebar, and a seat to give the bike a pleasing form factor, one that you would actually want to flaunt. According to Arun Kumar, the lead product designer at Analogy, “The challenge here was to bring about a sculptural quality in the product using the right materials but also maintaining a balance between both the physical and digital experiences of the product.” The design phase of the bike was centered on ergonomic comfort and the flexibility to fit people of different heights and body measurements. Once that was sorted the design team proceeded with the layout of biofeedback interactions to light up the whole body that conveys the workout intensity in real-time. Combine that with the heart rate and speed sensors built-in, Shard Exercycle communicates the data with the compatible app to do all the fancy analysis.

The bicycle app gives the users plethora of options to make the exercise routine engaging – the likes of competing with your friends or improving on your previous personal records. You can also tweak the fitness routine with multiple modes in the menu options. Even better when you are not working out, the machine can turn into an art installation – syncing with the mood lights or smart speakers to flow with the tunes of music!

Designer: Analogy Design