Casio Runner's Collection and Noise Loop: A tale of two dials

Casio Runner's Collection and Noise Loop are ideal for running and training

Small but tough
 
Casio is best known for its G-Shock watches. Though mostly aimed at men, it appeals to both sexes because of its rugged design. In 1994, Casio launched the “Baby-G” series, essentially a feminine G-Shock.
 
This time, Casio has introduced a “Runner’s Collection” featuring the Baby-G watches. I got my hands on the Baby-G BGA-240 watch that is quite similar in appearance to the other G-Shock watches.
 
Meant for women who are fitness freaks or runners, I was unsure as to how it would be of use, considering I’m neither. I am clumsy though, and was pretty relieved to find the watch intact without a single scratch.
 
The watch has both digital and analogue faces and is easy to set up. It is ideal for runners as it lets you measure lap and split times that can further be saved and reviewed later. It comes with three multifunctional alarms and an option to set an additional time zone.
 
This Baby-G model is also water resistant, along with being scratch resistant, and can withstand about 100 metres of water.
Priced at Rs 5,995, the watch is surprisingly lightweight and idealfor women runners who don’t want to spend a lot of money on time pieces.
 
Light on your pocket
 

Noise Loop

There is no dearth of smartwatches in the market, but the ones with a circular dial are few and expensive. Noise Loop offers you not only a circular dial but at a low price tag.
 
The Loop has a 1.3-inch HD IPS screen with 240x240 resolution. The watch houses a MediaTek MT2502C chip with 128MB of RAM and is compatible with iOS and Android phones. Though it claims to support Android 4.2 and above, I did face problems pairing it with an Android 4.4 phone.
 
The watch comes with numerous pre-installed apps. Once synced, third-party apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp notifications are also displayed on it. Since smartwatches are mainly used for fitness, it comes with a gamut of fitness apps such as a health index, ECG monitor, and a sedentary reminder. But, I found the heart rate monitor to be inaccurate; on numerous occasions, it displayed my heart rate to be as low as 39 bpm. And the last I checked, I certainly don’t suffer from bradycardia.
 
The Loop houses a 280 mAh battery that lasts more than a day on a full charge.
 
At Rs 4,999, the Noise Loop is a good option for those not looking for anything too flashy.