Timex Expedition WS4 Barometric chart rainy

The Timex Expedition WS4 is a multifunction digital watch produced by Timex. In addition to regular timekeeping, it features

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer ...

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...

, and

weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...

functions. "WS4" stands for "Wide Screen 4 Functions". It was introduced in May 2009. The watch was field tested by American climber and adventurer

Conrad Anker Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a sear ...

during an expedition to

Garhwal Himalaya The Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Geology This range is also a part of Himalaya Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major peaks ...

in 2008. It was number 4 of "7 Best Outdoor Gear Picks for 2009" by ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

''. The watch is also on the "Seven advanced watches that do more than just tell time" list of ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bu ...

''. Its face resembles the rear window of a

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

. Its compass function takes into consideration the

magnetic declination Magnetic declination, or magnetic variation, is the angle on the horizontal plane between magnetic north (the direction the north end of a magnetized compass needle points, corresponding to the direction of the Earth's magnetic field lines) an ...

of a city so that the compass can point to the

true North True north (also called geodetic north or geographic north) is the direction along Earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole or True North Pole. Geodetic north differs from ''magnetic'' north (the direction a compass points toward t ...

while geolocated in that city.

Design and features

The watch features a wide screen LCD display designed to show multiple information displays at once without the need to change modes. The reason for that is that during expeditions, the user must be able to see as much information as possible without the distraction of having to press buttons to retrieve the data. Timex calls the display a "multifunction

dashboard For business applications, see Dashboard (business). A dashboard (also called dash, instrument panel (IP), or fascia) is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle or small aircraft. Usually located directly ahead of the drive ...

". The display is also referred to as "widescreen dashboard". The watch features a barometer whose output is updated every hour in the form of a graphical display. This creates a

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

chart which was used by Conrad Anker during his

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n expedition to predict the weather based on the atmospheric pressure

trend A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve shor ...

s; if the pressure decreased suddenly with no subsequent upward trend, it was a sign of an approaching storm, while a gradual pressure increase indicated improving weather. During the pre-product launch testing, Anker suggested several modifications to the design of the watch, such as less sensitive buttons and the creation of a

lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lowe ...

version which would enable climbers to wear the watch around their neck, keeping their hands free. Timex incorporated Anker's suggestions into the final product design. The watch has also a review function which displays graphically the variation of parameters such as temperature, pressure, and altitude as a function of time for the duration of an excursion. File:Timex Expedition WS4.jpg, The Timex Expedition WS4 in time display mode. The temperature displays 28.1 degrees Celsius while the sun icon indicates the barometric pressure trend is positive, forecasting improving weather ahead. The digital time is also displayed through an LCD watch with analogue hands located on the upper left corner of the dashboard. File:Timex Expedition WS4 Barometric chart peaks cloudy close up.jpg, Timex Expedition WS4 in barometric chart mode. The trend of the barometric chart is negative, indicating decreasing atmospheric pressure, thus the cloud icon, just above the temperature display, indicates deteriorating or cloudy weather ahead. The time is indicated by the LCD analogue display watch on the upper left corner of the dashboard.

Reception

The Gizmodo reviewer comments that "Man, I don't even ski and I want this." and that he desires the functionality of the watch "even if ecan't envision a scenario when ewould ever use it".

Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...

mentions that "We haven't had a chance to do all the rock climbing, mountain biking, and sumo wrestling we plan on using this watch for, but we already feel stronger, smarter, more aware of the outside temperature, and way better looking. After we take on a crew of zombie Nazis, ride in a barrel over Niagara Falls, and spend 24 hours encased in ice, we'll let you know how it holds up. Until then, enjoy the pics." ''

Boing Boing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twic ...

'' comments: "The new Timex Expedition WS4 is a lot of watch: altimeter, barometer, thermometer, chronograph, alarm and compass. It even tells time! It's also unapologetically macho which not venturing too far into the land of overwrought wrist weights." ''

'' refers to the large display of the watch which makes it easy to read multiple outputs without having to scroll using the mode button and adds that "While this may be useful for climbers who have their hands full gripping cliff faces, it could be just as practical for strap-hanging subway riders who are jammed between fellow commuters". ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' reviewer calls the watch " hecan-do Timex Expedition WS4" then goes on to enumerate its functions, concluding that "its face is the shape of the rear window of a

." Gear Junkie describes the watch as looking "like something Dick Tracy would wear".

References

{{Reflist, 30em Products introduced in 2009 Timex Group Timex watches Weather forecasting