Casio’s new G-Shock watch is inspired by NASA’s eye-catching orange spacesuits

Casio has launched a new G-Shock model with a bold color that would look instantly familiar to space fans. It takes its eye-catching hue from the iconic orange suits astronauts wear for the ascent and entry portions of their flight so that they could be easily spotted by rescue teams in case their spacecraft has to bail out into the ocean. On the watch’s official product page, G-Shock wrote that the black dial of the watch represents the black visor on the helmets astronauts wear with the suit, while the thin blue line on the dial mimics the suits’ blue accents. 

In addition, the watch’s band loop is adorned by an American flag and the back of its casing features the engraving of an astronaut. Even its packaging is on-theme: The watch comes in a tin can and a box that also feature elements of NASA’s “pumpkin suits.”

As collectSPACE notes, NASA introduced the vivid spacesuits following the Challenger tragedy in the 80’s, and they had gone through several iterations since then. The latest version is the Orion Crew Survival System, which had been optimized for comfort, comes in more than one size and was designed to be easier to connect to the communications system. 

That Casio would release a new G-Shock watch based on a NASA spacesuit doesn’t come as a surprise. It has a long history with the agency, with G-Shock being one of the few timepieces NASA has approved for use on the space shuttle and aboard the ISS. In fact, this is the third NASA-branded G-Shock model it has released, following an all-white and a black-and-white watch adorned with the red NASA logo known as “the worm.”

This orange watch, however, is more expensive than its predecessors and will set buyers back $170. It’s only available for a limited time and can be purchased from Casio’s website.

The best student discounts we found for 2022

Your college years can be some of the best of your life, but we know it can be tough to enjoy them when you’re scrounging every dollar for textbooks, food and (if you’re lucky) the occasional outing with friends. Money is tight when you’re a student, a…

Engadget Podcast: MacBook Air M2 review, Apple betas and NASA’s space pics

This week on the show, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into Apple’s new MacBook Air M2 and its recent batch of OS betas. It turns out a redesign and a whole new chip makes the MacBook Air even more compelling than before (at least more than the 13-inch MacBook Pro). Also, we chat with Lisa Grossman, Astronomy Writer at Science News, about the astounding new photos and data from the James Webb Space Telescope. It’s a clear upgrade from Hubble, and NASA is just getting started!

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

Subscribe!

Topics

  • Apple’s M2 MacBook Air is very good – 1:21

  • There’s lots of fun stuff to explore in the iOS 16 beta – 7:39

  • Stage Manager in MacOS Ventura is a step forward for window organization – 18:11

  • What’s new in the watchOS 9 beta – 24:11

  • New pictures confirm the James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionize astronomy – 30:44

  • Elon Musk is trying to back out of his Twitter deal after three whole months – 53:14

  • Our Nothing Phone 1 hands-on – 54:49

  • Listener Mail: A phishing test for employees at Lowe’s – 1:02:45

  • Working on – 1:05:58

  • Pop culture picks – 1:06:50

Video Stream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Lisa Grossman
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien

Intel price hikes could make PCs more expensive

Intel has told customers that it will raises prices on most of its processors and other chips by up to 10-20 percent later this year, Nikkei has reported. That could mean price increases on computers products ranging from laptops to servers, at the same time that demand is weakening and sales are dropping. 

Intel effectively confirmed the news, referring back to its Q1 earnings call. “Intel indicated it would increase pricing in certain segments of its business due to inflationary pressures. The company has begun to inform customers of these changes,” it told Nikkei.

With the COVID-19 keeping folks working at home, PC sales increased dramatically in 2020-21. That bubble has since burst, however, and key Intel buyers like Acer, ASUS and others have warned of slowing sales ahead. Acer Chairman Jason Chen even noted that his company is no longer seeing a shortage of chips. “Some of the chip suppliers’ CEOs even called me recently to buy more chips from them. The situation has changed,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Rival chipmaker TSMC previously said that it would race prices by a “single-digit” percentage starting next year. Since that company manufactures AMD’s chips, consumers aren’t likely to find as much price relief by switching brands, either. 

Some device makers are starting to build up inventories, which could mean deals in the short term. However, the outlook longer term is less clear. Samsung, for one, reportedly told suppliers to stop shipping parts used to manufacture its PCs, TVs and other devices. 

Nothing Phone 1 Review: A remarkable-looking midrange Android phone

When I first pulled the Nothing Phone 1 from its slender retail box, I just stared at it, flipped it over in my hand and scrutinized the see-through bits and pieces. Nothing’s attention to detail was noticeable everywhere. I’ll admit it outright: I lov…

James Webb telescope can take detailed photos of our own solar system’s planets and moons

Over the past few days, NASA has released stunning photos of nebulae, groups of galaxies and even the “deepest” view of the universe taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. Now, the agency has released images of something much closer to home that ever…

NFT marketplace Opensea lets go of 20 percent of its staff

The world’s largest NFT platform, Opensea, is cutting 20 percent of its workforce. The information comes directly from CEO Devin Finzer, who tweeted a screenshot of a Slack message he’d sent to the entire company staff Thursday. Finzer blamed the economic instability around both crypto specifically and the economy broadly for the layoffs. The cuts, he wrote, would prepare the company in the event of a prolonged downturn.

“The changes we’re making today put us in a position to maintain multiple years of runway under various crypto winter scenarios (5 years at the current volume), and give us high confidence that we only have to go through this process once.”

Since Opensea doesn’t disclose the number of its employees, it’s unclear exactly how many people are impacted by the cuts. But after this story was published, OpenSea told Engadget that the company now employs 230 people. In the same Slack message, Finzer states the impacted staffers will get “generous severance” and healthcare coverage into 2023. Specifically, the company is offering 12 weeks of severance pay, accelerated equity vesting and six months of healthcare coverage among some other benefits. 

In January the company raised $300 million in venture capital funding, which Finzer said it would use to hire 90 new employees and establish a fund for creators. Finzer made no mention of the new investor dollars in his memo to employees.

Opensea joins a growing group of prominent crypto giants who have undergone layoffs this summer. Coinbase cut more than 1,100 jobs last month, also citing the crypto winter and tough economy. Also in June, BlockFi laid off roughly 20 percent of its staff (or around 200 people) and Crypto.com laid off 260 workers — only months after it signed a $700 million deal for naming rights to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Update, 7/15/22 12PM ET: This story has been updated to note that OpenSea confirmed that its headcount now stands at 230 employees. We’ve also added some details on the package offered to former employees. The story originally stated that OpenSea had 769 employees, but that detail has been removed as it was inaccurate. 

Sure, why not: Wordle is becoming a board game

Wordle players who can’t resist posting their scores on social media to show off their verbal smarts can now subject friends to this behavior in-person. Hasbro and New York Times Games announced a physical adaptation of the online word game phenomenon to be called Wordle: The Party Game, designed to be played with multiple players or teams.

Each round of Wordle: The Party Game begins with one player (the so-called “Wordle Host”) who writes down a secret word. The rest of the players will be given six tries to guess it, much like the online version. Players who take fewer attempts to guess the secret word will earn less points, and the player with the least points at the end of the game wins. The game comes with three Wordle boards, a secret word board for the host and dry-erase markers There’s also a set of physical green and yellow tiles that mimic the ones used in the game.

The board game will cost $19.99, and is available to pre-order today at Amazon, Target and Hasbro’s online store. Wordle: The Party Game is expected to hit stores in October, which will also be the one-year anniversary of the online game’s release to the public. Since its debut, the strangely addictive word game has been purchased by the New York Times and inspired a number of spin-offs, including Tradle, which has players identify countries by their exports and Heardle, a guessing game for popular songs. Earlier this week, Spotify purchased Heardle for an undisclosed sum.