Customer Reviews

Timex Men's T5C291 Ironman Data Link USB Watch

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I've been looking for a watch like this for years. This watch is great. I used to have a Casio Forester. I could save up to 20 phone numbers in it. I quickly out grew it, always having to take numbers out to add new ones. Also, it didn't look very professional all blinking, flashing and stuff. I always felt a little silly wearing it in the work setting.

To start off with, my Timex Data Link 5C291 looks great! Sporty yet professional enough with the metal band. To date, I've put over 100 phone numbers in it and haven't even gotten near 50% of its memory storage. I also use it at work to download my MS Outlook schedule & contacts list. It is so simple and I have set it up to auto update whenever I connect the watch to the computer. All my co-workers schlep there PDAs around with them to do what this watch does. Of course, my timex can't do everything their PDA does but most of them never use it beyond finding phone numbers and checking their schedule.

I also love the flexibility of setting up the menus. I've customized it so that I can get the info I want fast and don't have to scroll through unwanted menus or functions. The software works well and is easy to learn and use. I'm using Windows XP at work that is connected to an office network. This is the best designed digital product I've ever purchased. This watch is a steal for the price.

Wish List
I do wish that there were a few additions. I've looked into the added 3rd party programs that can be downloaded to the watch and found them for the most part just toys. It would be nice if there were some more useful applications beyond just what Timex created. Also, the watch only works on one computer. That means either your work computer or your home computer. It can sometimes be a little of a hassle waiting to get to work to add a personal phone number. Another limiting function is when contacts are added to the watch from MS Outlook they are brought in last name first. I don't always know the last name of my contacts and it can be difficult and time consuming to find them when this is the case. That's it. Everything else is awesome.

In short, this is a great watch and well worth the money. Forget the PDA, too much of a hassle. Carry it all in your watch.

Lets start with the only two negatives: Rather large size and you need a PC with a USB port. Now that is over with, this is a terrific watch! The program installs easily on the PC and ALL data is put on the watch with a very slick program. I put in all my addresses, birth days, appointments, and a ton of utilities (and games- let's not forget games!). The screen is very large and easily read. The band is solid and (once you learn how) easily adjusted for size. There are dozens of apps that can be downloaded that other folks have written for the watch. I can set the watch time by updating the PC with NIST and then attaching my watch (poof within a second of dead accurate). Keeps time well, the buttons are easily pushed but not obtrusive. The birthdays and appointments slide down a week scale on the watch so I do not get surprised.
So lets see what I have right now: countown timer for walking and swimming, stopwatch, couple dozen contacts (including chinese place), black jack, scientific calulator, magic 8 ball, yathzee, occasion, and options.
Seconds to connect, change things and redownload. all data can be stored on a backup so never have to do it twice.
What a great watch!

The watch is a bit on the big side but for everything it does, I can overlook that. It has a good, easy to read, display and has "Indiglo" to make it easy to see in the dark.
I use the watch to keep me reminded of all my work meetings, to keep track of my contacts and to keep my golf score--among the myriad other applications it can have.
Only quibble? I wish the alarm was a wee bit louder.
I tried for a long time to get the actual size of this watch prior to purchase but I had a tough time. So, for those interested:
The black part of the bezel is 1.5 inches top to bottom and side to side. From the extreme left edge to the extreme right (of the crown) is 1.85 inches.

I've owned my Datalink USB for over 2 years, and am looking for a new one because I seem to have misplaced mine (entirely my fault, not the watch).

First the limited downsides. Screen is somewhat prone to scratching, especially on the "dress" versions of the watch. This can be cured by custom cutting a PDA screen protector, or simple clear packing tape. The crown can be pressed by flexing your wrist far enough back, which activates the light and can drain the battery quicker. This is mostly solved by setting a long night mode delay on the PC side of the software. It doesn't have a keypad, info is entered by scrolling through letters with a spin of the crown.

Second, the downsides seen by others that are easily fixable. A large selection of software, expert peer support, and a huge amount of info can be found on the Yahoo group TimexDatalinkUSB. Watch resets are very often caused by a dead battery. Even if the watch is "new", it has likely been sitting in a stockroom for quite sometime, using up a good portion of the watches usual 1 year battery life. A battery with slightly more capacity is an option as well. The watch does not interface with Outlook 2007 out of the box, but the group mentioned above has an easy fix.

Now for the good stuff I haven't seen mentioned. You can add games, RSS feeds, an interactive calendar, custom calculators, contact lists, multiple alarms, custom stopwatches/chronographs and countdown timers, custom beeptones, etc, off the top of my head. There is also an app that measures the accuracy of your individual watch, and then automatically compensates for it, making it one of the most accurate timepieces available. All this is freely available to anyone who owns one of these watches.

I love this. My father bought this for me two years ago. ZThe software is great and unlike the previous resondent I did not have any issues with office xp or 2003.
There are three issues I have. First is the adujustments. In order to change the timex I had to hook it back up to the computer.
Two, my watchband broke, and finding a new one is not easy.

Three. The datalink wire stopped working and their answer was replace the battery, which I did. It did not fix the problem. So I called them and they sent me a new cord for FREE!

I had a couple of these DataLink watches when they were brand new about ten years ago now. Back then the data was transferred with a flashing CRT and an electric eye on the watch. Very clever.

It is not an overstatement to say that the DataLink watches changed my life. Mostly it was the alarms. I'm the kind of guy who can get focused on a project and totally forget my next appointment. The DataLink watch almost totally solved that problem. I'd use it for everthing from business meetings, to taking medications, to sending out a birthday card to not missing the XFiles (pre TiVo or even VCR days!).

But why only three stars? Every Timex watch I've owned in the last decade died an early life. OK, I am a _little_ [...] watches and I live in a hostile climate (the Arabian desert) but I finally swtched to a [...] Casio and it has yet to die. I USED to be a super brand-loyal Timex buyer (for like 20 years!) but no longer.

This watch works well and the software is easy to use. (I'll let the other reviews cover the details). It is big, but if that doesn't bother you, you will like the convenience, the amount of data it holds and how easy the watch updates with the computer. The metal band on this model is made for a big wrist, so you may have to adjust it. I hadn't done this before, so it took a bit to figure out because I didn't want to break it, but it's actually quite simple: you just drive the pins out (in the direction of the arrow on the inside of the band), remove the links you want and then pin it back together. As a tool to drive out the pins, I cut the straight part off of a small paper clip and gave it a light rap with the edge of a pair of pliers and it worked fine. A diagram for removing links from a similar band is at http://www.webjeweller.com/jewellery/removelinks.shtml

So, their advertisement says it's like having a PDA on your wrist. I was more than a little skeptical when I purchased the watch and thought for sure I would be returning it within a few days. To my surprise it syncs up seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook and I carry about 300 contacts with name, address, phone, fax, e-mail, etc plus my entire outlook calendar of events, plus everyone's birthday and anniversary, plus several alarms. The memory is about 80% full with this information. I no longer bother carrying a PDA with me, as every appointment and contact is on my wrist.

The downside to the watch is the rotary dial control on the side, when depressed it activates the watches light. If you are not careful how you wear or pack the watch you could end up with a dead battery in no time. Also if you go in the water that same button is susceptible to being depressed, without you meaning to, by flexing your wrist. I avoid taking the watch into the water for this reason and have had no problems in the 6 months I've owned the watch.

I have a box full of watches needing batteries - I never use them. This is the best watch I've ever owned.

I needed a countdown timer and had a simple casio - 1 click 1min timer, 2 clicks 3min timer .. and so on. I had two of those but they didn't last and became hard to find. I needed a quick and simple countdown for time slicing work at the office, an hour on this project, 15 mins on this call, etc. The 2nd casio died and I went through a couple more watch purchases - too difficult to program or use. Then I found this watch and yipee -- it ports to my PC, how simple yet highly configurable. Its perfect for my needs with room to grow.

It's easily accessible countdown timer allows me to configure my own timers on my pc! Ported to my laptop, it downloads quickly. I'm a diabetic and the countdown is perfect for tracking when to test my glucose, alarms I use for water reminders. Import your appointments, occasions and contacts from Outlook, Outlook Express or a CVS file. Select the individual items you want to download, or highlight and add them all. Working internationally and need quick access to world time - its on your wrist. This watch has a true wealth of features.

I hate something tight around my wrist - the band is big enough for a nice loose bracelet fit - push it up my arm a short ways and it doesn't get in the way when laptop typing.

I can't say enough about this watch, I truely do love it. Have owned it a year and had no problems. I'm in here today ready to buy another just to have a back up! Or maybe as another reviewer commented I'll get the black for evening wear. If you buy this watch, I think you'll come to love it too.

I have owned two previous Datalink watches. This is, by far, the best ever, and, at just over $50, the cheapest.

I agree with most of what has already been said: it is a bit big, especially if you were used to wearing a lightweight and thin analog watch, and the band is hard to adjust, with or without instructions, but otherwise it is just about perfect for me. I have no problem interfacing with Outlook 2003 as BobLLL claims he does- maybe he has older Timex software- but the integration was simple and easy for me.

I do wish you could have more apps installed simultaneously- There are several free downloads, but you pretty much have to remove one in order to install another- even if you still have plenty of memory. For instance, I would like to install the Pulse Calculator, but would have to give up either the countdown timer or the interval timer, both of which I regularly use.

I am a Youth baseball coach and love all the alarms. I store all sorts of information in the password-protected Notes section - SSNs, Library card numbers, license plate numbers, IP addresses, etc. I can list books or music I want, so I can remember them later. And having the appointments sync up with Outlook means I get notified prior to meetings I might forget otherwise. It's not a PDA, but a nice substitute for when you don't have the Blackberry.

It isn't particularly pretty, but once it's adjusted and configured, it's very useful. If you are a gadget guy, get this watch!