I ditched my smartwatch for this Casio; my fitness routine finally got simpler. Published Jul 31, 2026, 11:15 AM EDT Akshay Bhalla was the former game guides editor for Screen Rant and the technology editor at MensXP. He has previously written about smartphones, apps, streaming, gadgets and games for print, digital, and TV media outlets. When he isn't writing about tech, he can often be found playing JRPGs, listening to music or playing with his three dogs. The Casio GBD-200 is the ideal hybrid smartwatch. It has replaced all of my previous wearables for my daily fitness routine. I was never a big fan of smartwatches that try to get my attention with endless notifications and need to be charged often. That's when I realized that I never needed a traditional smartwatch. After some initial research, the Casio GBD-200 was exactly what I needed. It doesn't bother me when I'm in the middle of a workout, it doesn't need to be charged frequently like most smartwatches, and it's a G-Shock. I bought the GBD-200 when Google's Fitbit Air wasn't even a thing, and I refused to purchase a Whoop fitness band because of its subscription model. The GBD-200 had everything I needed without the extra baggage that comes with some new smartwatches and fitness trackers. The Casio GBD-200 is far more competent than a standard G-Shock. Tough, sleek, and distraction-free. The Casio GBD-200 is foremost a G-Shock, with the same shock-resistant build as countless other G-Shocks. My main reason for buying it was to avoid charging the watch every few days or being bombarded with notifications from all sorts of apps, similar to a screenless fitness tracker like the Fitbit Air. Don't get me wrong. The GBD-200 can send basic notifications (calls and texts only), but you can turn them off from its dedicated app or from the watch. The watch isn't integrated with Wear OS, which makes my life even easier, as no other app can connect with the watch. What's cool is that the GBD-200 connects to my smartphone via Bluetooth only when it detects motion, so I only get notifications when I'm using it. But after a while, I turned those off. It's a clever way to conserve battery by not having Bluetooth switched on all the time and doesn't distract me with any unwanted notifications while it is sitting idle. My absolute favorite spec of the GBD-200 is its super-sharp Memory-in-Pixel (MIP) negative display. Oftentimes, many smartwatches and fitness trackers have a display that isn't as sharp or doesn't have enough contrast, making it downright unusable under direct sunlight. That's one problem I've never faced with the GBD-200. Thanks to the MIP display, it's effortless for me to navigate the different menus and keep track of my workouts, no matter the time of day. If you're wondering why this is possible, MIP displays have a layer that reflects ambient light instead of using the internal light, making the screen highly legible in harsh direct sunlight. And with a dedicated button for G-Shock's iconic backlight, it's great for evening workouts. Is the Casio GBD-200 any good as a fitness tracker? Short answer: absolutely yes. Listing every feature the GBD-200 has is moot if it doesn't excel in one important category: fitness tracking. After all, what sets the GBD-200 apart from the entire G-Shock lineup is its host of fitness features. The GBD-200 is equipped with a six-axis motion-sensing accelerometer that is highly accurate at tracking steps, movement, calories burned, distance, and pace. Everything I need for my daily runs in the neighborhood. To sync and track all of my fitness data on my phone, I connected the GBD-200 with Google Health Connect via the Casio Watches app. You can easily do so by going to My Page, tapping the Hamburger Menu, selecting Link With External App > Health Connect, and tapping Allow all to sync your data. What's nifty is that you can see everything on the watch without navigating through menus or using a separate fitness-tracking app on your phone. Here are some of my other favorite features: * Interval Training Time Tracking: If you prefer high-intensity interval training (HIIT), you can set up to five timing options, which you can repeat up to 20 cycles. * GPS Tracking: The GBD-2000 does not have on-board GPS tracking to conserve battery life, but it can link to your smartphone's GPS and give accurate distance and pace stats. It's not perfect, but it gets more accurate the more you use it. * Lap Logging: Tracks and stores data of up to 100 runs and up to 140 laps per run. You can track laps manually or automatically. Besides the fitness features, the GBD-200 has water resistance of up to 200 meters, a spec I highly appreciate as I tend to sweat a lot during training, swim occasionally, and dive when I'm on vacation. The Casio GBD-200 does not have dedicated modes for tracking swim workouts, but you can track laps manually. Laying out all the features I like on paper makes the GBD-200 sound like the perfect hybrid smartwatch, but a few crucial features are unavailable or missing compared to modern alternatives, especially recent releases like the Fitbit Air and Garmin Cirqa. The GBD-200 falls short when compared to Fitbit Air and Garmin Cirqa. It still lacks essential features. The most obvious feature many fitness users are looking for is a discreet, screenless tracker. The GBD-200 is neither of those. But aside from being screenless, the GBD-200 lacks some crucial health features found on the Fitbit Air, the Garmin Cirqa, and other cheaper fitness trackers. Some of the missing features include continuous heart rate monitoring, SpO2 monitoring, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) tracking, and alerts for Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) or irregular heart rate notifications. Tracking vital signs is now a necessity for most smartwatches, and the GBD-200 not having it is a big disappointment, especially when it costs $165. If you like to track your sleep cycle, that won't be possible with the GBD-200 either. The Garmin Cirqa has additional features like respiration rate tracking and women's health tracking, among many others, making it a worthy screenless fitness tracker to get in 2026. The Fitbit Air and the Garmin Cirqa also have exhaustive apps that offer coaching, daily insights such as Body Battery/Readiness, and advanced sleep tracking, which are quite important to many fitness-focused users like myself. While the Casio GBD-200 is a great no-fuss hybrid smartwatch and perfect for G-Shock fans, it's hard to cheer for the device when the Garmin Cirqa or the Fitbit Air has features that blow it out of the water. I still love my Casio smartwatch, but it might be time for an upgrade. While the Casio GDB-200 is my daily driver at the moment and gets the job done, it's hard to ignore screenless fitness trackers that can do much more. That said, for the past three years, I didn't need a screenless tracker, as the GDB-200 delivered a similar experience while also satisfying my need to have another G-Shock watch in my collection. As a G-Shock fan, the GBD-200 was a no-brainer purchase as it served its exact purpose. But as I get older, having essential features like SpO2, heart rate tracking, AI coaching, and many other new features will be essential to take my fitness routine and health tracking to the next level. The GBD-200 will still be one of my favorite fitness trackers I've ever owned, but when the time comes to upgrade, switching to something like the Fitbit Air or the Garmin Cirqa will be more prudent.

How to sign up for a Libby account. - July 22, 2026 Known for breaking major streaming stories, he's covered everything from Netflix policy shifts to Peacock's ad-tier changes. A sci-fi fan and Toshiba Fire TV user, he brings sharp analysis and a love for the genre to his reporting. If you love to read eBooks, stream audiobooks, and enjoy digital magazines, you definitely need to know about Libby. With nothing more than a library card, you can sign up for Libby to unlock a huge amount of digital library content. But how do you get a Libby subscription? Is it free, or is there a monthly fee to use it? The Streamable'll explain everything you need to know to get a Libby account of your own below, so read on if you're a beginner who's curious about the service! Article continues below this related video: Something is interfering with this video Turn off ad blockers to watch this or try refreshing this page 12 Greatest Red Herring Movie Endings What is Libby? Libby is a free platform that allows users to enjoy eBooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines from their public library for free. The service works at home or on the go and works with public library districts across the United States. To get started with a Libby subscription, readers will have to have a library card. If you don't have a library card yet and need a little help in getting one, click here to learn how to get one in just a few easy steps. How much are Libby plans? Libby is always free to use. The service will never ask you to enter any kind of payment information, as there are no hidden fees, subscription costs, or in-app purchases associated with it. In short, if someone is asking you to pay for Libby, you should exit that window or app as soon as possible, because it's not the library app you're seeking. To sign up for a Libby subscription, you will first have to download the service's app on a compatible device. Libby can be used on iOS devices and Android devices, Amazon Fire tablets, Windows and Mac computers, and Chromebooks. * Open the Libby app. * Follow on-screen prompts to find your library district. * Sign in with your library card. That's it! It's just a few short steps, and once you've completed them, you'll be able to use Libby to access all the content your library system offers within the app. What are the top features of Libby? The Libby platform is ideal for any readers who enjoy eBooks and audiobooks and want to have the freedom of consuming that content wherever they want to go. The platform's best features include: * No subscription fees * Access to thousands of eBooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines * The ability to download for offline listening * Listen or read on a host of popular devices What are Libby's borrowing limits? Libby doesn't have a preset borrowing limit that users are bound by. Instead, borrowing limits for ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines are set by local library districts individually. Limits can generally range between three and 20 loans at a time, but it all depends on what your library can afford. To check your library's borrowing limits on Libby: * Open the Libby app. * Click Menu. * Tap Manage Cards. Your borrowing limit will be listed with your other library card information. Do all library districts work with Libby? No, not all library districts around the United States partner with Libby. Although Libby partners with a long list of libraries around the country, libraries have to pay to team with Libby, and some simply cannot afford to do so. Can you take a Libby subscription anywhere? Yes and no. If you're wondering whether or not you can use Libby on a mobile device, the answer is definitely yes. Libby is meant to be used with popular smartphones and tablets, including Android and iOS devices, Amazon Fire tablets, and more. If you want to know if you can use Libby while traveling, the answer is less clear-cut. Libby customers can download titles for offline listening or reading, which is the easiest way to use the library streaming service while on the go. To download a title on Libby, tap Shelf > Loans, then tap the library card icon with the arrow to download. Libby is also available in dozens of countries worldwide and partners with libraries in those localities. David Satin has been a dedicated News Writer at The Streamable since 2022, covering a wide range of stories in the entertainment and streaming industries. With years of experience writing online, David previously worked as a list writer for Screen Rant, where he gained recognition for his extensive coverage of sci-fi and fantasy genres. His ability to break and analyze major stories has made him a trusted voice in the streaming world. Over the course of his career, Satin has become an integral part of The Streamable team, contributing to some of the most impactful stories in the industry.