Review of the Abacus Wrist Net (AU4003)

I really like the bands on both the Abacus and Fossil Wrist Net watches. Theyare handsome, comfortable, well contoured, and easily adjusted. The buckles arefairly inconspicuous, and easy to operate. In contrast, the band on the SwatchPaparazzi is thick, rigid, and actually has to be cut down to size (which is morepermanent than I'd like since it then makes the watch difficult to sell, trade,loan, or give to a friend). I found I was able to get accustomed to wearing theWrist Net watches much faster than the Paparazzi which, by the end of the day, hadleft some pretty nasty bite marks in my wrist from the surprisingly inflexible band.There are a lot of things I like about the Paparazzi over both the Abacus and theFossil Wrist Net watches, but the band is most certainly not one of them. Viewthe Abacus Wrist Net photo gallery.There are two things which distinguish the Abacus Wrist Net fromthe other dozen or so MSN Direct watches currently out there: 1) It is the cheapest($129retail),and 2) it is, in my opinion, probably the best looking. If you've been toyingwith the idea of taking the MSN Direct service for a spin, the Abacus Wrist Net might be justbe the price point you've been waiting for. And now that MSN Direct watches getnational news and high and low temperatures in your area for free, you can evenget a taste of what it's like for your wrist to be constantly connected beforecommitting to a subscription.In terms of functionality, the Abacus Wrist Net is identical to the FossilWrist Net (FX3005) that I recentlyreviewed. In fact, to get the full story on the Abacus Wrist Net, you shoulddefinitely check out myFossil Wrist Netreview since I'm going to try not to be redundant inthis article. The three primary differences I found between the two watches are: Appearance. Although the designs of the Abacus and the FossilWrist Net watches are similar, there are a few subtle differences. For instance,the Abacus comes with either a black or brown leather and rubber strap whilethe Fossil is only available in black; the buttons on the Abacus are elongatedwhile the buttons on the Fossil are round; and the Abacus lacks the screws inthe four corners of the face which give the Fossil its distinctive look. Watch Faces. The abacus comes with 18 watch faces while the Fossil comes with 26 (not including the two user-selected faces). If you're wavering between the Abacus and the Fossil, I wouldn't make the number of faces a deciding factor, however, since both come with a nice and perfectly sufficient selection (far more extensive than the Swatch Paparazzi). Price. The Abacus Wrist Net retails for $20 less than its Fossil counterpart. The next closest in price is the Swatch Paparazzi which retails for $150, and then the somewhat outdated Suunto n3 which generally goes for around $200.