Ok, I will be "That Guy".
After wearing it for most of yesterday and today, it's not growing on me. Yes, I swapped the strap to a DW-5600SN strap which helped. The stock strap's 12 O'clock side is a bit long therefore it wants to make the watch head rotate to the outside of the wrist instead of sitting center, at least for me it does.
The lcd in amber is a no go for me. It's just not as crisp as it could be. The 290 has true EL which is perfect. My TRT-110H has cool white led's that are very good and light up the whole face evenly. These are not the led's you would on a G-Shock such as the GD-350.
I realize it is, in the USA, a sub $40 watch and some corners must be cut. But, again the DW-290 is a sub $30 watch and the TRT-110H is a sub $40 and, in my opinion, both are better built. The buttons are huge compared to the original 290 and that is a good thing as are the larger digits and the more feature rich module. The 291 has 5 alarms, and World Time and the 290 does not.
The case of the 290 is more compact and has a much more solid feel to it that the 291. The only example I can come up with in my head is the difference in feel when you close a car door. An econo-box car such as my old Corolla has a "tinny" sound and a European car, like my old BMW closes, with a "thud".
Here are some pictures I took this morning. For me, the 291 is going back. But that is only because I have the 291 and like it better. Yes, it is smaller. Yes, the module isn't a feature rich. Yes the buttons are smaller (but still bigger than a DW-5600E).
If I did not have the DW-290 or my TRT-110H for that matter, I'd think the DW-291 is a good watch. But I already have enough multi function watches to where is one would just sit in my watch box and not be worn. This one will be returned today.
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