Watches are obsolete!

Syzygys said:
Why, those people do that without a cellphone? I bet 90% of them have a cell with them...(except for swim/surf)
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When I climb hills or mountains, I generally keep my cellphone in a waterproof case, in case the weather turns bad, as it's not waterproof. It's not convenient therefore to be pulling this out to check to the time.

Swimming and surfing we have already dealt with.

Cycling. Again, it's not convenient to be reaching for a cellphone while cycling, it's safer to look at a watch.

When out running, I do take a cellphone. I have an old, small flip phone on a pay-as-you-go contract, I redirect calls to, and have for emergencies. It sits inside a velcro'd down pocket of a reflective belt I have, and again, it's not the easiest thing to reach for while running. It's far better to check the time on my Suunto, which is also timing my run (does your cellphone clock have a stopwatch, with lap/split times? I bet not!), and telling me the time, and my altitude.

On watch, sorrym wristwatch sales being down, well, perhaps it's something to do with lazy fat urban teenagers?

"The US Department of Health and Human Services recently published teen obesity statistics regarding this dangerous trend.

According to the report, 14% of adolescents in the United States are overweight. This figure has nearly tripled in the last 20 years. " (http://www.troubledteen101.com/articles42.html)

Less sporty obese teens don't need a stopwatch, do they? Not unless they are timing how fast they can scarf their burgers.

The wristwatch is not dead. It's just people turning their back on outdoor pursuits, where one is an asset.
 
phlogistician said:
Not amongst people who get off their couch, go into the countryside, walk, climb hills and mountains, snowboard, swim, surf, run and cycle.
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I don't own a cell (anymore) and I never liked watches. But I do go out into the countryside a lot.
You learn to tell time from other things. You really do not need a watch if you're not interested in being accurate within the hour.
 
Enmos said:
I don't own a cell (anymore) and I never liked watches. But I do go out into the countryside a lot.
You learn to tell time from other things. You really do not need a watch if you're not interested in being accurate within the hour.
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I tend to use my watch to work out my bearing, or did, until I got the Suunto. If you know the time, and can see the Sun, you can work out where North is.

Plus, my watches are waterproof. Very few cellphones are, so you can't tell the time when it's raining heavily on a phone.
 
here is another point, my watch cost me $10 from Big W, my mobile cost about $300 (or more). If im working at an acident sceen and my phone gets covered in blood and guts i have to TRY to clean all the blood out of it if it still works. My watch on the other hand can get a quick wipe with achole and if its not clean or it stops working i can turf it and buy a new one
 
phlogistician said:
Then it has become a watch .
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No, it has became an mp3 player. Or a camera. :)

I didn't make the point that it can not be used anymore or it doesn't have any usefulness, I made the point that most people won't be using it in the future. We will have a cellphone on the wrist probably, if they can make it small enough but still practical. Tht device might even have a new name, since it does pretty much everything...
 
Syzygys said:
Why do you need the time when climbing? Just enjoy the outdoors!
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Go climb a mountain without a timepiece, and get back to me.

Timing is everything. Some ranges are too damned dangerous to climb in the full Sun, as that's when they heat and crack, and debris falls, so you have to avoid a window around midday. You need to hit your marks before nightfall, if climbing in stages, you need to know if you have time to summit and return. Most accidents happen on the descent, so you MUST have adequate time to get up and down safely. Descending in the dark, when it's already more dangerous, is a risk not to be taken unless absolutely necessary.

Plus, my WATCH has a built in altimeter. Which is kinda useful for monitoring progress.
 
Center of the Universe

At the periphery of the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle are signs reading,

Welcome to
Fremont
Please set your watch back five minutes​

A little hard to do with the network clock on my mobile phone.

Watches might be obsolete in cities, but not all of life occurs in the city. I'm heading out on vacation later this week, and my phone has awful reception when I'm, say, down in a canyon. Not that I expect to be caring what time it is, but it will be easier to look at my wrist to figure it out than trek all the way back to the car.
 
err, tiassa. Why would you need to walk back to the car to check your phone? just because you cant conect to a tower doesnt mean the clock doesnt work (at least on any phone i have seen). Or are you saying you dont want to carry it or you wont be able to charge it or something?
 
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