Six technologies endangered by smartphones

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

...As for AARP, that is sorta how I feel about them in general also...not sure which is going to be a better option AAA or AARP next year...we'll see which is worth the membership fee....

Funny you should say that. I've been debating the same thing for when my membership expires.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I'd like to see some statistics on that. It's amazing how different statistical reality can be from perception. We tend to focus on exceptions and "abnormal" behavior and give them much more importance than they have in reality.

Me too. I have to say, though, that I'm the only one in my office who wears a watch. And I'm the oldest. But I've been wearing trusty Timex Expedition watches for years, and I'm not stopping now!

[FlorenceArt]

I took the train this morning and was planning on counting watches, but I forgot

[igorsk]

Time isn't on side of watches
Web Posted: 10/07/2006 2:00 CDT

[Ben Thornton]

I hadn't noticed the demise of watches.

A quick google shows this exciting looking report which, from my skimming of it, suggests that China's industry making watches is doing perfectly well (and presumably they make most of them, like everything else).

More poor journalism, I expect. It's hard to compete with a modern wristwatch for convenience and reliability in knowing the time. I suspect that reports of its death have been exaggerated.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by igorsk

Time isn't on side of watches
Web Posted: 10/07/2006 2:00 CDT

Curious. I never look at my watch unless I want to know the time. And when I want to know the time, I just glance at it; I don't dig a phone out of my purse. If I'm making a quick trip, I don't always take my purse; I keep "mad money" in the "watch pocket" of my jeans (there's an artifact; who uses pocket watches anymore?), and my ID and debit and credit card in a small business card case in my pocket. I don't bother with the phone.

Unlike cell phones, the price of watches has been going up, probably due to lowered demand. A simple Timex with a backlight now runs $35 up. I can remember getting them for only $10.

I still have analog wall clocks. I can read those without my glasses. I simply can't read the digital displays on my electronics without my glasses. Being blind as a mole at close range without glasses is also why I favor large dial (for a woman's watch) analog watches. I might not be able to read the numbers (they are just a blurry dot to me) but I associate which blur is what number by position. the hands are fuzzy marks but still visible. When I'm working a Renaissance Festival, I don't wear my trifocals (I do keep a pair of readers tucked away just in case). Since I'm usually on a schedule, I can just sneak a quick peek at my watch hidden under my sleeve. There is no way I would be able to see a digital display.

[FlorenceArt]

I guess watches are just like Apple, Microsoft, Bill Gates and Paul McCartney: they just don't know they're dead yet.

[gollu]

How did we come to watches? Watches are not only time-keeping gadgets (and they are good at that), they are fashion items. And all the people around me (class/work) have watches.
We can discuss on 20 pages how each one of the mentioned appliances does its job better than when applied in a phone. Yet when i go out, I check that I have 3 things in my pocket - phone, keys and wallet. Sometimes it happens that I need a gps or a e-reader or a camera or calender (or whatever) with me when I am on the go, and I forgot to take such on the way out. If the feature weren't implemented in the phone, I'd have a big problem. And when we are talking of GPS or camera it could be a BIG problem.
I haven't yet been through a day that have killed my battery entirely. Charging once a day is more than enough and spare OEM battery cost $4.
BTW - my phone has substituted my home DVD player. I use a TV out cable and watch movies on the TV through my phone.
The next step as I see it - having my wallet and documents on the phone and in the long run - my keys too. Having only two big toys in the pants will be great

[Ben Thornton]

On the wallet front, my hope is that biotechnology will replace that. The Co-op in the UK already ran a trail some time ago using fingerprints. The way it works is that a fingerprint reader instore reads your print, you key in your PIN, and if the bank matches them, the purchase goes ahead.

Effectively, your thumb is your credit/debit card.

So, no need to carry anything for that one. Could work for keys, too.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by gollu

How did we come to watches? Watches are not only time-keeping gadgets (and they are good at that), they are fashion items. And all the people around me (class/work) have watches.

I guess we were pointing how in some areas it seems that the multifunction cell phone has replaced watches as the primary way of checking time. Around here, where I work and live, watches truly are NOT a fashion item any more, particularly in people under the age of 40 or so. I've been looking. I'll try to keep a tally next time I go to the mall or something.

[Viseguy]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

BTW, what is the whole obsession with a GPS? I rank them right up there with needing a full size 4wd to navigate the 3-degree incline of your driveway on a moist morning...

You're kidding, right? Or maybe you don't drive.

I'm out of town on vacation. Today I used the GPS to find the nearest post office. After that, we wanted to take a walk on nature trail. A couple touches of the screen brought up a list of a dozen parks in the area, then gave spoken and visual directions to the one we chose. Yesterday I used it to navigate to and around the nearest big city.

When you're in unfamiliar territory, or even when you're close to home, there's nothing like knowing the distance to the next turn or interchange, the direction of the turn and the lane you need to be in to make it, the speed limit at any given location (and your current speed), the distance remaining to your destination, the estimated time of arrival. Other good stuff includes a spoken announcement when approaching a rest area or other point of interest, or a beep when you're in range of a traffic camera. The list goes on.

Once you experience these amenities, you'll wonder how you ever managed without them. It definitely beats getting half-baked directions in a gas station at one in the morning. (But the GPS will guide you to the nearest gas station if you need one. )

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Viseguy

You're kidding, right? Or maybe you don't drive.

I'm out of town on vacation. Today I used the GPS to find the nearest post office. After that, we wanted to take a walk on nature trail. A couple touches of the screen brought up a list of a dozen parks in the area, then gave spoken and visual directions to the one we chose. Yesterday I used it to navigate to and around the nearest big city.

When you're in unfamiliar territory, or even when you're close to home, there's nothing like knowing the distance to the next turn or interchange, the direction of the turn and the lane you need to be in to make it, the speed limit at any given location (and your current speed), the distance remaining to your destination, the estimated time of arrival. Other good stuff includes a spoken announcement when approaching a rest area or other point of interest, or a beep when you're in range of a traffic camera. The list goes on.

Once you experience these amenities, you'll wonder how you ever managed without them. It definitely beats getting half-baked directions in a gas station at one in the morning. (But the GPS will guide you to the nearest gas station if you need one. )

No, you have got to be kidding...I packed the entire Rubicon Trail when I was 17 by myself with my pack a tent a compass and a topo map with my fishing gear. I spent 4-6 weeks above 9500ft in either the Sierra's or Rockies every summer until I was in my early 30s and never needed more than a compass and a topo map but once you have your destination sighted you're done. All that remains is not dying...and that is the easy part. And for a living I drove 75k miles/yr for business for nearly 2-DECADES and never once got lost...dude whenever I hear or read comments like yours that you "need" these things I tag that person as food in the wild or when the lights go out...most would die without a Starbucks on 3 of 4 corners at every other intersection if one thinks they NEED a GPS to drive somewhere that is on a map. Look at it before you leave and you're done because you know where you need to be...it's that simple.

Like I said needing a GPS is like these people with the full-time 4x4 the need to navigate that moist driveway with a 3-degree incline and a hand cart for the bag of oranges in the back...

Then again GPS people are gonna be the bait when the zombies take over next year...hehehehehe...

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Xerxes

Gaming - As a gamer I doubt it. On a tablet however I sure would love something like WoW or AOE. I think a good rts or god game would do nice with the touch functions.

Civ rev does indeed work nicely on the ipad, although it is obviously less complex than the pc versions.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

On the wallet front, my hope is that biotechnology will replace that. The Co-op in the UK already ran a trail some time ago using fingerprints. The way it works is that a fingerprint reader instore reads your print, you key in your PIN, and if the bank matches them, the purchase goes ahead.

Effectively, your thumb is your credit/debit card.

So, no need to carry anything for that one. Could work for keys, too.

Thumbs can be removed .....

[Ben Thornton]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Thumbs can be removed .....

Wow, you have removable thumbs? Cool!

That's why they have the PIN as well, I suppose.