Innovations like these add new dimensions to watches

However, a *** wrist tetherthat Sony seems to be attaching to many of their devices now fixes that problem,and I can't remember the last time I left the house having forgotten my wallet.That's not to say there isn't room for improvement and innovation in world ofdigital watches. Quite the opposite, in fact. I believe Casio makes some of thebest and certainly most accessible and affordable digital watches in the world,though I can think of all kinds of ways to improve them. For instance:High contrast displays. Analog watches are stillusually easier to read than digital since the physical separation of the dialfrom the hands creates depth and more contrast than LCD readouts produce. I'dlove to see very bright, high resolution miniature screens embedded in digitalwatches like we are becoming accustomed to on all our other devices like cell phones,MP3 players, digital cameras, laptops, handheld gaming systems, etc. New ways of telling time. Rather than trying find new things for a watch to do, I'd like to see designers put some thought into new ways of doing what watches are meant to do. The YES Watch, for instance, is an amazing digital watch that not only tells you the time, but, among several other things, also graphically indicates exactly when sunrise and sunset occurs wherever you happen to be in the world. Innovations like these add new dimensions to watches, and potentially to our lives, as well. (Review forthcoming, by the way.)Vibrating alarms. I'm really surprised more watches don't have silent alarm modes these days. As watches assume more PDA-like responsibilities, the more useful and, at the same time, obnoxious they can become. Personally, I'm embarrassed when my digital watch draws attention by beeping, just like I hate when my mobile phone rings in public. I usually keep my mobile phone silent, and I'd love to keep my watch silent, as well, without having to give up alarms and hourly time signals. Customizable faces. As soon as you have a bright, high contrast, high resolution display, the next thing you'll want to do is create your own time-telling arrangements, or perhaps download and install those created by others. Personalization is becoming a priority in consumer electronics, though digital watches are not adapting.