subject: Digital Watches - Technology In Watches [print this page] Along with every other thing in the contemporary civilization era of digitalization, watches are not immune to this extensive process, and digital watches are proof of this. Basically they convey time in the hour: minute: second am/pm format, thus their accuracy. In this age of multifunction peripherals, digitally modeled watches are designed to perform more tasks, all extraordinarily well.
A growing number of these watches are adapting to a range of features. In view of their miscellaneous features, digital watches can be regarded as essentially tiny computers. There are many advantages of these watches over analog watches. With their scientific display of time, compared to the visual pie chart time display of analog watches they are considered more accurate. In addition to offering sports features like lap timer and stopwatch, they are also more durable and water resistant.
The top of the line modern day watches can even function as a pseudo smart phone, using an Android or Symbian operating system. These watches consist of an internal ultra low level voltage microprocessor, which facilitates them to perform relatively intricate tasks. The number of such features is based on the price, with high end watches even capable of tasks like making and receiving phone calls, just to name a few.
Categories of digital watches
There are two categories of digital watches, classified on the basis of their display technique - Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Light Emitting Diode (LED). The watches using an LCD need a separate source of light, as crystals do not emit any light without a light source. In addition to displaying the time, they also comprise of a glowing backlight to enable seeing in the dark. The LED watches do not call for a separate light supply or backlight, because of the diodes altering color of the displayed time to fluorescent viewable even in the dim.
The entry level and mid range watches comprise of common features like stopwatch, timer, alarm clock, calendar, calculator, pedometer, etc. Apart from these, the high end sophisticated digital watches include features such as address book with inbuilt watch memory, altimeter to display altitude, global positioning system to track the GPS location, media playback, most commonly used MP3 using a headphone jack, heart rate monitor to measure heart rate in beats per minute using a strap or wireless transmitter, operating system, weather forecasting, etc. They are ideal for alarms, as time can be set accurately. Several midrange digital models allow users to set the alarm on specific days of the week. Varying according to internal memory, they can also hold multiple alarms on a given day.
There are also some drawbacks associated with digital watches. The battery life is somewhat less. As they employ special batteries, they need to be replaced frequently, according to the model. In term of appearance, nonetheless their style and fashion continues to expand, it is far less than their analog counterparts. Caring for the watch is perceptive, avoiding its exposure to extreme conditions like temperature, water and other synthetic substances.
More people today resort to digital watches, preferred for their technology and also considering personal requirements.
