At 7:30 a.m., 21-year-old Brian Chaikind is awakened by two alarm clocks--one on his iPod, the other on his cell phone. As he goes from school to work, he often glances at his cell to stay on schedule. "I have a cell phone and my iPod," he says. "I don't need a watch." He's not alone. According to a recent report by Packaged Facts, a consumer market-research firm, the U.S. watch market took a 4.9 percent dip in sales in 2005. Timothy Dowd, senior analyst at Packaged Facts, says rival electronic devices like PDAs and cell phones are the reason. "I myself have 12 sources of time around me, and not one of them is a watch," he says. Even sales of watches under $50, rarely affected by overall market trends, are down. Watchmakers like Timex are adding new features, but it'll be a tough fight. The new Verizon Wireless LG Chocolate VX8500 cell phone offers dual-face clocks. A user can track local time as well as other time zones--so when he calls abroad, he won't hear a sleepy voice saying, "Don't you know what time it is?"
Uncommon Knowledge
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