How will watches survive?

Walkman, one of the most important products of my high school years, was replaced by first discman, then mp3 players and now with mobile phones including mp3 players in them. So I wonder what will happen to watches. Personally, wearing a watch is almost inevitable for me because I’m simply used to raising up my wrist and giving a look at it regularly, but of course this doesn’t mean that I won’t instead take off my phone from my pocket to look at the time. What do you think: will mobile phones soon make watches extinct? I think, as it has already started to be observed, the young generation which is more tech-savvy and which favors practicality more, will replace watches with mobile phones. So, the main consumers for watchers will be the traditional ones and those who wear a watch as a status symbol. With this respect, I think premium brands will see good profits again in the future, but the more mainstream brands should find ways to be competitive against mobile phones.

Let’s think about the opposite case now: could watches render mobile phones obsolete? Apparently, this is what LG is aiming to do by its “LG Watch Phone” that it is going to be launched soon.

The main characteristics and benefit of this watch phone is described as being “coupled with a blue tooth headset, the LG Watch Phone will allow for convenient communications with the luxury of wearing a stunning piece of jewelry and without the annoyance of having one more thing in your pocket”. I think that this watch phone can steal a bit of market share from the more traditional segment of watch customers, as they would like to have this “more cool” watch. However, in terms of functionality, I don’t think this watch phone can still replace mobile phones. After all, with the 3G penetration of today and the 4G of soon-to-come, it is crucial to have a big screen for internet access and this simply cannot fit on your arm.

All in all, I think the watch industry cannot win over the mobile phones in terms of functionality, but they can only do so in terms of design and luxury appeal, so from what I spontaneously think of, maybe companies like Bang & Olufsen and Alessi can be the survivors in the watch industry.