As time telling becomes more ubiquitous thanks to personal technologies like the cell phone, it makes it easy to see why naysayers predict the death of the wrist watch as a utilitarian object but what they don’t realise is that as technology takes us over the next curve, watches might just begin to tell us more than just time. Below are some of the “Care” bracelets that have been announced recently:

- Radio frequency wristwear for runaway autistic children (Gm News)

- A wristwatch-like device that can monitor whether patients have been complying with their treatment regimen (This Business Gazette)

- And of course heart-rate montiors - Julie Deardorff of Chicago Times writes: “The fascination with heart-rate monitors reached new heights after the Outdoor Life Network showed the pulse of some riders in the Tour de France in July. It’s like having a cockpit view of an auto racer’s instrument panel.” (Baltimore Sun)