These watches have also come a long way – not only do they now come in a wide variety of styles, their audience has broadened as well.
Some people just appreciate the convenience of being able to hear the time or date – other people use it so they remember when they need to take medication.
Parents have also started using these watches as a learning tool for how to tell time.
What’s The Difference?
Talking watches are different from ordinary watches in one big way – they aurally announce the time, either every hour or by the press of a button. This is a huge advantage for those who are blind or visually impaired as it provides a sense of independence – they don’t have to rely on others to know the time.
These watches look a lot like normal watches, barring the large numerals and the audio button. You can also hear the date, depending on the features of the watch.
Today, talking watches are available in both atomic and quartz movements and are equipped with a number of extra functions.
Talking watches appeal to a number of different people – parents have found it a useful tool to teach children how to tell time. Most often, a child will get a new, ordinary watch and completely forget that he/she is wearing it! Hearing the aural announcement reminds the child to not only look at the watch, but also teaches how to associate the image with the word he/she hears.
Diabetics and other people who need to regularly take medication also rely on these watches to tell them when they need to take their next dose.
But most of the people who use these watches are visually impaired or completely blind.
Something For Everyone
Theres a variety of different styles for men and women aswell as unisex watches too. In some cases, the aural announcement function can be replaced with a vibrating option. This is ideal for people who attend meetings and don’t want to be disturbed. Models like the Tissot Silen-T Watch which has a “tactile crystal” allow you to tell the time by feeling the vibrations on the watch’s face.
Tissot Silen-T with “tactile crystal”
Many watches come with multiple alarm sounds as well as calendar settings. You can choose between a male or female voice and some watches are available in other languages like Spanish. The speaking function can be set to work every hour, or you can simply press the button to hear the time.
These watches also have large numbers, digital or otherwise, that can be easily seen on the watch’s face.
Some popular models include the Avalon Men’s EZC Low Vision Talking Watch, Gold-Tone Flex # 2506. This watch has a quartz movement, gold-tone casing and stainless steel band.
A female voice tells you the year, date, day and time and instructions to set the watch are available aurally. There is also a lifetime limited warranty on this watch. While the watch itself seems to be satisfactory, some users have complained about the customer service when having to replace watch parts. This watch is also available for ladies as the Avalon EZC Voice Series Low Vision Talking Watch, # 2608. In this case, while the voice is audible, some users have remarked that there seems to be no volume control.
Avalon Talking Watch
For those looking for something a little more stylish, Maxi-Aids has brought out the Square III Talking Wrist Watch. This watch has a very sporty and attractive design with LCD display. The drawback with this watch seems to be with the voice – some say it is hard to understand, claiming that the voice says ‘seven’ when it should say ‘eleven’. Tel-Time has brought out a popular unisex watch model called the Tel-Time VII Talking Watch-Unisex.
Its features include LCD display, 1/4″ black numbers and audio time report.
The Economical Square Talking Watch is less expensive than many other watch models. It’s not the best looking watch on the block, mainly because the speaker is prominently displayed on the watch face. However, this has proved to be a very satisfactory feature for a number of users.
The watch has a solid design and a recessed mode button, to avoid accidental resetting.