>"The financial calculator is headed the way of the
>wristwatch: a no-longer necessary device that users
>carry because of sentimentality, vanity or an
>unwillingness to change,"
I disagree with the wristwatch comparison. I'm in my twenties, and I still rather like having a watch. Checking a wristwatch is much, much, more convenient than pulling a cellphone out of a pocket, activating its display, and reading the time. Especially when outdoors, I'd much rather rely on a wristwatch for timekeeping than a cellphone. I can drop a cellphone. I can't drop something that's tied to my wrist.
Sounds like you agree with the comparison but not the conclusion. Calculators, like wristwatches, are instant-on, very durable, and can go through years of use without charging the batteries.
I guess I'm really disagreeing with the validity of the analogy. I don't think the situation with wristwatches is analogous to calculators. Wristwatches still retain many functional advantages over cell phones (e.g. hard to drop, always on, etc.) whereas calculators do not. In other words, a smartphone can completely subsume the functions provided by a standalone calculator. A smartphone cannot yet do the same for wristwatches, and hence the analogy is flawed.
I disagree with the wristwatch comparison. I'm in my twenties, and I still rather like having a watch. Checking a wristwatch is much, much, more convenient than pulling a cellphone out of a pocket, activating its display, and reading the time. Especially when outdoors, I'd much rather rely on a wristwatch for timekeeping than a cellphone. I can drop a cellphone. I can't drop something that's tied to my wrist.