I have seen many old-fashioned timers when playing a poker tournament, more likely similar to kitchen timers, but recently I'm realizin that many people is opting for gambling-related designs

Have you noticed this trend?

Yeah, looks like definitely best on a comparative basis, and more reliable as well.

Last time I saw a digital timer with the form of a poker chip, resembling more a common clock

Poker timers make the game move much cleaner and since everyone has a computer the softwear times make running a game really easy.  I use Poker Tournament Manager.  It is by far the best, but you do have to buy it.

I Have Never Actually Played In a Live tournament i Have Seen Them On Tv But i Havent Consentrated On The Timer I Like the Cards More :))