Tissot have launched a new watch that uses Microsoft’s SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) platform – allowing the US$725 (€595) wristwatch to receive email, news and schedule information through the MSN Direct service.
There are now seven SPOT watches in the market, with two manufactured by Suunto and four by Fossil.
MSN Direct sends information to SPOT devices through part of the FM spectrum. The service is not available in Europe yet, though Chris Schneider, programme manager for SPOT said: “We are looking at expanding into Europe and other geographies where it makes business sense. However, we are focused on the North American market for this holiday season.”
Indeed, since the vast majority of all watches are sold from October to December, this autumn will be a good indicator of whether the public are ready for SPOT. Thousands of watches have already been sold, so Christmas may be a bumper time.
Microsoft are expanding the information and services on MSN Direct to draw more subscribers, and will be featuring information on films and sports, and manufacturers like Citizen are planning to add more watches to the range.
Tissot
SPOT
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Fraser Lovatt
Fraser Lovatt has spent the last fifteen years working in publishing, TV and the Internet in various capacities, and believes that they will be seperate platforms for at least a while yet. His main interests at the moment are exploring where Linux is taking home entertainment and how technology is conferring technical skills on more and more people.
Fraser Lovatt was born in the same year that 2001: A Space Odyssey was delighting and confusing people in the cinemas, and developed a lifelong love of technology as soon as he realised that things could be taken apart, sometimes put back together again, but mostly left in bits or made into something the original designer hadn't quite planned upon.
At school he was definitely in the ZX Spectrum/Magpie/BMX camp, rather than the BBC Micro/Blue Peter/well-behaved group. This is all deeply ironic as he later went on to spend nine years working at the BBC.
After a few years of working as a bookseller in Scotland, ("Back when it was actually a skilled profession" he'll tell anyone still listening), he moved to England for reasons he can't quite explain adequately to himself. After a couple of publishing jobs punctuated by sporadic bursts of travelling and photography came the aforementioned nine years at the BBC where he specialised in internet technologies and video.
These days his primary interests are Java, Linux, videogames and pies - and if they're not candidates for convergence, then what is?
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