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Microsoft SPOT Watches

Posted by michael on from the time-to-reboot dept.

Octagon Most writes "PocketPCThoughts has a report from a graphic designer who worked on wristwatches using Microsoft's SPOT. Tons of design images here and a soon-to-ship model from Suunto here. Data plans from MSN Direct will be USD$9.95 per month. This is the coolest vapor from Microsoft in a long time. It's geeky _and_ stylish!" Our older story about the watches also notes that since it's a proprietary service, when the service provider decides to stop providing it, the device becomes useless.

4 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. So pessimistic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    "when the service provider decides to stop providing it, the device becomes useless"

    Don't worry. Some contingent of hackers will figure out how to:
    1. Install *BSD/Linux on the watch
    2. Get their watch to receive stuff from their local WAP
    3. Start a pirate wireless radio service that broadcasts l33t content just like the regular service does, thus allowing more features like Slashdot updates, pr0n, and broadcast messages from their system at work.

    So, don't be so pessimistic. There's no way a hardware device will die just because the provider stops service.
  2. Remember the seiko receptor? by snubber1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seiko had the nifty watch that could act as a pager and you could subscribe to all sorts of nifty alerts like weather a sports and whatnot.
    A bit before they discontinued the service a document was floating around detailing a way to cheat the service. All you had to do is subscribe to everything, and they would send a message to your watch to tell it to start reciving particular messages.

    Then all you had to do is turn off your watch and cancel everything. When you turned your watch on in the next day or two, it would of missed the unsubscribe signal and continue to get everything it thought you were supposed to.

    I wonder if they thought of that this time around.

    --
    I don't really mind double posts on //..
  3. Just another thing to keep track of.... by Shippy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The thing I don't like about these watches (I've actually seen them being demoed) is that they require you to basically charge your watch every night. I already have to remember to charge my phone and my pda. Now I have to remember to charge this thing as well? My PDA and phone at least lasts a few days. Hopefully that's something that will change when it's released.

    --
    -Shippy
  4. Another addition to my collection... by Kris_J · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Of high tech, useless watches. Don't get me wrong, they're funky, but they're more like art than any sort of useful tool. I have:
    • A bunch of Swatch Access watches with contactless smartcard technology in them, and not a single compatible service in the state (possibly now the country).
    • A Swatch pager watch not compatible with any Australian services.
    • A Casio GPS watch that has a hard time talking to satellites anywhere I'm likely to be (I'm a city boy).
    • An old Casio watch that shows the positions of the planets on a cute little display.
    • Again, a Casio digital camera watch with a picture only slightly "better" than a Gamboy camera.
    And I don't wear any of them, I just look at my mobile phone for the time.