Microsoft Finally Kills Off Datacasting SPOT Watches

from the about-time dept

Thu, Apr 24th 2008 5:17pm — Mike Masnick

Back in 2003, we were pretty hard on Microsoft for its datacasting SPOT watches. There were so many reasons for such a thing to fail. Just as mobile phones with data access were becoming fancier, more affordable and more ubiquitous, Microsoft was trying to convince people to buy expensive, bulky watches that required you to pay money to access tiny bits of data that you could easily get for free elsewhere. To be honest, after the watches launched to a ton of hype, they disappeared so quickly from the scene that I had thought they were already dead. But Engadget now confirms that Microsoft has finally killed off those SPOT watches. Other than these announcements, somehow I get the feeling not too many people will notice.

Filed Under: datacasting, microsoft spot, watches
Companies: microsoft

9 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 24 Apr 2008 @ 5:57pm

R I P
That is, Rest In Pieces... :)
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M4dNe55, 24 Apr 2008 @ 6:38pm

R.I.Pieces
Well, they're still worth something on eBay... meh.

Too bad M$ can't shelve their O/S!!

Long live open-source and Linus Torvalds!!
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Jazz (profile), 24 Apr 2008 @ 7:04pm

huh?
What's a SPOT watch???
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- Hellsvilla, 24 Apr 2008 @ 7:26pm
  
  Re: huh?
  something are are better off having never heard of.
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- kilroy, 25 Apr 2008 @ 6:20am
  
  Re: huh?
  I think that is when you are really wasted & you fall down and cannot get back up or move your head ... whatever you are looking at is called "spot watch" ... unless someone has a patent on that & has called it something else.
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Mark Tomlinson, 24 Apr 2008 @ 8:47pm

You're Confused
You've mixed up SPOT watches with Mickey Rooney, 'cause I'm pretty sure they died years ago.
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Dirk Belligerent, 24 Apr 2008 @ 9:38pm

Well, that explains...
...why today felt no different from any other day.
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alternatives, 25 Apr 2008 @ 7:11am

How's that timex datawatch
programming by 3rd parties coming along?

(What's that? Another failed watch idea?)
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Etch, 25 Apr 2008 @ 11:16am

Watches? Really?
Who still wears watches? I haven't worn a watch since I got my first cellphone in 97!!
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