And because it was all based on a proprietary, closed technology, when Microsoft do finally kill off the transmissions, it comes to an end.

What a waste.

They still fail.

If someone can market a device which is a watch that can provide location based services then it will be a good seller.

You're in the city and can get access to bus and train timetables, location of a near by hotel etc..

...someone showed the SPOT team the "smartphone" (to be pronounced like the "laserrr") concept.

... was probably misspelling the word 'T*sspot' on the bezel. From there on, it was just downhill, all the way.

Nice idea, but as they never rolled them out other than the US and Canada it's mute to the rest of the world. Would I have bought one if they came to the UK, maybe, but I can't and so didn't.

Are you listening AmbientDevices? Or Ceiva? Who in it's defence sells outside the US but the website pretty much says ask our reseller. They won't even tell you the cost of the plans, (and as the UK dealer is PCWorld, you better hope you don't need support from them). Theres a big market outside the US if you want to try marketing to it but just don't do it half heartedly.

Mines the basic anorak, no-one sells a High Tech version in the UK..

Out, damned SPOT!

Mine's the black-and-white furry one.

What's really funny about this that this sort of watch was sold by none other than Carly Fiorina as the great solution to technology of the future.

Great minds sink alike, it seems...

Get your spotwatch now to show off to your grandkids. Cheaper than an Edsel.

The product could have been so much more interesting, but MS just refused to put much effort into exploring those potentials.

I have one of the newest/last gen of Abacus SPOT watches. While I do agree smartphones rendered many aspects of it obsolete on paper, in practice I find getting small-but-important data blurbs (meeting time/place, traffic alerts, etc.) quicker to grab from my watch. For what it was, it had a reasonably efficient UI, and being attached to my wrist meant easy "glance" access, unlike my phone -- particularly w.r.t. traffic and meetings when driving).

The whole programmable-face aspect had such potential (esp. the non-standard ones like swatch/internet time), but MS really kak'd the rack there. Just look at popularity of "atypical-faced" watches these days. SPOT watches could easily handle most such face displays, but MS never put much creativity or effort into that angle.

As long as mine works, I'll keep using it, and I'll miss it when it dies. There are just times when glancing at a watch for meeting time/place info is still easier than digging out my phone, and same for traffic alerts.

Microsoft is planning a mobile-in-a-watch replacement for SPOT but has not released many details of the new watch other than that it will be running a new version of the Windows Vista operating system called Windows Vista Ultimate x64 Mobile Edition. The watch is said to have a battery life of about 1 hour.