A wristwatch that retrieved weather, messages, reminders and stock quotes from Microsoft's MSN Direct wireless service, which transmits over an unused portion of the FM radio band. Introduced in 2004, the Smart Watch was part of Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) initiative. The watches were made by Fossil, Tissot and Swatch, and users needed an MSN Direct subscription to download data. With the service intact until 2011, the watches were discontinued in 2008. See Dick Tracy watch.
In the 1940s, Dick Tracy was a comic book detective who wore a two-way radio watch. Although the Smart Watch is one-way today, it cannot be too long before Tracy's watch becomes a reality. (Image courtesy of MSN Direct.)
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