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MSN Direct goes dark, SPOT watches to suffer no more
When the noble SPOT watch was discontinued back in 2008, Microsoft promised the FM service that kept them informed would soldier on. A year later that service too had its days numbered, and now, today, the counter clicks over to zero. MSN Direct, which also pushed content to navigation devices and digital baristas, is dead for good, meaning those devices will never again receive wireless updates. They will, however, still be eligible for customer support -- but only through the end of the month. Better set yourself a reminder on something a bit more modern. [Thanks, zbwrsncf]
Microsoft's MSN Direct service to shut down in 2012
Well, it's quite the day for any GPS-related announcement, but Microsoft has nonetheless made a fairly big one of its own, with it dropping word via a simple service announcement that it's killing off its MSN Direct live information service for navigation units (among other devices -- even the odd coffeemaker). Those relying on the FM-based service won't be left in the lurch just yet, however, as the shutdown won't occur until January 1st, 2012. Anyone looking to move on with their lives before that can also cancel their service at any point prior to the shutdown date and receive a pro-rated refund for the unused portion of their service, and you can of course rest assured that all MSN Direct-equipped GPS devices will continue to function as basic nav units after the shutdown. Hit up the link below for the complete FAQ. [Via Ars Technica, thanks Eric]
Entelligence: Whatever happened to SPOT?
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. A few years ago, Microsoft launched a new initiative to create a set of connected, digital devices that could display information simply and in a highly glanceable format. The initiative was called SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) and the goal was to integrate core information and extend the function of everyday items like watches, pens and badges.Sadly, the first SPOT watches from companies like Fossil and Suunto never really caught on and are no longer available, and although SPOT's core connection technology still lives in some GPS devices as MSN Direct, it seems Microsoft has largely abandoned the effort. That's a shame: even though the first implementations were less than stellar, there's much Microsoft could have done to have ultimately made this a success.
Pioneer explodes your dashboard with new AVIC U, X and Z-series in-dash navigation systems
Pioneer isn't going for subtle here: the company just unleashed a flurry of in-dash navigators, with a considerable amount of accoutrements on display. The units range through the flagship AVIC-Z110BT (pictured), "midrange" AVIC-X710BT and X910BT, and the AVIC-U310BT for rich people on a budget. Seriously, with a starting price of $599, none of this is suited for the cheap-and-simple set, but at least Pioneer backs up those pricetags with serious functionality. In the high end, the Z110BT includes an tilt-out XGA 7-inch touchscreen, MSN Direct tuner (for traffic and other live info), 4GB of internal storage, CD and DVD playback, and Bluetooth. Comforts include both voice recognition ("Find the nearest Starbucks") and text-to-speech ("I wouldn't do that, Dave"), along with iPod control and support for optional rear seat monitors and wireless headphones. Of course, all those perks aren't cheap: the device retails for $1,600. The other units include smaller screens and subsets of the specs, on down to the 4.3-inch U310BT.Read - AVIC-Z110BTRead - AVIC-X710BT and AVIC-X910BTRead - AVIC-U310BT
Alpine's PND-K3msn GPS adds a little MSN Direct to your road trips
If you love MSN Direct, and if you have a thing for the in-car GPS, you are going to go wild for this next item! Alpine has just announced its newest, the PND-K3msn. This is the MSN-ified version of the PND-K3, sporting text-to-speech functionality, an SD slot, MP3 support, Bluetooth, 3D map view, highway junction view, and a slew of services from MSN Direct (including real-time traffic, weather, gas prices, and movie times). A three month subscription comes with the $299.95 purchase price, after which the service will run you $49.95 / year or $129.95 for a lifetime membership.[Via CNet]
Nextar intros Q4-MD navigator, throws in MSN Direct free for a year
Nextar's not only introducing a sizable duo in its SNAP line at SEMA 2008, it's also introducing a navigator with MSN Direct support. The Q4-MD will boast a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, Tele Atlas maps covering all 50 US states along with Canada, access to 1.6 million points-of-interest, 2D / 3D map viewing modes, an SD card slot, MP3 player / JPEG viewer, USB connectivity and a rechargeable Li-ion battery. Most notably, you'll receive a free year of up-to-the-minute traffic reports, current / three-day weather conditions, news headlines, stock quotes and local event listings via the aforesaid MSN Direct service. Expect to see this one in stores for $329.99 in Spring 2009. Full release is after the break.%Gallery-35552%
Garmin nuvi 785T reviewed
Garmin launched its updated 7x5 series of nuvi navigators back in August, but the high-end MSN Direct-equipped 785T is just hitting stores, and GPS Magazine says it's a solid improvement over previous nuvis -- but if you're not willing to pay the $50 / year for the MSN service, you're probably not going to miss it. The 785T drew high marks for its fast frame rate, nice 3D lane guidance / upcoming turn features, and semi-realistic building displays, but the MSN Direct traffic implementation was less accurate than the free traffic service built into lesser T-series nuvis, and download speeds for the service weren't particularly swift. We're not all that sold on the connected GPS concept yet, so we're inclined to take the reviewer's advice and pick up the otherwise-identical non-connected 765T, but click on for the full exhaustive review to decide for yourself.
SPOT watches, R.I.P.: 2004 - 2008
After a long, painful, nearly anonymous ride on the wrists of a select few uber-geeks, Microsoft's finally throwing in the towel on one of its longstanding pet projects: the SPOT watch. Those who've followed the technology recently (you know who you are) already know that the writing's been on the wall for some time; the applications and content available to the watches haven't been updated in ages, and indeed, the entire line of Abacus Smart Watch 2006 models -- the only type being recently offered -- has been discontinued and out of stock for a few months. For what it's worth, MSN Direct's program manager is quick to note that the underlying technology most certainly isn't going away; quite the contrary, in fact, with compatible Garmin and Windows Mobile products still going strong. Though your impetus may have been misguided and your fate sealed from the moment you hit the market, dearest wristwatches, your overwhelming nerdiness will be sorely missed. Oh, and for those of you who plan on sporting your piece of Microsoft history to the very bitter end, take some comfort in knowing that existing content types will continue to be delivered, at least.
Garmin launches nuvi 2x5 series, complete with MSN Direct
If you thought Garmin had exhausted all possible options at CES, you thought wrong. Here at CeBIT, the outfit has rolled out four new navigators for your routing pleasure, starting with the nüvi 205 (3.5-inch) and 205W (4.3-inch). These siblings both feature a 333MHz processor, Garmin's own HotFix technology to get your position on the double, the famed "Where Am I?" feature and the ability to snatch traffic information via MSN Direct when used with an optional receiver. Additionally, these two are set to include map choices such as the contiguous United States, Canada or regional sections of Europe. As for the higher-end 255 and 255W (pictured), they'll be all too similar save for the maps, which promise "comprehensive coverage of North America, Europe, Australia or New Zealand." For pricing and availability information, click on after the jump.[Via GPSReview]
MSN Direct now on Windows Mobile
Although MSN Direct has popped up in all sorts of devices over the years, we've always thought it belonged on cellphones, and it looks like Microsoft finally agrees -- it's announced a WinMo version of the auto-updating information system at MWC. The client uses your phone's data connection instead of the SPOT network to grab data -- but unlike other widget apps, the info is presented directly on the homescreen and auto-updates. Microsoft has got a technology preview of the app available now, no word on when or if it'll ever be standard fare.
MSN Direct for Windows Mobile on the way?
Microsoft's MSN Direct FM-based data network is alive and well, thanks in no small part to Garmin's commitment to using the technology in many of its modern nav units. Word on the street is that Microsoft may be prepping a Windows Mobile-based version of the MSN Direct client, a tip o' the hat to one of the service's original complaints when it original launched on wristwatches: everyone wants to get news, sports, weather, and stock information on their phones, anyway. No details are available yet -- how much the service might cost, how the data will get sucked down to the devices (our guess is FM's out of the picture), or why we might use this instead of the sites we currently use -- but we might be hearing more at MWC this week if it turns out to be legit.
Alpine set to introduce PND-K3 GPS unit
We already caught sight of the new Alpine headunits that leaked out in the company's 2008 catalog, and the folks at Navigadget have now brought our attention to a new GPS unit that made an appearance in the very same PDF. Available in PND-K3 and PND-K3msn versions (the latter of which adds support for MSN Direct), the unit boasts a standard 4.3-inch touchscreen, along with pre-loaded maps of the US and Canada, six million POIs, an SD card slot for expansion, bulit-in Bluetooth for handsfree calling, and an added cradle on the MSN-specific model. Still no word on a price or exact release date, but we'd expect those little details to make themselves known when the unit makes its official debut at CES. [Warning: PDF link][Via Navigadget]
Garmin Nuvi 680 reviewed
Garmin's Nuvi 680 isn't exactly a major upgrade, virtually identical in appearance and features to the company's earlier Nuvi 660, with the notable exception of added MSN Direct support, which proved to be enough to get the folks at GPS Lodge to check it out for a full review. On that point, they found the 680 to mostly deliver the goods, with MSN Direct features like weather information and gas prices well-incorporated easily accessible. The MSN Direct Traffic feature, however, looks like it'll prove to be more useful to some than others, largely dependent on the coverage in your area. As for the 680's other functions, GPS Lodge found that the unit unsurprisingly performed identically to the Nuvi 660 -- in other words, very well. You'll still have to wait until March to get your hands on one, when it'll retail for $999 (including a free year of MSN Direct). Until then, you'll just have to make do with checking the weather on your coffee pot.
Microsoft and Clear Channel team up on MSN Direct HD for HD Radio
Microsoft and Clear Channel are teaming up to have MSN Direct deliver data like weather, traffic, movie listings, sports scores, and stock prices to HD Radio receivers. The new service, which will be known as MSN Direct HD, should start showing up in compatible HD Radios next year.
Garmin Nuvi 670 / 680 with MSN Direct
We were wondering when someone was going to combine the infinite utility of a GPS receiver with the limited but potentially powerful data conveyed by Microsoft's MSN Direct (i.e. SPOT network). Look for the forthcoming Garmin Nuvi 670 / 680 (apparent followups to the 660 and 610) to sport this feature, among others -- you'll know more when we do.
Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffeemaker gives you the weather
There are often days when we get up in the morning, stare down our coffee machine and think: "You know what would work really well on this thing? A weather display." Thank goodness, because Melitta has just announced its ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffeemaker with MSN Direct. The $250 MSRP coffeemaker (Amazon's got a pre-order for $200, ships on November 15), as you can imagine, brews a mean cup o' joe (perhaps not as strong as this espresso maker), but also displays up-to-the-minute weather information via MSN's FM sub-carrier broadcast network without requiring a subscription -- just plug it in wherever you can get a radio signal (most of the continental US is covered), and off you go to caffeinated meteorological heaven. We think that the ME1MSB will be a fine addition to our kitchen, because it would finally fulfill our dream of adding another way to getting the weather without peeking outside, bellying up to our computers, or reading that archaic RSS reader known among certain scholars as a "newspaper."
SPOT lives: Abacus Smart Watch 2006
Even though Fossil has washed its hands of SPOT, Abacus, its "tech" brand, soldiers on. Some shady character was trying to hawk these to us at CES, but it looks like Abacus' next attempt at MSN Direct will debut in more official channels starting next month. Besides being incrementally prettier than their last round, the Smart Watch 2006 is available in a wider variety of styles, has twice the memory, and is alleged to download data faster from the SPOT network. What may not have occurred to Abacus, however, is that a cheesy black-and-white digital watch face is a cheesy watch face at any speed. We'll wait for SPOT 2.0, thanks. [Via SpotStop]
