Microsoft yesterday took another step away from the desktop PC world as founder and chairman Bill Gates announced plans for a range of products including a wristwatch which can receive live news and sports updates.
Faced with stagnant PC sales, the American software group has been expanding its range over the past two years to include mobile devices and other personal gadgets.
At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates said he has already signed up a number of manufacturers including Citizen to make watches containing a microchip which receives data transmitted over the FM radio spectrum.
The watches, which use Microsoft’s Smart Personal Object Technology software, will automatically update in different time zones. While exact pricing and timing of launch are still unclear, Gates suggested the watches will cost upwards of $200.
”It’s been a while since there’s been something dramatic that brought the watch to a new level,” he told delegates at the show. ”This is a digital screen. We can display any type of information there. You’re able to send instant messages through this.”
Gates also said Microsoft is cooperating with chip designer Intel in the production of a portable video and audio player codenamed Media2Go.
Microsoft hopes the first handheld device, which will hold at least 12 hours of music or six hours of video, will be in shops later this year. Sanyo and Samsung are both working to produce the first players, which include full-colour screens and can be connected to a home TV.
In Las Vegas Gates also demonstrated a prototype fridge magnet which can be programmed to receive traffic reports, sports results and advertisements from local restaurants using the same FM signal as the wristwatch. – Guardian Unlimited Â