Microsoft Unveils New Gadgets at CES

At the annual 2003 Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, Bill Gates opened CES with a speech that introduced several new smart personal object technology (SPOT) products that are significantly different from its traditional software products. One is a design for a "smart" watch that tells time, and also tracks, reports and updates the local weather for its wearer, even when the wearer travels. It will also feature short text messaging and the ability to access Outlook (wirelessly) from a computer. Fossil, Citizen and Suunto will reportedly produce the watch. Simple versions will retail for less than $150 US, and more expensive versions will also be produced. True to Microsoft's subscription type revenue stream, the watch will require a data service subscription, perhaps with a monthly fee.

In a move to compete with Apple's highly successful Apple iPod MP3 player, Microsoft announced that it plans to introduce its personal media player known as Media2Go. Media2Go will have a 20 Gigabyte hard drive, and a color screen for viewing digital photos and for watching videos. The screen will reportedly be available in standard 3.5" size and 7" size and various versions will be manufactured by Sanyo, ViewSonic, iRiver and Samsung. Gates said that Media 2Go would allow users to download media from the Internet, and the ability to store TV programs that have been recorded by Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition. The Media2Go is projected to retail for less than $500 US.