This is not all that surprising, really, but it’s pretty big. Fossil, one of the largest watch distributors in the US, has taken SPOT watches out of their upcoming pipeline as a reaction to Microsoft’s decision to pull back on new SPOT developments and totally re-tool lots of the features. Since they were originally introduced, SPOT and MSN Direct haven’t improved much and the promise of wired refrigerator magnets and magical SPOT handhelds didn’t really materialize. Hopefully, Fossil’s move will convince the SPOT team that they’ve got to get something new in the works.
