Out of the Box

IT’s been a few weeks since news broke that Microsoft would be winding down the MSN Direct service in 2012, ending an eight-year run for the technology that used FM radio sideband to deliver snippets of information to low-power devices. I remember attending the CES keynote at which MSN Direct was unveiled and receiving a flyer from competitor Ambient Devices. That bit of guerilla marketing occurred as Ambient’s product line was more objects d’arte than consumer products, but Ambient Devices is still plugging away at products that use such little power they often don’t need a plug. One of its latest to incorporate its paging network receiver is a hybrid alarm clock/weather station that has long been an obvious opportunity to me. Best Buy apparently thinks so, too.

MSN Direct delivered worthwhile functionality. Its two main forays were smart watches (Switched On discussed one of the last smart watches for which Microsoft licensed the Abacus brand from Fossil.) and portable navigation devices. Alas, the service’s demise has been announced comes just as we are seeing Microsoft’s rival Google decide to front the cost of two-way turn-by-turn direction with the Droid. Another Microsoft competitor RIM (it of the Nokia alliance motivation) lend the BlackBerry brand to a smart watch that tips the fashion scales back toward geek chic with he InPulse smartwatch. Surely there will be more of these wrist-mounted cellphone companions as the low-power Bluetooth spec formerly known as WiBree enters the market.

It’s disappointing to see MSN Direct go because I appreciate clever hacks and because it tantalized us with connecting devices that had no other practical means to receive information. Indeed, Microsoft clearly continues to look for alternative means to affordable wireless bandwidth via the White Spaces Coalition, and has teamed up with some powerful allies toward making it a reality.

Regardless, though, the superior price-capacity ratios of 4G wireless networks will open up many new devices to wireless connectivity. Ironically, economically servicing devices that may have modest bandwidth needs becomes practical for the carriers as they deploy their fastest networks. The power requirements may not accommodate a smart watch, but it will clearly have a big impact eventually. As for Ambient Devices, it looks like a case where David managed to outlive Goliath.

How niche can you get? The iPhone, which will surely attract more than 100,000 applications by the end of next year, can assume the functionality of a slew of devices – MP3 players, portable navigation devices, digital cameras and camcorders, language translators, electronic dictionaries, remote controls, stopwatches, voice recorders, flashlights and more.

Nonetheless, two products came to light this week that specialize in snippets of functionality – information appliances of sorts to use the mid-’90s terminology. The $199 pictured Red Light Camera Detector, available exclusively from New York specialty retailer  Hammacher ("We were here before The Sharper Image was a blurry idea.") Schlemmer uses a database of red light cameras and GPS to alert drivers when they are approaching such a monitored intersection.

While I can’t remember the last Hammacher product to attract so much attention online, much of it has been negative, surrounding its duplication of functionality and requirement of manual updating. Indeed, this seems more like a $99 or less product, particularly given the plummeting prices of portable navigation devices that cold easily replicate its functionality. Still, many ignore or don’t realize, though, that Hammacher and Brookstone customers are driven more by novelty and design and usually aren’t concerned about purchase optimization.

The second and decidedly plainer looking device is the WikiReader, a gadget from open source wireless developers OpenMoko. Yet, the WikiReader is not wireless. It too relies on regular updates that are delivered via microSD card. Sure, it’s functionality is also replicated by a number of iPhone applications or even any handset with a decent Web browser. Still, the notion of a reasonable $99 encyclopedia that can be toted nearly everywhere has a certain downmarket appeal. While it is no substitute for a real Internet connection, it would be nice to see it patch a few open spaces in the digital divide.

Market potential aside, both of these products would be greatly added by some level of free wireless Internet access; neither would consume much bandwidth. The infrequency with which they’d need to be updated might even be an opportunity to revisit the old paging networks. (Don’t laugh. Remember the BlackBerry started there.) But  I see their ilk as more likely candidates for that elusive white-space network. One thing’s for sure. We’ve not seen the last of service-specific devices.