Suunto announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop and market a line of Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT)-enabled sports wristops. The new Suunto n-series, developed by Suunto in cooperation with Microsoft, will be the first of an entirely new class of personal information systems that use wireless technology to offer consumers customizable, up-to-date information.
Using a new radio receiver solution developed by Microsoft, Suuntos new n-series sports wristops will provide a wide variety of information on demand including mobile Internet, personal messages, channels for news, weather, sports and stock quotes, and a calendar — as well as advanced timekeeping and other features offered by Suuntos other sports wristops.
“Suunto is well-known to sports enthusiasts around the world for our top quality products and the many high-tech features they already offer — from advanced watch functions, barometer and altimeter, to heart-rate monitors and GPS functions,” said Dan Colliander, President of Suunto. “We are proud to partner with Microsoft to offer a new line of sports wristops that will be indispensable not only to active sports players, but also to a wider market of people who want timely information delivered on a fashionable and functional device. We believe the appeal of the Suunto n-series and other SPOT-enabled devices will be very broad.”
“Suunto shares Microsofts vision of a world in which small, connected, intelligent devices can deliver highly personalized, customized information to people wherever they are,” said Bill Mitchell, founder and general manager of the Smart Personal Objects Technology Group at Microsoft. “Suuntos outstanding track record of developing and marketing top-quality, high-tech sports instruments made them an ideal partner to help us bring our vision for SPOT to fruition with this first application in a new class of personal information systems, the SPOT-enabled sports wristop.”
“Our technological savvy and experience making sports instruments with the latest technologies, such as PC interface, graphing software and an on-line community at www.suuntosports.com, makes us ideally suited to help Microsoft launch the new category of Smart Personal Objects Technology,” added Colliander.
Currently there are plans for two lines Suunto n-series, including the Suunto n3 line and the Suunto n6 line. The first Suunto n-series, SPOT-enabled sports wristops are scheduled to hit retail markets in the US in the 4th quarter of 2003 and will have a price range starting at $200.
