After a long and fruitful run, Microsoft and Abacus have thrown in the towel on the Spot Watch program. As of now, no more of these devices are available for purchase or even warranty replacement. All effort will be going towards the MSN Direct capable GPS receivers, as well as the MSN Direct software for Windows Mobile devices.

Jon Canan, Program Director recently posted this in the SpotStop.com forums:

As of recently, the Smart Watches with MSN Direct have sold out and are no longer for sale. While we continue to move forward with MSN Direct and seeking out new opportunities for devices that would benefit from the MSN Direct service, we, along with our watch partners, do not have immediate plans to create a new version of the Smart Watch, as we are focused on other areas of our business. We will maintain support of our watch customers and continue to deliver information to the watches, but we do not plan to increase our investment in the watch business going forward.

We have appreciated all of the comments and feedback that the SPOTStop community has provided - and this feedback has been incorporated in every step of the way as we develop new products and leverage our assets within the MSN Direct service. We are proud of the new products that have incorporated our technologies - MSN Direct for GPS navigation devices and MSN Direct for Windows Mobile, and it is encouraging to think that these grew out of the Smart Watch initiative - demonstrating great traction for Microsoft. We will continue to engage with this community and welcome any questions you may have.