Spotlight Customer Reviews
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great watch for the big kid in you! But dont depend on it!
Comment: The Dick Tracy watch is the coolest big kid toy around. If you always wanted a Dick Tracy watch well here is the first generation Dick Tracy watch. Its cool but not perfect. Text messaging takes 7-10 minutes to receive. Some messages NEVER arrive and are lost in transit. So for the business man that needs to depend on text messages...maybe not the best choice. The calender on watch is very limited. This to me is a big disappointment. It only holds limited info for yesterday, today and the next 6 days...so if you want to use it to check on your appointment 8 days from now ...forget it! Very limited! But if you just want to be the coolest gadget guy/girl around and you think owning a Dick Tracy watch is cool. Buy it just don't depend on it. The news, stocks, and weather seem to work well. Also at this time the service area is very limited so if you dont live in a big city like me...you may want to skip this gadget. The charging adapter is cool and unique. You just rest the watch on it and it charges automatically. Another problem is the wristband YOU CANT CHANGE IT even if you want to. It's connected to the antenna and charging device so it can never be changed...if it breaks you gotta go to Fossil for replacement.
Customer Rating: Summary: Cool looking - but Timex Internet Messenger watch better
Comment: These watches are cool looking - but having to recharge your watch every 3 to 7 days seems like a pain. Timex has has the Internet Messenger Watch for a couple of years. Does all the same things - stock quotes, weather, your horoscope, sports, very customizable. Also - can send reminders. Does basically all the same things - the battery lasts a lot longer. Unfortunately they have been discontinued. When you bought the watch for $100 you also got a free year of nationwide service that worked pretty much everywhere with Skytel. You got an 800 with your own voicemail, and unlimited text messages. While these watches might look cool - they're more expensive and aren't really doing much new - plus coverage is a lot less limited. The Timex was was also an Ironman - waterproof - not sure if these are... It's funny how they play the technology as something new - but it's been around for several years now.
Customer Rating: Summary: The first computer-data watch I will actually keep using
Comment: First, I have to admit I am an incurable early adopter and gadget lover. But, regardless of that bias, I have to say this watch reaches a new level of usefulness (and coolness). (And no, I don't work for Microsoft or Fossil.) I have tried several other watches in the past that offered data storage and synching with PC data, either through a cable or through an infrared connection. I gave them up within days as clunky and impractical. With this watch, though, I can put it on, and (once the MSN Direct account was activated, which was easy)I can forget about it until I want to check the news, weather, stock quotes, time, calendar, etc. I don't have to take any steps such as dialing a cell phone to get the news; I just press a button and get headlines, and more of the story with another press. The functioning is quite user-friendly and intuitive; I have spent very little time with the reference manual. The radio signal has been fine inside my office building downtown, and I was easily able to send myself a text message from MSN. The subscription price is very reasonable. I don't mind at all sticking the watch on the charger every night; the instructions say there's no "memory" effect, so it's OK to charge it before the battery runs down.
There have been some problems. The watch band is a little clumsy to manipulate, but it's manageable, and works OK with a little effort. The watch is a little big for my wrist, but after a couple of weeks I'm used to it, and it feels fine. The worst problem was that, after about a week, the watch stopped receiving the time signal or any data. I made numerous calls to MSN Direct tech support, and got through to them quickly, but they were unable to solve the problem. I think they were trying, but evidently were located somewhere halfway around the world, and had only minimal suggestions to make. Finally, with one quick call to Fossil, I found that the problem was that the metal band was not completely snapped together, and that the antenna therefore was not functioning. I don't recall seeing any mention of that issue in the documentation, which is not very thorough. Anyway, now it's working again with no problems.
All in all, this is the type of product I have been waiting for. Having all this information so easily available on my wrist is, in my mind, a quantum leap forward in useful (and fun) technology. Maybe not everyone cares about having the exact time, brief weather information, and news headlines on their wrist, but if you do, you should appreciate this watch. The text messaging only allows a small number of words; so tell your friends to be brief!
The bottom line is, it works, the service is not expensive, and it seems to be very reliable, at least in the Washington, DC metro area.
Customer Rating: Summary: Hey, its definately cool, but lets not consider it a watch!
Comment: You may want to know why such a great looking, gee whiz product gets such a low rating from me. I looked at the watch in a store locally, and was impressed until I heard the punch line. MSN subscription! I'm not going to go into detail that MS has more money than God does. I will say, they're very clever in keeping continued money streams flowing. The subscription service costs, are roughly equivalent to a low cost Internet dial-up connection. Unless you really have a strong need for this, I don't see the value of getting it on a "watch".
Lets be honest here, if you are a high-powered business type, or imagine yourself to be one, you already carry a high-tech cellular phone. Compared with the capabilities there, using this is just overkill. In addition, most people would agree, that a watch is something that should be low maintenance. They recommend you recharge the Smartwatch "daily"! Do you really want to become a slave to your watch? The FAQ says, the battery on this watch is not even replaceable. I'll assume MS thinks by the time it wears out, in a year or so, (from daily charging) you won't mind buying the next model, probably for more big bucks.
All that said this is an attractive watch, with a strong geek appeal factor. People buy expensive jewelry all the time, to impress others on just a few wearing occasions per year. I can't complain if that appeal is why you are considering buying it. The watch face is just like a little computer monitor, (although not color) and can display many things. I just don't buy this as a practical item, unless it's the only thing you use (no PDA's, cell phones, or notebook computers) for these features.
Down the road, this may become a better technology, one that I may want to use. What it needs is a hot-switchable, rechargeable battery, so you can avoid putting the watch on a charger. In the future I believe there will be some recognition that working people can't afford to pay for dozens of subscriptions for phone(s), Internet, CATV, PDA, beeper, and now a watch. Combine that with all the "net" services, "email", sports, music, news, entertainment features, and others we expect to pay for. When that time finally arrives, we'll see many of these services combined. Then the "smart watch", might be worth a second look.
Customer Rating: Summary: outlook calendar sync rocks!
Comment: I got the Dick Tracey version of the watch a week ago. As the other reviewers pointed out it is little bulky. But well, the bulkiness is kinda coolness factor too. The news, stock, weather updates are cool, but the outlook calendar reminders is the killer app. I dont need to write down in which room my next meeting is, even if I forget my pocket PC /PDA. I agree the price is little steep, but I got it through the msft employee discount, so it isn't bad for me, considering that its a Fossil watch.
