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Fossil buries ill-fated Palm OS wristwatch

'No longer available,' says timepiece maker

Watchmaker Fossil appears to have decided that its attempt to bring a Palm OS-based timepiece to market was so cursed that it has quietly dropped plans to offer the product.

According to the company's web site, the three planned Wrist PDA models - Sport, Casual and Dress - all now feature the message: "We are sorry, but this product is no longer available." Not that it ever was.

And the price of each watch, originally around $299, is now listed as $0.

The Wrist PDA had a chequered history. Originally announced over a year ago, in November 2002, the timepiece won a Best of Comdex award for its innovative attempt at squeezing a PalmOS 4-based PDA into a wristwatch.

Alas the device failed to live up to its promise. At the very least, it missed its initial June 2003 launch window, and suffered a series of shipment delay during the latter half of the year.

We were told last June that the timepiece would ship as planned, but despite a flashy New York coming-out party, the Wrist PDA was delayed again, again and again.

Amazon.com, the erstwhile exclusive online supplier of the line, dropped the WristPDA from its portfolio last September. A few days later, Fossil blamed the delays on its WristPDA manufacturing partner, Flextronics. At the time, the company would not give a revised ship date.

"Once production complications have been resolved and product quality specifications have been met or exceeded, Fossil will begin shipments of the Wrist PDA with Palm OS," Fossil told The Register.

The new message on the company's web site suggests it no longer feels that those two goals can be met. ®

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