Twenty-Fifth Century Co of Bayside, New York has introduced the MemoWatch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. It is a conventional digital wristwatch but has a play and record button. By pressing record, the wearer can record a phone number, note, reminder or shopping list or snatch of song by speaking into the watch. A miniature microphone built into the face of the watch records the voice onto a patented ISD sound chip that reproduces approximately 10 seconds of speech, which the firm says is the perfect amount of time for brief verbal note-taking. The device is not designed to replace a 30-minute cassette tape, but rather serves as a way of storing brief messages or flashes of inspiration. It costs $25 and a licensed version of the product will be marketed at the end of 1994, especially for kids. The company will be releasing other new voice products over the next few months, and is preparing a patent application for a technology scheduled for release in 1995.
