Seiko Corp’s Seiko Communications of America Inc formally launched its new Seiko MessageWatch, a combination wristwatch and pager, in Los Angeles, beginning a two-year US-wide rollout: the wristwatch, which uses Seiko chips fabricated by GEC Plessey Semiconductors Ltd, not only tells time, but delivers share indices, sports scores, winning state lottery numbers and messages such as call home and is available in a variety of men’s and women’s styles and colours starting at $80; information service charges begin at $2.49 a month and paging and information services start at $8.95 a month; the watch has a two-line screen, and has been tested in Seattle and in Portland, Oregon for over 18 months; the standard Lithium battery has a life of 18 months and its signal is broadcast over standard FM radio waves, bypassing more expensive cellular systems.
