NEW YORK-Wristwatch maker Swatch introduced Swatch the Beep Box-a FLEX-enabled numeric pager shaped in a circle.
Customers can buy the round pager, which features a trackball activation system, from Swatch’s Web site. The pager alone sells for $75, and the prepaid service package of 1,000 pages, three months service and the device costs $100.
SkyTel Communications Inc. is the airtime provider for the prepaid package. Swatch initially selected SkyTel because of its new prepaid billing platform.
Swatch once sold a “pagerwatch” product, called Swatch the Beep, discontinued because it used the POCSAG protocol and was available only for regional coverage. The company said it is working on a FLEX model, but won’t release one until it can be made as small as conventional watches.
