Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wireless Wristwatch Pumps Petrol, Fetches Fries

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 13:34:14 -0500

Wireless Wristwatch Pumps Petrol, Fetches Fries

By Mark Long
12/5/2002
e-inSITE

ExxonMobil Speedpass Network and Timex have joined forces to offer
consumers a Dick Tracey-style wrist-watch that wirelessly
communicates with ExxonMobile service station pumps and
Macdonald's cash registers.

Speedpass and Timex have just released 4,000 first-edition time
pieces that are equipped with a miniature Speedpass radio
frequency transponder that will enable gasoline customers to
instantly pay for purchases at more than 7,500 Exxon and Mobil
service stations across the nation. In addition, the companies say
that watch owners will even be able to use the device to make
purchases at over 440 participating McDonalds drive-through
restaurants in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area.

The Speedpass feature is currently available in eight Timex watch
models, which automatically link the wearer's credit or checking
account cards to the watch's built-in Speedpass device in the
watch. Wearers can enable a wireless money transaction by simply
waving their wrists in front of an electronic reader located at
the gas pump or at the checkout counter of retail outlets equipped
with the requisite receiving technology.

"The real promise of technology is to make everyday life less
complicated," claims Timex president and CEO Joe Santana. "That
philosophy is already driving the next generation of consumer
products and the Speedpass Timex watch is on the leading-edge."

There is no charge for customers to enroll in the Speedpass
program or to use Speedpass for purchases. The wireless-enabled
watches are currently available from the www.speedpass.com and
www.timex.com Web Sites.

Developed by ExxonMobil, in cooperation with Texas Instruments and
the Wayne Division of Dresser Industries, the Speedpass RF system
and antenna have been designed to read, recognize and capture the
information contained in the wearer's Speedpass device and then
automatically process the transaction. (For more on T's enabling
RFID technology, see: "TI's RFID Technology Makes Wireless Watch
Tick .")

Customer privacy and security is ensured through the use of a
unique transponder identification code, report the two companies.
In addition, the customer's credit or check card number always
remains outside the Speedpass signal system, to ensure total
confidentiality for each transaction.

http://www.e-insite.net/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA263732

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