MSN Direct was an

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-based digital service which allowed '

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' portable devices to receive information from

MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

services. Devices that supported MSN Direct included wristwatches, desktop clocks, in-car GPS satellite navigation units, and even small appliances such as coffee makers. Information available through paid "channels" included weather, horoscopes, stocks, news, sports results and calendar notifications. The service also allowed users to receive short messages from

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. Some

Garmin Garmin Ltd. (shortened to Garmin, stylized as GARMIN, and formerly known as ProNav) is an American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao in Lenexa, Kansas, United States, with headquarte ...

GPS units, such as the ''nüvi 680'', allowed traffic notifications, weather forecasts, movie schedules and local gas prices to be received through MSN Direct. As a radio-based service, MSN Direct did not have universal coverage, but was available in populated parts of the United States and Canada. It was not launched in other areas. Microsoft's latest expansion of MSN Direct was to the Windows Mobile platform. MSN Direct for Windows Mobile took advantage of both cellular and

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connections, and allowed Microsoft devices to better compete with the information services available on other mobile phone platforms. There were three versions of the MSN Direct software for Garmin ''nüvi'' GPS receivers: * Version 1, which was available for all ''nüvis'', allowed users to receive local gas prices, movie times, weather forecasts, and current conditions. * Version 2, which was available for series 700 and 800 of ''nüvi'' receivers, offered enhanced movie listings, local events, news, stock prices, and the ability to send Microsoft's Live Search Maps data to a ''nüvi''. * Version 3 offered general airport delays for incoming and outgoing flights (but not individual flight delays) and a Doppler radar map when viewing weather. The service was shut down on January 1, 2012, as originally announced in October 2009.MSN Direct Discontinued , MSN Direct web site

References

External links

MSN Direct
Internet protocols Products and services discontinued in 2012 {{Microsoft-stub

See also

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External links