A very smart Swatch
Barbra Murray
US News & World Report
September 22, 1997

To the untrained eye, this season's skiers may appear telekinetic
when they stroll up to the lift line and the turnstile magically
opens. Actually, though, the wizadry is in their watches--housed in the 
new Swatch Access, a quartz timepiece with a built-in computer chip and
antenna that store and transmit account data. Slide the watch in front
of a special scanner and the skier's lift fees are electronically
deducted and admission is granted. If stolen, the watch can easily be
deactivated, leaving the thief holding up the lift line with no means
of entry.

After limited introduction in seasons past, the Swatch Access will be
available at numerous US resorts this year. Equipped as a reusable
ski pass in the form of trademark Swatch designs, the watches will sell
for around $50.

Coming soon: the Swatch "smart" watch with banking "smart card" technology
and debit capability. Could ATM cards be headed down a slippery slope?