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Microsoft Unveils $199 'Microsoft Band' Fitness Wearable
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If your phone is on you anyways, why not use that? I don't think you'll be able to message photos from the phone, just whatever Siri can interpret from your voice.
Why would you struggle to use a tiny little device to do things that are infinitely better on the phone that you [/b]must[/b] already have on you?
I don't think people will be sitting there scrolling through their photos on a watch when they have a far better device for it right in their pocket.
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How much does Microsoft spend on R & D?
It is not even shaped like a watch!
Bill Gates would have never allowed this!
That'd because it isn't a watch... it's a band
Great vid! Thank you! Even the packaging is impressive. All the MS logos and the name for the band looks clean and simple. Very nice Microsoft! Can't wait to get mine.
I expected something like this from Apple, instead we got bar of soap without GPS, huge disappointment.
Definitely going to buy this.
Apple's bar of soap (small one) might fit me. The MS band def. wasn't designed for small wrists. It looks super dorky on anyone who's wrist isn't as big as the entire top of the display; too much overhang. Sad, but true. We'll see what the Apple Watch looks like in real life -- pictures lie. Otherwise Fitbit Charge HR for me.
No, it does not talk to the Apple Health app. MS's health app is a competitor. But they both do similar things. Seems you don't really need the Apple app if you have the MS version. No you can't use Siri, but you can talk directly to the band to do band related task.
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Bill Gates would have never allowed this!
Not saying to much given he never fathered a single successful piece of CE hardware other than a trackball. And the s/w on the band is great. It's the band that's the problem.
It does come in three difference sizes and recommends to get sized up in person. I suspect the sizes should suit a lot of people.
Buddy at work just grabbed one; we tinkered with it here in the office for about 15 minutes.
My feelings on health bands: Neat if you're actually going to utilize it to try to get in shape. not very comfortable and limited appeal if you don't exercise regularly.
My feelings on smart watches: The Moto 360 is the ONLY smartwatch out there that looks "good." I've tried one on, it's comfortable, and it looks normal. But man, the OS is slow, the screen isn't nearly as good as it should be, and the interface is "okay." The Apple Watch has a GREAT looking OS, hopefully the screen is really solid, and I think it'll take off... but why oh why did the screen have to be square?
My feelings on regular watches: Love 'em. Not a huge hobby of mine, but I'm a member on WatchUSeek, know the differences between different movements, and can rattle off some nice brands. I have six or seven different watches in my rotation - mostly $200-$400 Citizens and Seikos. Looking to get a Hamilton in the next year or so; would love an Omega some day. I wear them to complete my look more than anything. They last forever.
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"Meh."
The thing is thick and uncomfortable. The band has almost zero play. The screen, if sitting under your wrist, will just knock into things. If above your wrist, it looks a bit silly... because the screen is so wide/long, it has little gaps between your skin and the band. Out of all my watches, all of them sit 90% flush to my skin, at least.
The screen is serviceable. Won't wow anyone. Imagine circa 2006 smartphones. Low res, pretty bad contrast... nothing is super sharp... but it's 100% usable - no issues with usability.
Interface is okay. It's the standard swipe left/right to go through things.... click on items to enter app. There's a little blue arrow on left side of all apps to go back.
Took about five minutes to find the app on the Windows Phone store. Can't seem to figure out Cortana.
You can only have ten "apps" on the band at any one time.
Only two auto-replies... surely there's a way to add more. There's only "I'll call you back" or "I'm in a meeting." No "what's up" or "busy" or whatever. Gotta say, Apple's contextual replies sound really great.
Things are a bit sluggish. Not buttery smooth. But again, totally servicable.
Build quality is good. Thick rubber. Sturdy. A bit heavy. The clasp is neat.
Closing thoughts on 15 minutes of impressions? Probably a pretty good exercise band, if a bit uncomfortable. Better than most. But it's nothing incredible. Not a showstopper. Not a game changer. It's a decent little FitBit upgrade. For $200, it's not a bad deal. But it's absolutely not a must-own. That said, I don't think MS is even trying to sell it as such.
A good exercise/health tracker. But nothing remarkable.
My feelings on health bands: Neat if you're actually going to utilize it to try to get in shape. not very comfortable and limited appeal if you don't exercise regularly.
My feelings on smart watches: The Moto 360 is the ONLY smartwatch out there that looks "good." I've tried one on, it's comfortable, and it looks normal. But man, the OS is slow, the screen isn't nearly as good as it should be, and the interface is "okay." The Apple Watch has a GREAT looking OS, hopefully the screen is really solid, and I think it'll take off... but why oh why did the screen have to be square?
My feelings on regular watches: Love 'em. Not a huge hobby of mine, but I'm a member on WatchUSeek, know the differences between different movements, and can rattle off some nice brands. I have six or seven different watches in my rotation - mostly $200-$400 Citizens and Seikos. Looking to get a Hamilton in the next year or so; would love an Omega some day. I wear them to complete my look more than anything. They last forever.
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"Meh."
The thing is thick and uncomfortable. The band has almost zero play. The screen, if sitting under your wrist, will just knock into things. If above your wrist, it looks a bit silly... because the screen is so wide/long, it has little gaps between your skin and the band. Out of all my watches, all of them sit 90% flush to my skin, at least.
The screen is serviceable. Won't wow anyone. Imagine circa 2006 smartphones. Low res, pretty bad contrast... nothing is super sharp... but it's 100% usable - no issues with usability.
Interface is okay. It's the standard swipe left/right to go through things.... click on items to enter app. There's a little blue arrow on left side of all apps to go back.
Took about five minutes to find the app on the Windows Phone store. Can't seem to figure out Cortana.
You can only have ten "apps" on the band at any one time.
Only two auto-replies... surely there's a way to add more. There's only "I'll call you back" or "I'm in a meeting." No "what's up" or "busy" or whatever. Gotta say, Apple's contextual replies sound really great.
Things are a bit sluggish. Not buttery smooth. But again, totally servicable.
Build quality is good. Thick rubber. Sturdy. A bit heavy. The clasp is neat.
Closing thoughts on 15 minutes of impressions? Probably a pretty good exercise band, if a bit uncomfortable. Better than most. But it's nothing incredible. Not a showstopper. Not a game changer. It's a decent little FitBit upgrade. For $200, it's not a bad deal. But it's absolutely not a must-own. That said, I don't think MS is even trying to sell it as such.
A good exercise/health tracker. But nothing remarkable.
Insightful review from Gizmodo
http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-band-hands-on-an-activity-tracker-thats-actu-1652836668
http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-band-hands-on-an-activity-tracker-thats-actu-1652836668
Yeah, I just got back from returning mine to the MS Store. They asked why and I said because it was uncomfortable to actually wear despite actually liking the interface. It's almost a box and it has zero flexibility and after wearing it for about an hour it was either too tight but reading my heart rate or just right fit wise but unable to measure my heart rate. I got to keep the microsoft gym bag though (woo).
Yes, I already went to the MS Store to play with them. I speak from personal experience, not just looking at a web pic, unlike you apparently. The band comes in 3 sizes, but the display is the same size for all bands. So if you have wrists smaller than the top of the display you get overhang since the screen is not contoured. It ends up feeling awkward and looking dorky. It's the key reason I passed it up.
There is a pretty good chance that these "smart" devices will struggle just as Newton and Palm Pilots did till someone cracked the right mix of features, form factor and interface. MS appears to have gone down the path of simple band with extra features while Apple is the polar opposite with fashion wear and functionality. Oddly both are claiming to target the health or fitness world, but neither chose to make their devices water proof. Go figure. It will take a few iterations to get the right balance and convince people they need to have one of these gadgets.
Right now neither does anything worthy of taking my Ambit off my wrist. 24/7/365 wear without worry of getting wet, beat up...
Right now neither does anything worthy of taking my Ambit off my wrist. 24/7/365 wear without worry of getting wet, beat up...
I appreciate the competition as this will push Apple forward. This one at least has a decent mix of features unlike any of the other offerings getting left behind, including Samsung and Fitbit. The UV is really the only + over the Apple watch. Not sure of the usefulness but it is an interesting sensor, but not a body-feedback sensor and nothing that couldn't be derived in substance by simply looking. Amazingly UV seems to come and go with the sun, who knew! This is certainly clunky and like most of these other, won't fit on my wrist. This I why I asked early on that the Apple offering not be limiting to wrist size. And my wish was granted. My only real wish for an add to the Apple Watch at this point would be blood sugar or blood pressure if possible with magical sensors.
Thanks for the snark. Was just letting you know in case you we unaware of the different sizes.
All the current smartwatches/bands have at least one critical flaw. Interesting that it isn't more rounded on the bottom.
Microsoft used a design I was hoping apple would have used. A thin band like that where you can scroll left and right through apps. seems way more intuitive then the apple watch. Also doesnt try and do everything like pictures and stuff which is stupid on a device like this. I kinda like it. I may pick one up.
Not true.
The sensors and the battery life are what is " + over the Apple watch".
The Apple watch does not appear to track sleep patterns, which is a biggie for many. Apple hasn't mentioned it and if they say you are likely to charge it every day, presumably you can't sleep with it.
I still think the most advanced of the health trackers is the Basis Peak. It has the most advanced sensors on the market, as far as I can tell. It is also the only wrist device which can track real time pulse.
The Basis also has 4 days of battery life. I have the current model and this is in line with my experience. The lack of GPS is less valuable to most.
Overall, the MS watch provides a good balance, although I would go for the Basis, since it is better at what it does.
I am really not sure the Apple watch will be all that competitive, if they don't have sleep tracking and better battery life.
That's funny, cheap wouldn't be what I would use to describe it. IMO, the build quality is nice and there is nothing cheap looking about it. Of course for some, only Apple can make an acceptable product.
I went to the mall and took a look at the Band. I hemmed and hawed for a half hour but I did decide to try it.
First impressions: I am a semi-petite woman with small wrists. I bought the small, which was all they had left at 3pm anyway. I do agree that it looks pretty clunky and dorky close up. However, zoom out a little bit and it looks okay. When I am not running, I will most likely wear the band lower past my wrist. It keeps the band from banging into things and makes the wide screen looks less awkward. Luckily the clasp allows you to slide the band up and tighten it very easily. These issues will be mostly a non issue for larger men, and I do agree with the poster who wished that they made a version with a smaller screen.
As a fitness band, this thing is a real pleasure and very impressive. The running app worked without a hitch. The gps synced up no problem, and pacing steps and heart rate matched up to the previous set up I used, MIO, Fitbit, run keeper . It was nice to have everything integrated and the heart rate in real time as opposed to getting a delay when I used to view it on my phone.
I also like the notifications system so far. The vibration is noticeable without being annoying. I still have to work on configuring some settings, but for the most part, everything is easy to set up.
I give it an A for health tracking but a C for wearability/comfort. I am not entirely sure I will be wearing it all day or not - I may end up using it purely as a fitness watch. Microsoft has a good product, but it needs better ergonomics and refinement.
It is really making me wish the Apple watch had a gps....
First impressions: I am a semi-petite woman with small wrists. I bought the small, which was all they had left at 3pm anyway. I do agree that it looks pretty clunky and dorky close up. However, zoom out a little bit and it looks okay. When I am not running, I will most likely wear the band lower past my wrist. It keeps the band from banging into things and makes the wide screen looks less awkward. Luckily the clasp allows you to slide the band up and tighten it very easily. These issues will be mostly a non issue for larger men, and I do agree with the poster who wished that they made a version with a smaller screen.
As a fitness band, this thing is a real pleasure and very impressive. The running app worked without a hitch. The gps synced up no problem, and pacing steps and heart rate matched up to the previous set up I used, MIO, Fitbit, run keeper . It was nice to have everything integrated and the heart rate in real time as opposed to getting a delay when I used to view it on my phone.
I also like the notifications system so far. The vibration is noticeable without being annoying. I still have to work on configuring some settings, but for the most part, everything is easy to set up.
I give it an A for health tracking but a C for wearability/comfort. I am not entirely sure I will be wearing it all day or not - I may end up using it purely as a fitness watch. Microsoft has a good product, but it needs better ergonomics and refinement.
It is really making me wish the Apple watch had a gps....
Glad there's more competition for Apple. And this sounds like a nicely focused device. It prompts me wondering though: when do you charge it? If claims of "48 hours, meant to wear night and day" are true, are you supposed to get a full charge in, say, the shower?
And sure, you just maybe don't wear it one night, but this is something I've been wondering about all of these wearables. I really don't see a problem charging an iWatch each night (just like my phone) because it doesn't seem meant to be worn overnight.
And sure, you just maybe don't wear it one night, but this is something I've been wondering about all of these wearables. I really don't see a problem charging an iWatch each night (just like my phone) because it doesn't seem meant to be worn overnight.
The MS rep told me it charges to 80% in 30 minutes. I didn't see that anywhere on the site.
That'd because it isn't a watch... it's a band
According to people on these forums, it's a watch
When I questioned the Apple device being an actual watch, the definition of a watch was posted to show me I was wrong.
And that definition also makes this just as much a Watch as Apple's device.
So yes, it's a watch according to people here.
The Fitbit Surge seems closer to, and possibly better than the Basis Peak: https://www.fitbit.com/surge
Both the Basis Peak and the Surge appear to be better thought-out and more useful than the MS device and also possibly more useful than the Apple watch, unless Apple is hiding something up its sleeve.
If Apple only comes up with a version of the Samsung, LG, Asus, Moto, etc. watches, then it will end up being as popular as those. The "charge everyday" statement does not bode well.
Both the Basis Peak and the Surge appear to be better thought-out and more useful than the MS device and also possibly more useful than the Apple watch, unless Apple is hiding something up its sleeve.
If Apple only comes up with a version of the Samsung, LG, Asus, Moto, etc. watches, then it will end up being as popular as those. The "charge everyday" statement does not bode well.
Why would u need this ? If your sleepy, then obviously u don't need technology to say "hey. you need to sleep more." If you keep dozing off in that important meeting, then obviously something is a miss here. Why have tech to help us here, when u know what the problem is, even if users don't like to admit it.
This is the only issue... But the other stuff is fine.. tracking steps etc... all