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Introducing Microsoft Band and Health Service

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I've been wanting a FitBit for a while, but this seems like a better deal. Hopefully it's integrated with the Bing Health & Fitness app. And no mention of Xbox Fitness?

I'll make my way to the MS store later today to check it out.
 
I'm not sure if this has been answered yet (I couldn't see anything when I skimmed over the thread) but how does this band monitor your sleep patterns? Does it simply measure how much you are moving around in bed? Is that even accurate compared to brain wave measurements and REM?
 
Just ordered from the web with 2 Day shipping. Unfortunately my impressions will be next week. I'm not driving 40 minutes to the nearest Microsoft store.
 
I like the approach of this device. It's a bit of a bummer it ties into Microsoft's own platform instead of syncing natively with Google and Apple platforms, but at least the apps are supported with those devices.
 
BruiserBear said:
Yeah, but at least the name "Apple" has some cache. The word "Microsoft" doesn't exactly strike most people as the hotness.
Click to expand...

Should have called it the Microsoft Apple Band, then?

What did you want them to call it, Microsoft XR398 or some other meaningless assortment of letters and/or numbers?
 
I have to run to a meeting and I still need to fiddle with the settings, but it's on, really like the clasp you can see in the photos, Push sides to open, but lots of room to adjust (no holes on strap.

Pics

There is a green light underneath only noticiable if you pull the band away from your wrist for the heart monitor. Also I showed the charging cable (plug into USB, no adapter in box but I have a lot of apple ones sitting around). The cable itself seems to be magnetic rather than snap into the spot for charging. 2 buttons on the band, one to turn on and off the display and hold it to turn off band completely. The other button rotates through what is displayed on the main screen by the time (heart rate, steps etc)

Forgot to mention they gave me a $5 starbucks card and a screen protector with purchase.

Will report back more in the day as I fiddle with it.
 
CronosBlade said:
I have to run to a meeting and I still need to fiddle with the settings, but it's on, really like the clasp you can see in the photos, Push sides to open, but lots of room to adjust (no holes on strap.

Pics

There is a green light underneath only noticiable if you pull the band away from your wrist for the heart monitor. Also I showed the charging cable (plug into USB, no adapter in box but I have a lot of apple ones sitting around). The cable itself seems to be magnetic rather than snap into the spot for charging. 2 buttons on the band, one to turn on and off the display and hold it to turn off band completely. The other button rotates through what is displayed on the main screen by the time (heart rate, steps etc)

Forgot to mention they gave me a $5 starbucks card and a screen protector with purchase.

Will report back more in the day as I fiddle with it.
Click to expand...
Does the clasp really just double bulge like it appears to?

Screen side also seems like it would be obtrusive when using a keyboard
 
AlteredBeast said:
Should have called it the Microsoft Apple Band, then?

What did you want them to call it, Microsoft XR398 or some other meaningless assortment of letters and/or numbers?
Click to expand...

I honestly think it would help to give it a unique name. Even putting another word in the name would help. Like "Microsoft Fit Band", or "Microsoft display Band".
 
cakefoo said:
Does the clasp really just double bulge like it appears to?

Screen side also seems like it would be obtrusive when using a keyboard
Click to expand...

The double bulge in the clasp area is due to the heart rate monitor. Hadn't bothered me so far.

As for the screen it is flat not curved like the Gear Fit.
 
I might have to get this.

I have a fitbit but I really want GPS to track my runs and the heart rate monitoring. I was going to get the fitbit Surge but that is $50 more and doesn't come out until next year. Plus,I am a WinPhone guy.
 
ElectricKaibutsu said:
Oh no, I'm actually interested in this. Cheap, durable, useful, and not an eye sore.

Edit: BUILT IN GPS. That's huge for me. I hate carrying my phone while running.
Click to expand...

Microsoft gets it. the 2 day battery time thing is not really an issue here. that's really nice. integrates with runkeeper as well while monitoring your vitals and calories. Looks very good.
 
abracadaver said:
How can a step sensor work on my hand?

If I'm sitting on a desk all day and just wave my hands around it will think I'm walking around.
Click to expand...

My fitbit flex on my wrist handles these scenarios - it uses the accelerometer and software programming to distinguish between different activities.

When I look at the activity charts over the course of a day, they line up very well with what I was doing that day (per every 15min increments)

They are not 100% accurate but they are pretty close. And the important thing is the trends, not the exact number.
 
I think I will be getting one. This is the first lifestyle proposition from the big 3 to really interest me, you can see the team behind it (xbox accessories team) legitimately got into fitness&health and designed the service and hardware accordingly; not as a fashion statement or smartphone replacement, but as a true wearable that does its own thang.

Can't wait to see what's in the pipeline for the productivity side of it.
 
Trying to order this thing and every time I get the Terms of Service page when trying to check out and there's nothing I can do. No "Next", just the Terms of Service.
 
Einbroch said:
Trying to order this thing and every time I get the Terms of Service page when trying to check out and there's nothing I can do. No "Next", just the Terms of Service.
Click to expand...

Did you scroll all the way down? Sometimes they hide the "accept/reject" buttons at the bottom of these legalese.
 
SimleuqiR said:
Did you scroll all the way down? Sometimes they hide the "accept/reject" buttons at the bottom of these legalese.
Click to expand...

Yeah, nothing there. When I did it on Internet Explorer, though, it went through.

Weird. Well, I pulled the trigger. If I don't like it I'll trek out to Indy and return it, but it seems to have everything I want.
 
E from Xbox posted this picture

B1Nl5-YCMAIwS-H.jpg
 
It's weird that you wear it backwards. I did that for like a week in middle school, but I see why they did it and it's usability seems pretty good.

2 day battery life is huge for me.

Very interested in the reviews.
 
Looks interesting.

In the promo video people are wearing it with the screen facing inwards (sorry, don't know how to say this in proper English), can you do both or does it feel uncomfortable in one position?
 
TerryLee81 said:
Looks interesting.

In the promo video people are wearing it with the screen facing inwards (sorry, don't know how to say this in proper English), can you do both or does it feel uncomfortable in one position?
Click to expand...

Guy who rang me up at MS store was wearing it that way. I just tried it and while it's comfortable I'd always be afraid of scratching the screen.
 
Looks nice and all but I would never ever use a wearable device. I get why people would see a point in them but they're not for me.
 
Got mine...they didn't have the screen protectors yet so already a small scratch on the surrounding plastic :(

Looks great though and very excited to run with it...for those with the screen protectors do they cover the plastic around the screen?
 
Anton Sugar said:
Never been interested in a fitness band/watch, but I'm curious about this and who the target audience is or could be.
Click to expand...

The target audience is likely those who like the idea of a Fit Bit but want a little more usefulness with basic interaction with their phones, which is me.

I don't want an Apple Watch because it's too much like a phone on my wrist and not enough of a fitness device (no GPS) and it's pricy, but a FitBit is just a fitness device with no real use outside of it.

This is the happy medium and exactly what I was looking for at a fair price. Of course, assuming it works and isn't a piece.
 
wow... that flat screen is terrible

looks like it has great features, if it actually plugs into Google Fit at some point it would be nice, but they need to curve that screen for $199
 
Do we know if this is going to integrate with the health app in iOS?

I kinda want to get one but i'm hesitating a little for the battery life, I don't want to end up having to charge it everyday or day and a half.
 
First Impressions:

All of this workout functionality and health tracking points to what really makes the Microsoft Band unique. More than any other wristable out there, it's trying to turn its tracking into a dialogue with you. Most devices just collect metrics from your body and notifications from your phone only to yell them back to you. The Microsoft Band wants to give them back to you in useful form.

In large measure this intelligent dialogue Microsoft is trying to build is firmly tied to the Microsoft Health platform. Microsoft doesn't just want to serve as repository for your health data—it wants to crunch it and give it back to you in insightful form. Some of this functionality has already been developed. For example, the Microsoft Health app doesn't just tell you how much sleep you got, there is further calculated metric for "restful sleep." Another example: After you do a workout, the app crunches your body weight, heart rate during the workout, and other data and tells you what your recovery time will be.
Click to expand...

Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do before we've really put the Microsoft Band to the test, but at a glance, it's perhaps the most intriguing wearable we've seen all year. It strikes a nice balance between ambitious—it's very, very ambitious—and actually usable. My sense, in short, is that if you are a human on Earth, the Microsoft Band will help make you a better one. Or at the very least, fitter.
Click to expand...
 
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