While everyone is trying to make a watch that looks as traditional as possible, Microsoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes. That's some guts.
At $200 this looks like great device with built-in sensors including GPS and UV that also talks to whatever phone you own. I also like the fact that heart rate monitor is always on. Addition of barometer could have been nicer, however.
Other tidbits:
-Screen looks too small to do much of an interaction so I'm guessing type of apps would be mostly notification types.
-I seriously hate all these stock photos and videos. Marketing seems to be out of ideas and creativity yet again. Show the f*ing product, not random faces.
-48 hr battery life
-Cortana works only for Windows Phone
-It's supposedly made for the right hand which is very weird.
-Sleep quality monitoring seems pretty cool
-The whole thing is projected as health device and makes me feel that it's designed for fitness nuts. This is going to severely limit the audience and very bad marketing strategy. Apple's watch is much more human/teens oriented that anyone wearing watches wouldn't mind to wear regardless of its health related features and probably mostly just for fun (send my heartbeat!).
Finally a Microsoft product that isn't stupidly handcuffed to their ecosystem. Microsoft has amazing engineers still, and they must be frustrated that they aren't allowed to produce the best device they can, regardless of os. I hope for their sake this thing does well.
I certainly would not want a bracelet that tracks so much information from a corporation that is known to cooperate with the NSA. The bracelets they force repeat sex offenders to wear track less information about them. The only way I would consider using such a device was if both the hardware and software were available for public review.
I went and picked one of these up at lunch from local Microsoft Store/Kiosk. No line, walked right up. Sales person was very informative, helped with wrist sizing. Came with some small swag (Starbucks gift card, water bottle, etc). There were two other people at the store - one looking at Surface another started looking at Band as I was leaving, I noticed they were looking at mine as I tried it on. Not hard to purchase one, no line.
I walked by the Apple Store on the way out and there were people queued up outside to get in, probably about 10-12 deep.
It was a sign of the times, as someone who purchases products from (and develops for) both camps, I am really happy to see the competition. Happy to see MS embrace iOS devices with their new tech and happy to see Apple allow MS apps in the app store. Its not all pats on the backs between Apple and MS, but the competition benefits all us and is great to see. Plus, some cool gear is coming out of it.
I was pretty underwhelmed by Apple's watch and have actively disliked the Android watches that I've seen so far. I use a Fitbit One every day currently, so the new Fitbit Charge bands with some phone integration kind of piqued my interest, but seemed very feature poor.
After seeing the functionality this thing offers and that it will work with my iPhone instead of requiring a particular phone OS, take my money.
If it really does as much and works half as well as the promo video suggests, MS may have a big winner here.
Quoting an article from The Economist.com:
"... Strikingly, one-third of users discard their devices after six months, according to research by Endeavour Partners, a consultancy. Some industry insiders speculate that the true number may be much higher than that. ...The novelty of being able to track your steps, calories or other metrics is appealing at first, but swiftly wears off. ..."
Full article - http://goo.gl/hR5LxJ
Wow, this actually looks fantastic. Microsoft has always killed it in the hardware department. Looks like it connects to their cloud service as well. Will probably consider getting one.
While so many competitors are scrambling to make smartwatches that can't competently track your fitness and can't competently replace your phone, this Band has all the sensors necessary to be a legitimate fitness tracker, the form factor will ensure it's more accurate, and it also can function as a useful proxy to your phone. While it may not have all the features of the Apple Watch, it seems to have all of the most useful ones, like delivering important notifications straight to your wrist. And it's cross-platform!
It seems to me that Microsoft has found the two areas where wearables really excel -- quantified self and notifications -- and focused on these features above all else. It's not high fashion, although the band form factor is hard to be offended by, especially if you have the screen facing down. It doesn't take photos, but why would you take photos with your watch?
This is not unlike the iPod, which focused on storage space and an extremely simple interface above all else.
Jesus! it's perfect. and because MS got it right. compared to apple or pebble. in short, 'band form factor' is the one I was hoping, when apple introduced its watch. I was bit shocked when it was actually rounded-square shape. with this form, you get more with less.
Besides the landscape content not being oriented to your eyes when your forearm is across your body, a la Samsung Gear Fit, this looks very nice. The orientation obviously depends on how you wear it (the screen on the top or bottom of your wrist), as others have pointed out.
I don't know how big of an issue that is with limited content, but it drives me nuts when a touch device isn't oriented the way I want (in bed primarily). They could give the user options to lock the orientation one way or another or detect how the user is wearing it somehow, but my money would be Microsoft to figure that out much faster than Samsung.
As a Pebble owner, and potential Apple Watch buyer, this seems to have the best of all smart-watch worlds technology-wise. Cross-platform is huge. Battery-life, reliable software, comfort and style (in order of importance) will make or break this.
Got a nice package of on board sensors:
Optical heart rate sensor
3-axis accelerometer/gyro
GPS
Ambient light sensor
Skin temperature sensor
UV sensor
Microphone
Haptic vibration motor
The 2 day battery life is the one turn off for me. Otherwise this is actually quite nice for $199 cross platform fitness wearable
- Click on 'Buy'
- See 'you need a store to find out the right size' (reasonable)
- Click on 'Find store'
- Notice 'Only available in the US'
- Close tab. Fail.
This is what the modern "software driven company that happens to make hardware looks like". And I'm glad it's Microsoft. This looks awesome.
I spent about 8 hours using this today. Some notes.
+ It does feel heavy at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly.
+ I plugged it in to charge and it seemed to be stuck at 80%. This may be because of the port I was using so I can't lay blame on Band.
+ The charging mechanism is solid and feels great.
+ I keep wanting to swipe the screen to turn it on (you need to press the "home" button).
+ I went for a 1.5 mi run. It took *4 minutes* to lock in GPS. This is in a fairly populated area, but the I was kind of in the woods. My iPhone has zero issues locking into GPS.
+ It mirrors all my notifications from my iPhone which I love.
+ After running, I went straight to Starbucks and tried to pay with the band but failed because the screen does not respond to sweaty fingers. This is partly my fault.
+ Haven't detected any UV yet.
+ HR locking is quick.This actually seems better than Android Wear. I like their form factor more than a watch. It might give Apple a run for their money.
This looks really good. I love the new Microsoft - it feels good to root for them again.
At first, the $199 pricepoint seemed high, but it seems to be a cross platform high end fitness tracker with basic smartwatch functionality. Incidentally, this puts the price point right in-between FitBits and Android Wear watches (and also the iWatch).
Furthermore, 2 day battery life is a very welcome addition. I wouldn't mind putting one of these on my wrist.
The battery lasts for two days
http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/support/hardwa...
Awkward, cliché, and yet still effective advertisement video. The work-out and skydiving bits were neat, but the graduation text message bit and the "keep your head up" catchphrase (you look down to see the watch) made me feel stubbornly aware and annoyed at the problems that this device still causes; the disconnect with reality.
Also, I don't know that anyone looks back at the time they got a Facebook message while holding their newborn ("the small moments you never forget").
I'm not sure of the problems to these alleged solutions, but I suppose time will tell.
I actually like the look of these bands more so than the watch look Apple is going for...
To me, MSFT's efforts to become a centralized hub for fitness& health data, is the more exciting bit of news. [0]
With machine learning & cloud pieces in place, MS health could potentially be HUGE !
Health care data is all over the place, & if msft can become a central repository for all/a significant portion of fitness/health data, it will be really valuable.
from [1], "There's just one problem. "Most of these things are individual islands," Mehdi says — there are a million options, but they're all siloed to a single platform, app, or gadget. "You'll use device X or Y, some stuff is in the cloud, but we think that there's kind of a next step that's coming, which is the ability to unify all that data and democratize it, and then add some real value on top. And that's where we see the ability to kind of get to that next level.""
0. http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/29/introducing-micro...
1. http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/29/7118533/microsoft-health-...
Promo video is up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEvjulEJH9w
Look pretty slick. It's interesting that it's marketed as a fitness device but is actually a smart watch. I own a Garmin Forerunner 305 which can last 6-8 hours of active use. I know that the recent Garmin devices last close to a day. The Microsoft Band doesn't tell us how well it does on battery with the GPS -- without the GPS it claims 48 hours.
Background story from Microsoft: http://news.microsoft.com/features/microsofts-new-cloud-powe...
Interesting that MSR also helped developing activity recognition algorithms for the device.
This looks intriguing. Much more so than Apple Watch. However, the thickness of the band has me concerned. I stopped using UP because the band was thick enough it made my hand fall asleep when typing. (Having to take it off negated one of its main purposes alarm.)
I just got it.
First impressions:
* the UI is a bit laggy
* voice commands work only with windows phones
* it's pretty awkward to use, one has to twist his hand to be able to use the touch display
* step measurement has a high lag, an it seems to be inaccurate
I like the design of the watch though, but I wouldn't say it fits perfectly for me.
in general, I'm a pretty big MS fanboy (win phones since 7, surface 2, etc). And I am suspect of the category as a whole, but the orientation of the screen just seems so dumb.
Also, people keep saying it is so small, it certainly doesn't look like it to me, especially on the sides it looks relatively thick.
I'm going to be out in Redmond soon, hope to see some in the wild.
I'm really impressed, I was set on getting an apple watch until now, but this may change my mind - great form factor and style, has the sensors I'm looking for, and cross platform. I'm eagerly waiting a review.
This looks like the perfect form-factor for a more powerful wearable swim watch. Most of the other options are bulkier or too limited in their feature set. Unfortunately it looks like it's only splash resistant.
Anyone know if the data will sync to the iOS Health app? I use it to track my fitness goals and such.
Am I the only one who thinks the screen orientation is totally off? When you have it on your wrist, you cannot look at it without having your arm in a totally awkward position.
It's an interesting time. People are incredibly interested and open to technology and that is an opportunity.
HN probably has a thousand joking references to calculator watches of the 90s, how goofy they looked and how they marked you as chronically uncool. There's something to that. Sensibilities have changed and there is an expectation that gadgets will evolve and unlock all sorts of cool magic. People are so open to this stuff today.
My reading of these bands/watches/wearables is that they're still exploring. They're not getting enough data passively and they aren't really working to the point where they're a permanent addition our lives. Basically, not good enough yet. Maybe they need 10X better battery life. Maybe they need better sensors or somesuch. Maybe it's a killer app they need. I just see around me people buying one, playing with it for weeks or months and then not using it anymore.
Either way, device makers are being tossed a soft ball by consumers. They're willing to buy and try them and help explore. I hope this means they'll get someplace useful. But, people are ultimately fickle and these need to start delivering fast. I hope this isn't a misfire, too early to really achieve something.
Is it just me or the advertised pictures look as something that I wouldn't want to put on my hands even if I had bought it?
I.e., visibly bigger than the wrists of those models and hanging loose, which is uncomfortable, and a rather long (much longer than most watches) flat segment in a spot where any comfortable wristband should be with a curved inside.
OK, seeing isn't touching, we'll have to wait for the wearer reviews for that.
Somewhat tangental to the actual story here, but is there some way to make something like Microsoft Band, Fitbit, Jawbone Up, or Nike+ FuelBand self-contained to your own server?
I'd love to use one of these devices, but I abhor the idea of my very personal movement/biometric data to be in the hands of a third party. If this data could be contained to my own server, I'd be all over it.
"A full charge can last up to 48 hours, but can vary significantly depending on your settings, usage, and other factors."[1]
That doesn't make me optimistic about using the GPS for very long.
[1] http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/support/hardwa...
Even though I'm not much of a fitness buff, the sensor array that this has is something that I view as more or less necessary in any smart wrist wearable. This sort of quantified self tracking is something that a smartphone simply cannot do in any reliable and persistent way.
So I think this is a huge step in the right direction. So much so that it'd be a nearly guaranteed buy if I were more assured that it'll be fully functional with an Android phone. The lack of Cortana support for non-Windows phones, though, is not reassuring. I can live without that, but will I still be able to get notifications with an Android phone? If I wanted only a fitness tracker, there are other options out there.
It'd also be awfully nice if it supported wireless charging. I'd really like to see the sort of charging dock for this that the Moto 360 has (transforming it into a snazzy desk clock). I think this could look even better on such a stand, since it wouldn't have the watch strap hanging off the sides.
This is probably said pretty rarely on the internet as a whole (and even more rarely here), but way to go microsoft for knocking it out of the park and creating a great product.
Bravo for committing to cross-platform support also, thanks for putting user value above locking people in (in hopes they'll buy other MS things)
How much of the advertised functionality does it have if you don't want to turn your data over to Microsoft?
Dang it! I was just about to buy it. Looks like Cortana will only work if you have a Windows phone. That missing killer feature IMO is a deal breaker.
From the article: "Cortana: If you’re using Windows Phone 8.1, you can take notes and set reminders with your voice using Cortana personal assistant."
If this thing catches on they will end up with a literal treasure trove of useful data that can be mined for some pretty mind bogglingly accurate stats on some aspects of our health.
I like this sort of thing but I can also understand why some people might feel a bit uneasy about so much data gathering.
You had me at "Works with Windows Phone 8.1 update, iOS 7.1, 8 and Android 4.3-4.4 phones, with Bluetooth"
If that's true, this is pretty awesome. Funny I had to read the small print to even find this feature of the band.
Sucks that Apple Watch + Android Watch are not cross platform.
Do you wear it on the inside of your wrist? Otherwise wouldn't the display be sideways?
Damn, recently MS nails it with their web design.
I want a device with the band form factor that actually has real phone calling and receiving functions. There is at least one smart band or smart watch out there that does that. This doesn't.
The smart watches out there are big and flashy, like most watches for men. I am a heterosexual male, but I find the large watch faces to be immodest. I certainly do want to show off with a watch, but in a more subtle way. And I am not a really big person so the large watch faces don't fit my anatomy that well.
So I actually want my smart watch to look like a smart band and act like a real smart phone (to the degree that is possible).
Something I can't quite tell from the site: how big are the characters on the display?
This kind of device might get a good reception among, say, men in their 50s. But presbyopia[1] presents some challenges that younger engineers & designers might not think about. If a guy has reading glasses, but (as is likely) doesn't wear them while exercising, then a Band with small characters is pretty much a non-starter for him, even though it looks perfectly readable to a 30-year-old.
Wow!
This.
Is cool.
And $199?
Just ordered three of them. Happy to see Microsoft put out something like this and, to some extent one-up Apple. While the i-everything world is interesting, not sure I want to shackle myself to a single company like that.
Swimming? Is it waterproof? Any swimming apps?
I wanted to see Strava in the partner list. I would have clicked Buy Now if so.
This could be an iPod moment for Microsoft.
The video is actually pretty good. There's a lot of build-up but they do show the product working in a realistic manner to wrap it all up at the end, with, "Keep your phone in your pocket".
I wonder what considerations were taking for wearing this device while using a mouse. Most people are right handed, so this device on your right would certainly need to have a hearty outside surface I would think. It has been noted that "in front of computer" time may be "charging" time due to minor activity, but I have always thought (for me at least on the computer/mouse 5+ hours a day) an opposite hand device would be hard sell with people who use mice with that hand.
Just tried the band. I wanted to want it but I wasn't into it. Wearables in general have some ways to go aesthetically. Every band/watch I've tried so far has fairly unflattering proportions (which is totally understandable given the hardware). Wearables would ideally disappear into the fabric of your life but so far they're mostly big plastic chunks you strap to your arm. I definitely like where things are going, but they haven't gotten there yet.
Looks interesting and good on Microsoft for finally getting in front of a new hardware trend. I kind of wonder if all these health trackers are just going to be a fad though. Do you really need to micromanage every calorie and heart beat with a $200 gadget? There's a ton of hand waving about combining all the data, synergies, etc. but what are the actual benefits of these devices over just regular checkups with a doctor?
Why the fuck is Starbucks a launch partner for a fitness band? What could interest could they possibly have in my health other than undermining it?
This looks fantastic. I was really disappointed with all the possible directions Apple could go with their smartwatch, they just iterated on a design Samsung's been out with for a few years now. This is actually a good rethink, looks like a good v1 device, isn't overpriced, has basically the functionality you'd want and works cross platform.
Absolutely fantastic.
I use a laptop and usually my wrists are resting on the desk. A face down display seems like it would just scratch up immediately.
"Only available in the US" - unless you arrange for a friend in the States to get one for you ship it to you.
However, it looks like the accompanying Windows Phone Microsoft Health app is not available if you're outside of the US. (not sure if this also applies to the Android and iPhone apps as well)
Workaround anyone?
Better than Basis Peak... except it's missing the galvanic skin response sensor. I'm really happy about the UV sensor (although I already backed SunSprite, which is a disaster)! Best of all, Microsoft Band will have APIs unlike the data-stingy Basis!
I'm not a big Microsoft fan, but I think this device isn't that bad especially for the fact that it is working on Android, iPhone & Windows Phone.
I'm a bit thrilled to see it live in action !
It is fun to see wearable becoming more and more present with big tech firm too.
It's sold out online now: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productI...
I wonder how many that was.
I don't want to sound skeptical (I like the device and consider buying it), but how likely is it they gradually introduce "Windows (Phone) only" features for this device, up to the point it's not so useful in other platforms?
EDIT: clarification
Can it (or could it be made to in future iterations) record the sort of data used to produce the output of an ECG (echocardiogram)? That would be quite the application for people with actual or high risk for hear disease, I think?
I wonder if some day someone would release a watch (or bracelet) that is able to have a sim-card and receive SMS. In a world of pin-code based authorizations and fast-dying-battery smartphones this looks like a thing I would own.
I wonder if integration with Xbox One is on the cards? It would seem to be natural given the fitness side of Kinect; if this has a HRM integrated perhaps that could be sent while you are doing your P90X workout or some such...
Would have bought this if it were fully functional with non-MS devices. It has all the sensors I want and looks unobtrusive. Even the Apple Watch looks like a Casio, so it's not like we're in top style here.
I'd love to see someone compare this to the new Fitbit Charge HR! :)
As a comparison, worth noting that the watch does not have GPS without the paired phone. So if you wanted to go out for a run and track the course, you would need to bring the phone.
Any word on silent alarm and convenient wake-up like the fitbit?
Galvanic skin response is listed as one of the sensors, but there's no mention of it in the marketing material.
Anyone know if it'll be able to measure exertion via sweat?
It looks great; the only problem is that I'd have to be active and fit to use it so looks like I won't be getting one; I type this from my armchair.
Oh the title got me thinking that this is music related, like a new version of Songsmith. I'm glad I was wrong, the device looks very nice!
"Life is made up of moments. How many do we miss? Tied to our desks." Yeah, Microsoft band will rescue you from your desk.
The pictures promoting the product only feature very healthy, attractive 30-somethings. Is this intentional or simply and oversight?
It' with Bluetooth 4.0. So my HTC 8X which is loaded with Bluetooth 3.0 may not be able to work with it. Such a pity.
Two things that I'm missing:
- How do you charge the thing?
- Is the sleep tracking automatic or do you have to press a button to start it?
I wonder if it would be usable for navigation. I guess it would be impractical because it lacks a compass?
This is the first thing I have excited enough to buy from Microsoft on launch day since Windows 95.
How do I buy it (international)?
That's very Yahoo purple.
The watch is dead, long live the watch...
This money grabbing gadgetarianism is getting silly.
Prediction: no one will be talking about it past June 2015.
Looks like this is what Nike Fuelband should have become.
Nice, it could work as a wrist band lie detector too.
I see a lot of stories about people in retirement homes running away without anyone being able to find them. This looks like a decent tool for the job.
Decent GPS trackers are hard to find and recommend.
friends with the engineer behind the sensor tech inside it. if you have any questions i'd be happy to forward them to him
Bit late to the game aren't they?
finally a microsoft product that works well with other players in the ecosystem
It makes me think of a high-tech hospital wrist tag, so not particularly appealing on first glance.
How is an integrated GPS cutting edge? Polar has had watches with GPS for a while now..
where fit bit and apple tread microsoft will eventually follow.
Hey, this makes sense!
Microsoft Band Wagon
man, their site took ages to load!!
can someone explain this?
This will be perfect for PRISM
nice
I guess someone selected "Release when approved" instead of "Release manually."
Sad. Even from just the website and the logo, you can tell that microsoft never understood the internet.
LoL
microsoft is always the "me too" company
The funny thing is that Microsoft has always been good at creating good hardware but never at masking great software except Office.
I'm surprised so many are drawn to the industrial design of this. It seems quite clunky with the electronics distributed throughout the band. The flat portion is also too long.
Microsoft wants to sell you a gadget while Apple wants to sell you a watch.
How many mentions of the apple watch in this thread?
The moto 360 is already out, it's completely awesome, I use it every day, and as far as I can tell is already ahead of the apple watch in terms of functionality.
Apple are seriously gods at marketing. Wow.
Crashed for me browsing that website with win 8.1. Thanks, microsoft. It actually rebooted my computer. Only microsoft can reboot your computer from their own website.
When I saw the app name I instantly thought of the D12 song.
"These chicks don't even know the name of my band...my band...my band..."
I am sure the Microsoft employees which will make up about 95% of the market share of this thing will be happy (until it goes the way of the Kin, Zune, etc).
All the sensors + apparently a very lightweight OS + small form factor = I like it.
The killing feature is the integrated GPS. As mentionned on the website, you can go without your phone. That alone could make it a buy if it supports wireless charging (I don't want to bother with wires in 2014)
Also, it is multiplatform, which is a big plus. I do not want an android watch or an iwatch, but something that will work regardless of the cellphone I chose.
I wonder if there's a devkit to read the data. If some HN is from Microsoft, I'd love some links to the devkit page (simple stuff, like retreiving GPS log, heartrate log, etc)