Yesterday saw the Microsoft Band, Microsoft's first-ever smartwatch making its debut in the market, months earlier than Apple Watch, apple's own smartwatch which is expected to be in stores in early 2015. Launched just before the holiday season, the Microsoft Band is expected to be the season's popular item as tech-crazy consumers scramble to lay their hands on the latest wearable in town. In the last one year, the smartband and smartwatch segments have started seeing increased uptake among consumers who are getting used to the idea of smart wearables that can be worn around their wrist and hence need not be carried around, that can be paired with their mobile devices, run their own operating systems and provide a quick way to check on notifications, updates and stay in touch without having to continuously glance at their mobile devices.
According to Microsoft, the Microsoft Band is the first device/wearable to use Microsoft Health, a health platform which provides actionable insights based on data gathered from the fitness devices and apps that are used every day. The Microsoft Band provides continuous heart rate monitoring, calorie burn measurement and sleep quality tracking apart from delivering the usual smartwatch functions such as providing notifications from social media applications and personal assistant service, Cortana, to help users navigate around its many functions and take voice orders. Other services include basic phone applications such as an email reader, calender alerts, a timer and stopwatch, text-messaging and the ability to view incoming calls and voicemail notifications.
With a 320 x 106 pixel resolution and a 48 hour battery life, the Microsoft Band also has a few wow factors itself, one of them being able to last for two days on a single charge, beating out Apple's Watch and most other Motorola and Samsung devices. Microsoft's Band also helps to execute in-store orders and payments, for example it can be used to make an order at a Starbucks outlet and effect the payment via a quick scan.
Zulfi Alam, GM of Personal Devices,Microsoft
The fitness functions help you exercise and become more fit. And we also found that once you have a high-quality screen on your wrist, you can be more in the moment. I no longer need to keep taking my phone out of my pocket. Cortana and productivity notifications help so much. If my boss or wife need to get in touch, I can glance at what’s going on and choose to respond later or tap and say, ‘I’ll call you back.
