Microsoft’s new wearable is just the start of its health-tracking aims

by Unknown 03:47 0 comments

Strike up the Band on Android, iOS and, of course, Windows Phone. Photo: Microsoft

Reports about a Microsoft wearable device have been circulating for a while, and now the good folks from Redmond, WA have finally made it official: a Microsoft fitness band is here, and it works on both Android and iOS.

Like the Apple Watch and Galaxy Gear, the appropriately-named Microsoft Band tracks steps and heart rate, as well as showing you phone notifications in the form of text, email, and Twitter alerts.
“It’s the most advanced band we’ve seen in terms of technology on the wrist,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Devices and Services told The Verge. “[I]t’s really designed to do two things: have people live healthier, and be more productive, by having a band that can serve on the opposite side of your watch, worn 24 hours a day, and get some of the most accurate data that you can possibly get.”
That’s not the end of Microsoft’s fitness-tracking ambitions, though.

As with Apple’s HealthKit and the newly-launched Google Fit, Microsoft’s Health project wants to be the central repository for all your health and fitness data, using the fact that it operates across all the main mobile platforms (plus Windows Phone) as its big selling point.
Presumably severe problems are indicated by the Blue Screen of Death.
Going forward, the big idea is to combine fitness data with work calendars, email and user location, and to turn all of these different points into actionable insights.
Of course, while everyone is seemingly jumping onto the wearables bandwagon right now, few have got it right. The Galaxy Gear was practically DOA, while the Apple Watch has yet to be released, although already analysts are suggesting interest might be less than optimal.
Microsoft’s trying to sidestep the smartwatch issue by marketing its product as a fitness band, albeit one that tells the time. But we’ll have to wait to find out just how well it does, even with Microsoft Health on its side.
Fortunately we won’t have to wait long, since the Microsoft Band is available from today, priced $199. You can also download the appropriate apps from both Google Play and the Mac App Store immediately.