Microsoft inadvertently leaks 'Band' fitness wearable in new app, reveals 'Microsoft Health' [update

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  • Reply 41 of 54
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,904moderator
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Those are all separate things. My Band would presumably be some other name you can choose.



    My point is, when you look at the page, your mind reads all those things in order, almost like a sentence.  It's exactly the type of issue I saw in usability testing and designed away again and again over my 26 years in the software industry.  Really bad form, for example, to have a label of 'MY ____' and then immediately follow it with "YOUR _____ ..."  Not difficult to see the cognitive disconnect there, and yet, there it is, in software designed by one of the world's leading software companies.  

  • Reply 42 of 54
    gumbi wrote: »

    It doesn't require a windows phone - it works with iOS and Android.  The only windows phone specific feature I'm aware of is the Cortana integration.

    It requires one to have Health Vault via Microsoft Health and if Microsoft weren't the dead last player in the market it would require one to run Windows only. Its tied in with Cortana for full use: Windows Phone only. It's instant Text Messaging is not available between the iPhone and the band: makes sense as they want to move you over to Windows only.

    To get all features within this platform, you must have the Windows Phone.

    Apple makes it clear: The Apple Watch is part of the iOS/OS X ecosystem.

    This band requires iOS 7 or newer, Android 4.3 or newer and for the full experience Windows Phone.

    If Microsoft was the leader in the industry it wouldn't support either iOS or Android.
  • Reply 43 of 54
    Let us not forget Microsoft's mock funeral for the iPhone .... there has to be a MS Health band joke there somewhere ... :\

    Soon Willie Nelson will be called to hold a national fundraiser to support Microsoft's latest flop. It will be called 'Band-Aid'.
  • Reply 44 of 54
    I quite like it. Probably wont buy it, but good idea to go with a fitness band rather than a smart watch. Seems to actually do most of the things a smartwatch actually does, and the only thing smartwatches seem to do well so far is act like a fitness band. So better to market it as a super fitness band, rather than a possibly disapointing smartwatch.


     


    Quote:



    Originally Posted by DewMe View Post

     

    This is very sad. Microsoft does not even pretend to come up with its own product ideas anymore.

     

    What's next, Microsoft Pay?

     

    Probably.


    Well Microsoft's version of Apple pay has been around for a year or two. You can apparently pay for stuff with this too although I'm not sure what system it's using.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post



    It requires one to have Health Vault via Microsoft Health and if Microsoft weren't the dead last player in the market it would require one to run Windows only. Its tied in with Cortana for full use: Windows Phone only. It's instant Text Messaging is not available between the iPhone and the band: makes sense as they want to move you over to Windows only.



    To get all features within this platform, you must have the Windows Phone.



    Apple makes it clear: The Apple Watch is part of the iOS/OS X ecosystem.



    This band requires iOS 7 or newer, Android 4.3 or newer and for the full experience Windows Phone.



    If Microsoft was the leader in the industry it wouldn't support either iOS or Android.

    Got a source for all that? Cortana makes sense and you'd expect to be Windows only. Text messages are Android and Windows. Other than that everything else in on all platforms.

     

    I think Microsoft realized a long time ago that you have to be on all platforms otherwise people are going to drop you. e.g. People use Drop Box, not the solution from a particular platform. And the real money in the future is the cloud solutions that span all of them.

  • Reply 45 of 54
    gumbigumbi Posts: 148member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post





    It requires one to have Health Vault via Microsoft Health and if Microsoft weren't the dead last player in the market it would require one to run Windows only. Its tied in with Cortana for full use: Windows Phone only. It's instant Text Messaging is not available between the iPhone and the band: makes sense as they want to move you over to Windows only.



    To get all features within this platform, you must have the Windows Phone.



    Apple makes it clear: The Apple Watch is part of the iOS/OS X ecosystem.



    This band requires iOS 7 or newer, Android 4.3 or newer and for the full experience Windows Phone.



    If Microsoft was the leader in the industry it wouldn't support either iOS or Android.

     

    Actually, Microsoft Health is a completely new service - you can't even access Health Vault data from it yet (however, I did read last night that integration between MS Health and Health Vault are coming soon).  The are also working with a bunch of partners to import their data into MS Health.

     

    I'm sorry that they don't support iPhone for text messaging, but is probably because of iMessage.  Text messaging works on WP and Android.  The only feature that is exclusive to WP is Cortana integration.  Yes, right now that's only windows phone - however Cortana is going to be integrated into Windows 10, so.... 

  • Reply 46 of 54
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    I found video of 'Microsoft's Health'


    Why can I never follow links on my iPhone apple insider app?
  • Reply 47 of 54
    shsfshsf Posts: 302member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    Soon Willie Nelson will be called to hold a national fundraiser to support Microsoft's latest flop. It will be called 'Band-Aid'.



    they can open up with the funeral band they used for the iPhone mock funeral. 

  • Reply 48 of 54
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gumbi View Post

     

    ...

    I'm sorry that they don't support iPhone for text messaging, but is probably because of iMessage.  Text messaging works on WP and Android.  The only feature that is exclusive to WP is Cortana integration.  Yes, right now that's only windows phone - however Cortana is going to be integrated into Windows 10, so.... 


    the Pebble steel manages to display text messages, and other alerts, so not sure if iMessage is the reason this ms-band won't do it,

  • Reply 49 of 54
    gumbigumbi Posts: 148member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Right_said_fred View Post

     

    the Pebble steel manages to display text messages, and other alerts, so not sure if iMessage is the reason this ms-band won't do it,




    Maybe not - it was just a guess.

  • Reply 50 of 54
    Purposefully leaked so it would get internet buzz otherwise no one would be talking about it.
  • Reply 51 of 54
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by roccodelgreco View Post



    Purposefully leaked so it would get internet buzz otherwise no one would be talking about it.



    Except Microsoft leaks only result in a puddle.

  • Reply 52 of 54
    the Pebble steel manages to display text messages, and other alerts, so not sure if iMessage is the reason this ms-band won't do it,

    They might just have not done that bit yet. The fashion seems to be release then patch at the moment.
    Purposefully leaked so it would get internet buzz otherwise no one would be talking about it.
    It also went on sale which brings into question if it really did leak or was just released in a really weird way.
  • Reply 53 of 54
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    jonro wrote: »
    It looks like a decent product, directly competing with the recently announced Fitbit Charge HR (which costs $50 less, but won't be available until early 2015). If the Band works with HealthKit, I'll definitely consider it. For me, this wouldn't be a watch replacement; I would use it as a fitness monitor, generating profiles of my heart rate during cardio and weight training. I may or may not end up with an iWatch. I do want to buy a fitness monitor that includes heart rate monitoring. I have a Fitbit One, but that only monitors motion.

    Anyway, Microsoft could have a winner with the Band, but from what I've seen, the Fitbit Charge HR may be a better product.

    My understanding is that device is OS independent, and MS is pushing hard with various software developers to integrate it with existing health/exercise oriented apps.

    I was never really interested (so far) in smart-wearable devices, but if I were, something like this would make more sense than full-featured smart-watch.
  • Reply 54 of 54

    In view of its fitness orientation, Microsoft should have called this:

     

    Band on the Run.

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