First look: Heart rate tracking $199 Microsoft Band connects to Apple's iOS & OS X, will integrate w

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  • Reply 81 of 100
    fallenjt wrote: »
    LOL...with that picture you think it's a right orientation? You can't make a device and users have to adjust to adapt to the orientation. How many people wear watch with face down? LOL. That's what aesthetic means. Got it?

    I don't quite follow your broken English. But yes, it's clearly an appropriate orientation. It's actually very thoughtfully designed device. It's not a watch. Many fitness bands are designed to be worn "face down" as you say. Though this one does support both orientations, so you can use whichever you're more comfortable with.

    Also, you seem to be confusing the word aesthetic with the word ergonomic. The MS Band actually does a nice job of both.

    I'm not a watch-wearer, so having something on my wrist in the first place takes some getting used to. But I rather like it so far. My fear with the Apple Watch is that it will be too big and clunky like most of the smart watches I've seen. And that "crown" thing is just goofy.

    I do think the Band ergonomics will improve when they can get a flexible screen into it, and thin out the sides (where I suspect the batteries are). But as a v1, it's really solid.
  • Reply 82 of 100
    Here's a prediction. The Apple Watch will sell like hotcakes. Then it will take a huge dive in sales as people realize they're spending a lot of money for a watch that needs recharging daily (another thing to forget when you're rushing out the door in the morning)and really does very little the iPhone they already have with them 104% of the time doesn't already do for them. I do believe future iterations may be a better buy, but this one seems like a product for the rich and fan boys
  • Reply 83 of 100
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    Those idiots at Microsoft made the exact same fundamental error Samsung made with their first version of their watch. The screen is in the wrong orientation! Unless the real purpose of this thing is for it to be used by an accompanying nurse for an elderly patient, that screen facing in that direction is off by ninety degrees.

    You're thinking like a normal watch!!! The display is placed on your wrist, the same side as your palm. You can look just fine at your palm right? Who says the display has to be on the same side and looked at the same way since the first wrist watch?
  • Reply 84 of 100
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    bigpics wrote:
    Apple's gonna make money on Apple Watch (not from me, but I can see the appeal to some), and its 3rd and subsequent iterations might also be breakout (if one is bullish on the categrory), but as it stands, simply not in the cards that the first release is going to move in anything like the sustained unit volume of Apple's other mobile devices.
    That's something that everyone can (and does) agree on. No one inside or outside Apple dreams that Apple is going to sell 10s of millions of watches the first year.
  • Reply 85 of 100
    @tomhayes The band has a Starbucks app, so you can pay with like with an app on the phone. I guess that the reason for the card
  • Reply 86 of 100
    malax wrote: »
    bigpics wrote:
    Apple's gonna make money on Apple Watch (not from me, but I can see the appeal to some), and its 3rd and subsequent iterations might also be breakout (if one is bullish on the categrory), but as it stands, simply not in the cards that the first release is going to move in anything like the sustained unit volume of Apple's other mobile devices.
    That's something that everyone can (and does) agree on. No one inside or outside Apple dreams that Apple is going to sell 10s of millions of watches the first year.

    Sure they do. I've seen analysts predicting 60 million in the first year. sog35 here thinks they'll sell tens of millions.

    They would need to reach 15 million to be successful, but maybe we'll never know due to Tim Cook's ducking into the closet on sales figures.
  • Reply 87 of 100
    Uhh, what?

    700

    I'd never wear this thing like that. Feel free to buy one. No sale with me.
  • Reply 88 of 100
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,007member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mac_128 View Post

     

    am i missing something? What does Microsoft get out of this? Getting into the hardware business? Their mobile market is so narrow, and the band not compelling enough in any event to draw people into their product niche, so seriously wheres the incentive for them to do it? Is this brand building?


     

    Yes, it is in the worse possible orientation for the way one naturally holds their wrist when reading a device.

     

    (sorry responded to wrong post, but you get the gist)

  • Reply 89 of 100
    paul94544paul94544 Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    I suppose at some point Apple could offer a lower price / reduced function version of the Apple Watch. I still see room for an "iPod shuffle"-like version of the watch.

    Apple won't lower itself off it's ivory tower to do that. It would rather go for the high end and let the rest scrape out a living at the bottom end. This ain't Ballmer's MS you know where we can rely on them screwing it up like the Zune, Surface, and Vista. But in this case MS may have just enough savvy to make it work. Be careful Apple! This strategy of making it perfect and delaying might burn you one of these days. How sure are you you haven't let MS in the door? History is full of companies  who dismiss competitors with a  wave of the hand. Think RIM and their denial of the physical keyboard every going away!! Not having a standalone apple watch with GPS/ location tracking  is a big mistake imho. Not marketing your watch to anyone but iOS users is really, really stupid. Apple is so fond of stating that they design the obvious but really thats  a complete no brainer unless GPS burns batteries up. I'm hoping Apple wakes  up and adds it before they release the watch next year

  • Reply 90 of 100

    I was out running yesterday, using my Magellan Echo on my wrist to display the data from my iPhone and I noticed that, with the watch in the "normal" position on the top of my wrist, it is quite an unnatural movement to twist your wrist and arm towards you to read the display.

    I haven't tried it yet, but it seems to me that to have the watch strapped the other way around, with the face on the underside of the wrist, it would be a much easier and more natural movement to just lift your arm and see the display - I will give it a go next time I'm training.

     

    On a reIated subject, I was also thinking about these optical pulse sensors in wristbands, and again this is just a thought as I haven't tried one, but I would think it would be a more stable reading to take the measurement in this case from the top of the wrist; if you look at the underside of the wrist you can see that the tendons there tend to flex and disturb the surface of the skin, potentially affecting the stability of readings in that area during activity, whereas the top of the wrist is less affected in this way. But I'm sure that the engineers who develop these products will have considered such things as this.

     

    I have been considering buying a new sports/running watch recently, but the best ones such as the Garmin 620/920 and Polar V800 still rely on chest strap pulse sensors at the moment; a feature which I think, in the next year or so, most manufacturers will move away from in favor of wrist based optical pulse measurement. So I'm holding out for the next generation of models before I buy - these are expensive devices!

     

    I really like the Apple Watch but the short battery life and lack of inbuilt GPS mean I will just wait for something better to come along. In the meantime my iPhone and Magellan Echo combo works really well, and the Echo lasts 6 to 11 months on a battery!

  • Reply 91 of 100
    It might be a good device for the purposed functionality. But bad for the looks.

    When i did get it right %u2013 to look at the display without bending your arm in an awkward way, you have to wear the band so that the display is facing inwards. Don't know the correct word for it, i mean the opposit way a watch is worn usually. Means that the clasp is on the "showside" of the wrist.

    In my opinion this qualifies the band as a pure "for fitness only" device, something that i would want to wear only when i%u2018m actually doing sports. There is nothing jewelry-like about it.

    What apple tries to do in contrary is to make a device, that you really want to wear all day.
    It might mature into a full blown fitness-device too, but in the moment it tries to strike a balance between fitness/health and timepiece/jewelry
  • Reply 92 of 100
    1. Last I checked, don't weather apps give you the UV index for the day? Seems like a gimmicky feature to me.
    2. Cross-platform was a must for this device or it would have been DOA from day one.
    3. Design is subjective, but it doesn't seem to have any fashion appeal for females, and size and color might not be enough.
    4. Other companies can duplicate this easily, I'm thinking of an upgraded Pebble in 2015.
    5. Microsoft hasn't had much luck in the hardware business, but they do keep trying, which is as good thing.
  • Reply 93 of 100
    You're wearing it wrong. The display is supposed to be on the underside of your wrist. That way you can read it better:
    http://compass.surface.com/assets/35/16/3516eeca-4fc6-4d17-b7c9-c5575dd8a860.jpg#Desktop_Ksite-announce_Blade-10---Full-Bleed-Image.jpg
  • Reply 94 of 100
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    Hey Microsoft fanboys have invaded AI. image

    Actual I think the immediate acceptance by this crowd just goes to show they are not ifanboys but good product fanboys. 

  • Reply 95 of 100
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    mac_128 wrote: »
    am i missing something? What does Microsoft get out of this? Getting into the hardware business? Their mobile market is so narrow, and the band not compelling enough in any event to draw people into their product niche, so seriously wheres the incentive for them to do it? Is this brand building?

    Well... they still sell devices, and there's an extra feature or two if you pair it with Windows Phone... Cortana integration and such... so they can always hope that handful of neutral Android and, God forbid, iPhone users might get motivated to switch platform.

    Eventually, considering still modest number of WP users, it is pretty much "play nice with the big boys, or you will not play at all", no?
  • Reply 96 of 100

    Just joined this board so I could respond to the questions/comments about the screen orientation.  I am a (very happy) Windows Phone guy, but I never buy zero-day hardware.  After seeing the rush of folks buying these up at the MS store, though, and given the low price point, I thought I would give it a try.  I have worn it for over a week and really like it.  The issue with the screen is simple - it is meant to be worn on the underside of the wrist.  Thus, landscape orientation is both natural and appropriate.  I have also found that wearing it under the wrist makes it far less likely that you will bump or scratch the screen during everyday activities, especially workouts, one of the big intended uses.

     

    Everything works as promised.  You can choose your apps, as well as the order of placement on the band.  Notifications (vibrations, which can be adjusted) arrive immediately, and they allow me to keep my phone in my pocket unless an urgent response is required.  The Starbucks integration (bar code payment) is a bonus, given that Starbucks still has yet to release an official app for Windows Phone. 

     

    Battery life is as promised - mine goes for 2-3 days before needing a charge, and it recharges surprisingly fast.  Granted, I do not use the GPS, as it only turns on when you go for a run, and I am not a runner.  Obviously they designed it that way to conserve battery life as much as possible.  Another battery saving method is the fact that pulse rate is only sampled every 7-8 seconds during normal use, but every second during a workout.  This seems like a reasonable tradeoff between battery life and pulse accuracy.

     

    Probably the best feature - Cortana integration - is one that does not work with iPhone or Android.  I love being able to get the quick answers to those Wikipedia questions without all the screen navigation.  Plus, since the screen is on the inside of my wrist, this process more resembles a G-man than a Spy Kid. :)

  • Reply 97 of 100
    shsfshsf Posts: 302member

    Come 2020, they might actually hire a device and UI designer, one can only hope that is. This thing is redefining ugly and cheap looking. 

  • Reply 98 of 100
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrandonLive View Post





    I don't quite follow your broken English. But yes, it's clearly an appropriate orientation. It's actually very thoughtfully designed device. It's not a watch. Many fitness bands are designed to be worn "face down" as you say. Though this one does support both orientations, so you can use whichever you're more comfortable with.



    Also, you seem to be confusing the word aesthetic with the word ergonomic. The MS Band actually does a nice job of both.



    I'm not a watch-wearer, so having something on my wrist in the first place takes some getting used to. But I rather like it so far. My fear with the Apple Watch is that it will be too big and clunky like most of the smart watches I've seen. And that "crown" thing is just goofy.



    I do think the Band ergonomics will improve when they can get a flexible screen into it, and thin out the sides (where I suspect the batteries are). But as a v1, it's really solid.

    This is internet forum. There's no need to be a well grammatical paragraph. People with IQ of a 3rd grade should understand.  I guess I just should stop talking to a dumbass...waste of time.

  • Reply 99 of 100
    Did you notice it affect the battery life of the 5s?
    Battery life on 5S seems unchanged.
  • Reply 100 of 100
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fallenjt View Post

     

    This is internet forum. There's no need to be a well grammatical paragraph. People with IQ of a 3rd grade should understand.  I guess I just should stop talking to a dumbass...waste of time.




    Sorry, but the post I replied to was rather difficult to understand. Anyway, I corrected your error and pointed out that it is "a right orientation" or whatever. If you want to call me names for that, that's your call.

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