Microsoft Band Fitness Tracker for $199

Microsoft Band Fitness TrackerMicrosoft announced on Wednesday the planned release of its own wearable fitness tracker, the Microsoft Band. The device is available for purchase on Thursday from Microsoft for $199, and will work with Android, iOS and of course Windows Phone 8.1.

Among the features targeting fitness, the Microsoft Band tracks your exercise reps, calories burned, heart rate around the clock and your sleep. It also has a UV monitor built in with real-time UX information to make educated decisions on sun protection when you go out.

The wearable tech from Microsoft helps with more than just fitness, though and throws its hat into the ring against other popular wearable devices for Android and Apple. The Band will display a small snippet of your incoming emails, syncs with a calender to provide reminders and will let the user voice interact with Cortana to set reminders, ask directions, etc. It will also pick up text messages and incoming calls and let you send a canned response from your wrist.

Microsoft Band: it exists, and it is grand

Microsoft Band 1

The internet was abuzz with leaks, mentions and concepts for Microsoft’s new fitness tracker / smartwatch. Turns out, it was real after all, and called Band.

We had been talking about Microsoft releasing their own wrist hardware, allegedly a smartwatch in the past. Yet, what came to light today was something else entirely. The Microsoft Band got officially announced, and it’s so very interesting as it is a 10-sensor fitness tracker that costs just one cent below $200.

Band will more than track your heart rate, as it also keeps track of sun exposure thanks to its UV sensor, stress via another one (a galvanic skin response one), and also has a built-in GPS amongst other goodies. The band is only 18.5-millimeter long, made of “thermal plastic elastomer”, and sports a small touchscreen capable of 320 x 106 resolution in 1.4-inches. The benefits of this? The battery life is really long, and it can go for a couple of days without needing to recharge.

Just like a smartwatch, the Band is capable of giving the user notifications for e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, and similar social media, but the focus is clearly the health side of things. Microsoft’s attempt is to measure the users data so they can use it to their advantage: for example, does a certain breakfast make you run faster? That’s the literal example they give. They made this video to explain what we’re up for.

Via Gizmodo

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