I just personally have a hard time with these bands and smart watches... I mean, until they look like the below, I just can't see myself choosing the smart bands/watches over the real deal: https://omegaforums.net/attachments/2-jpg.39091/
That is definietly a typo!! Since they released the Band 2, they dropped the price of the original to $99. And right now, due to holiday pricing, its $79.
He was talking release prices...not what you could buy it for now. Anyone that wants to can do what I just did in about 10 seconds which is to typ "microsoft ban" in the search bar on Amazon.com and see $105 for the band and $249 for the band 2.
This is the same with all electronic devices...prices drop over time and as soon as the "new and improved" or "Version 2.0" comes out, the original goes on the (virtual) discount rack.
I don't know, I agree. At $250, you get basically all the same stuff in the Apple Watch for $350, which is far more featured. Healthkit is also much more advanced than Microsoft's Health SDK.
Not sure about this for hiking - the big thing wearables can do for that is navigational information and the screen shape is just wrong for that vs a smart watch. Also I suspect its better to take the GPS battery load on the phone when you're out for 8+ hours.
As far as I can tell on mine the gps is meant strictly for tracking rides and runs. I don't believe it was ever intended to be for navigating. I don't really know why anyone would think of using it that way. It has never been pitched that way.
I'd be curious to see what the battery life looks like on longer duration activities. I'm a cycling enthusiast and would really like something that could be using the GPS for 8 hours. A more typical ride for me would be 2 to 3 hours but I'm curious if it would be usable for the occasional century ride (6 - 7 hours).
I read elsewhere that sleep tracking actually works without any manual parts - it senses when you sleep, so it should appear on their Health stuff even when you don't manually enable/disable it. Nice review, I especially like the comments about notifications, which seem like a missed opportunity to enable the best of both worlds. But I miss more in-depth battery review with various sports. Will it survive night sleep tracking, entire work day and evening exercise with GPS (run/bike)? As smartwatch functionality is (currently?) a missed opportunity, majority of people interested in the device will care for the fitness part... but battery life there isn't tested - your scenario is mostly a smartwatch oriented test.
It does automatically track when you sleep even if not prompted to, although of course it isn't necessarily as reliable for tracking how long it takes to start sleeping, and it does note that it was detected rather than manually demarcated.
I have one of these and you are right, xthetenth, it does automatically detect sleep, but the parameters are looser to prevent accidentally entering sleep mode. I think it's something like 2 hours of not moving along with a couple other indicators, so if you toss and turn a lot (as I do) it won't detect sleep accurately very often. I tried it a few nights when I first got it and I think it detected sleep accurately about 1 night in three or four. Best bet is to manually activate it like you said as it detects everything really well such as time to fall asleep. Automatically detects sleep spot on with near 100% accuracy though if I am somewhere I won't move a lot such as taking a nap on the couch.
Yeah, I've had mine detect me going to sleep when I forgot, but I bought it to track sleep, so I've only forgotten once and don't have a decent amount of info on how reliable it is for me. The data when manually activated are quite good though, and match up quite well to what happened as far as I can tell.
Does it allow you to track more than 1 sleep cycle in a day? For example, can you track a 2-hour nap in the middle of the day? Or sleeping for 3-4 hours at night, getting up and doing stuff for an hour or two, and then sleeping for 3-4 hours again? Or is it a binary "sleep on/sleep off" once per day?
I've tried several sleep tracking apps on my phone, and so far, none of them support multiple sleep cycles in a day. :( Meaning they don't accurately track the real numbers of hours of sleep I get in a week. Having 2 kids under 5 (one just barely over a year old) makes "sleep" a very fluid concept. :)
Yes, the band can track as many sessions as you want, and they'll show up on your phone. I got it recently, and have taken naps here and there that I tracked. Now, for naps, it may or may not catch it automatically, if you intend to go to sleep, just let it know, and it'll track it. You can go through all the history on your phone whenever you please. The band will only display basic stats for the last one. I hope this helps.
While the band was the first wearable sold by Microsoft, it technically wasn't Microsoft's first foray into wearable technology. That (dubious?) honor goes to the SPOT watches.
If you have posted real data, it looks as though you are pushing yourself quite hard! To average 159 bpm during 54 and a half minutes is pretty intense.
Any chance you will review the m3 and i7 versions of the surface pro 4? I think many folks are intrigued with the 'reports' of the m3 getting much better battery life than the i5 and the i7 getting much better performance with the Iris graphics. It would make a great read coming from you guys.
It seems like perhaps the next version will be the one to get. This one seems like an improvement over the previous one, but it still looks a bit bulky and uncomfortable for my taste. I guess Windows 10 IOT will be implemented in the next one as well(seeing the advancements in wearable SoCs over the next year)
I've scanned the article twice and don't find mention of its accuracy, especially in heart rate and step counting. Those are pretty important, at least to me. I wouldn't consider buying this unless I knew it worked very well in those areas.
Heart rate was accurate for me. I was hooked up to an EKG for a few hours one weekend and checked every now and again how they compared. They only ever differed by 2-3 BPM. Not sure how much value that'll add for you, but i figure i'd share.
As for steps, i wore this and a FItbit Charge HR simultaneously, and the fitbit counted ~50 steps more on average throughout the day on a 8000+ steps day.
With the reviews of Band 1, it was found that until you did a walk/run with GPS turned on, it doesn't know your stride. It's pretty close though. Doing a single 1/2 mile walk with GPS fine tunes it.
"The Band seems capable of knowing when I am asleep, so it would be nice if I would not have to enable the function when I’m going to sleep, and then disable it when I wake up. This is a minor issue, but would make the sleep function quite a bit better since it’s very easy to forget to turn it on before you go to sleep, and as easy to forget to turn it off when you wake up."
If you fall asleep with it on, it takes it's best guess. this shows up on the app as 'Sleep(Detected).' Some of the metrics like 'Time to Fall Asleep' might be a little off as a result.
Not all GPS implementations are the same, some have faster cold lock times and deal with interference differently. Others also use other GPS-type systems like GLONASS to augment the number of available satellites for GPS even further.
It might just be useful from a superficial perspective to walk around a few blocks with the test device along with a few other GPS devices like cell phones or sport trackers (e.g Garmin) just to see the relative GPS competency.
You can't swim with it? Well, that's dumb. I have a watch and a GPS navigator with barometer sensors, and they're both built to be more water-resistant than my own body. And I also have a tablet that is water-resistant despite the openings for the microphone and two speakers.
The Band 2 has a major flaw in step tracking (with an impact on calories, running speed w/ GPS off, connected app data, etc.). Pages full of complaints on the Microsoft support forums with no response from Microsoft as to a fix:
The penalties for HIPAA violations are such that I assure you your info is much safer than most other types of cloud storage. MS has had to build Azure and Health from the ground up with HIPAA and HITECH restrictions in mind.
This also includes a 30 day legal obligation to inform you of an accidental or malicious disclosure and comes with associated fines.
There is a whole bunch of info on their website about compliance and auditing...
I will probably be one of the last person to buy such a thing, I was late to mobiles, late to Smartphones and also not really getting the smartwatch thing. To make this work for me, I want the wearable to be able to communicate with the phone over a pretty large distance, like 100-200 meters. Maybe that already works but AFAIK Bluetooth is limited to maybe 10 meters or so? Anyway, the point is that you can leave your ever larger phone lying in your office, backpack,...and get notifications and stuff without having to put the huge phone in your pocket. Same for fitness. I can put the phone in the locker and communication remains intact.
Here's an improvement I didn't see, while skimming the article; a more robust charging port. A friend of mine went through three of the original MS bands, within a year's time. The sole reason was that the charging port kept going bad on the devices....and if you can't charge them, they're useless. And while I have no idea how this type of device stacks up against, say, a FitBit band, feature-wise, I do know that if they're close, chances are better that the FB band will be purchased, at a $75 to $150 price band, over a $250 MS band.
I've had the Band 2 since day one, and I've been using it on a daily basis. I Crossfit about 5-6 times a week, and I also like to do hikes as well as golf. Here's my take on it, having used GPS and regular workouts on a daily basis -- as well as using some of the features the band offers:
1. Heart Rate inaccuracies. Sometimes at the peak of my workout, it would claim my heart rate would only be about 140-150 bpm, when I literally can feel my heart pounding out of my chest. However, on a medium run, it jumps to around 170+. Keep in mind, these are just glances during a workout. However, at the end of a crossfit workout, it would say I would've burned approximately 500-600 calories within the hour. To me, it sounds kind of high probably about 5-10% higher than I would expect it to be.
2. Sleep Tracking/Smart Alarm- Microsoft claims that the there are different stages of how we sleep, and the band 2 (and band 1) tracks this. Apparently, (on average) it takes me approximately 8 minutes to fall asleep, and I would wake up 2-3 times during the night with an average of 5 hours of light sleep and 2 hours of deep sleep. The band's "Smart Alarm" feature will wake you up on a 'light sleep' through it's vibration feature so that we may wake up feeling refreshed rather than being completely groggy. -- It kind of works I suppose. But I am addicting in reading my sleep patterns...
3. Pedometer is somewhat inaccurate.
4. Battery life on this thing will last 2 days without GPS -- which brings me to my next....
5. GPS - First time it took literally about 5-10 minutes to lock. By then, if you're on a timed workout, you've missed quite a bit of your workout. However, after the first initial lock, the other times it took me less than 1 minute to lock GPS. The battery life on the GPS seems to be better than what I've come to expect: I thought perhaps I would get 4 hours on a full charge, however when I played golf over the holidays, I had about 45% battery life, and I used the golf app (pretty cool). Lasted me until Hole #13 -- 4-5 hours in before it completely died on 45% charge. I'm guessing with GPS will probably last you 8-9 hours. -- This is probably important for a lot of you. The GPS is pretty cool - it shows a map and a trail of where you traveled, along with stats of your run: For example, it'll show the first half of your run that you've averaged 6-7mph, while the 3rd half 3-4mph, and the last stretch another 6-7mph (they show a cheetah lol)
6. If you crossfit, you can load benchmark workouts and it'll guide you through the workouts with time. It'll also give you some tabata workouts as well too.
anyways, it's flawed, and I've considered returning it for the more expensive Polar watch, but so far, it's been pretty decent with some inaccuracies. I will say that I was afraid to bring this watch to the tough mudder though... I have washed my hands with the watch on (I think it has the same water rating as the apple watch)
what Jeffery said I am impressed that some one able to make $8960 in one month on the computer . you could try this out.....>>>>>>>............. .earni8 dot ℭom
As a band 1 & 2 owner i can say the battery life is almost 2 days. If you use gps its more like 1 day and that would be 4-6 hrs gps tracking and then charging when you get home. Imo the one thing i dont like about the band 2 and its a small complaint is the clasp, i wish it had less flat angles, not a deal breaker for what it does and as of this post it has music controls for windows phones.
I got the Band 2 back in November and have been using it ever since. I had tried the first Band but it felt like a handcuff whenever I rolled my wrist. I love the feel of the new Band 2. I wear to the inside of the wrist. The strap closure has just enough movement between clicks to adjust so that the Band 2 is firm to the skin but not pinching.
I use this with a Windows phone (on a free phone after rebate deal with my new carrier - and I needed a new phone). So I get all the supposed benefits of Windows - which to my simple understanding adds Cortana. I think all other aspects including the voice reply to texts etc. is supposed to work with other operating systems. Can't say though since I have Windows phone.
But I will say I don't talk to it as much as one could - it doesn't always pick up my speech well. I sometimes wonder though if that is because the mic is set to the lower button side of the band when you have it on. Maybe they are trying to avoid all the outside noise if it were placed to the upper edge - but that would seem to be the better position.
You can also reply to texts by tapping the "Reply" underneath the text message and tapping one of the preset replies ("I'm driving" "I'll call you back") and you get to customize one or two more). You can also reply by typing your reply on the tiny keyboard - and I have done all three. It takes some practice to get efficient on the keyboard because it is so small a keyboard but I have been very happy - other than it autocorrects and I can't seem to find a button or box to stop that on the Band. It may exist and I haven't found it - so acronyms and slang get some uncomfortable corrections at times. And although your texts and email may be tiny - you can hit the "action" button and it will scroll your message word for word in larger character size so you can read. The speed is adjustable in 3 (?) settings to get it comfortable for you.
The "haptic" vibration notice for incoming calls, texts, emails and other notices is fine, although when I'm moving or busy I don't seem to notice all of them. I sometimes use the timer/alarm setting and that is great. I did have a morning wake-up alarm set that worked for a while but then in my love of all things sleep - I believe I grew accustomed and now my body doesn't acknowledge the alarm on low haptic setting. I can raise the level if I really need it but I wonder about battery usage.
On the other hand having texts/emails and incoming call notices pop up on the inside of my wrist when I'm in a meeting or some public setting is very helpful (idents caller by name if the number is in your contacts - at least I think it is only if in your contacts list). I have had a few text comments timely directed at me as I was in the middle of a discussion. And those call, text and emails stay on your band until ... well until you act to get rid of them - see "Peeves" below. But it means if you miss the notice or the vibration you haven't missed the particular notice. When you look at the Band it will show a number on each tile that indicates how many of that particular notice you have not yet viewed - phone tile 2, text 3, email 1 - when you finally look at those notices the number disappears.
On a side note - your friends who think they are cute can send rude texts that also pop up at untimely moments when your wrist is exposed to third parties. Or if you are getting calls from a competing company, someone wants to hire you away or the like??? If the name is in your contacts that name shows on the band. So watch out.
Battery usage: I use the gps only for cycling and turn it on at the start and later, off, after done riding and IF I remember the gps is on. I have done longer rides up to 6 hours and still have 35% or more battery rating - but that is starting from a full charge. To prevent the shower dousing I am trying to train myself to stick this on the charger when I get up so I rarely go a day without topping off a charge. Since I use it as my watch I get it back on after shower and changing. So it is the rare shower douse day where I go more than a day without charging - but I have.
Water resistance - as I noted, the fit is good but it is so good I tend to forget I have it on. I have worn into the shower multiple times before I realized it was on and remember it is water resistant not waterproof. So it has gotten 15 - 30 seconds of shower dousing multiple times and no issues so far. It has not been fully immersed at any time.
I am a cyclist who had been using an on phone app mapmyride free version which doesn't provide much detail in the free version. Using the Band 2 it links to mapmyride and now gives me all the detail in mapmyride I didn't see before. I have to step out from my house a bit ( as in further out on the driveway - not houses away) before I get a GPS lock but after that all seems good: time, distance and route all match what I used to get with the phone app and is accurate as to the roads/offroad I ride. It is nice to now see the speed, elevation and heart rate details throughout the ride that show up in the new graphs that I never got before. I say nice, but disconcerting - no more lying to myself about how fast I was going up the hills or in sprints. Every now and then I do see an odd blip on speed details that only shows up through the graphs as a sudden spike - it may be a brief loss of gps. And as much as I like the elevation concept, although all my rides start and end at the same place my elevation rise and drop - it gives both as cumulative numbers - never equal out at the end. I may be missing something but to my simple mind if I start and end at the same place my rise should equal my drops.
Heart rate? I can't say how accurate it is because I haven't compared to other devices. But it appears to work in a "relative" sense, meaning it shows increases where I know I was pushing hard, it shows decrease when I'm relaxing and the average seems about right for my age and exercise. I don't really ask for more than a relative knowledge.
The display works great for me - you can set the watch function to be off or to pop on when you move the wrist. I use it to pop on when I move my wrist. I have "old" eyes - as in my arms aren't long enough to get regular watches out where I can focus on the little numbers or the little hands. This I can read easily without glasses and since it pops on at night I can check time easily in the dark.
Sleep: Again, I am fine with relative information. I have it set to autodetect and it seems fine enough for me. It confirms I wake up a lot and probably don't sleep as much as I should. Accuracy - really no idea of percentage accuracy but good enough for what I want to know. Although it did show up I nodded off during a big conference - I hadn't realized how long. Luckily I wasn't a speaker.
I haven't used it with a programmed workout which you can do apparently.
Information tiles. The Band 2 has a variety of touch tiles available and you can pick and choose and arrange to your heart's content. I have some I thought I would use (news, UV) that I rarely use... but still you have the option.
The new music controls: I love that they exist but the control seems simply to be turning on the music linked to your phone, pausing the song, controlling the volume, and allowing you to go forward or back in the song list. Great! Which song list? I don't know... you get no indication. It may be that it simply picks up with whatever playlist you were last using on the phone. It may be that it just grabs into your music files randomly. I really can't say. But it works to turn it on. As long as you like the music you have on your phone what does it matter?
Peeves: I would also love waterproof as opposed to just resistant (would make triathlons workable) but maybe with the number of sensors that others don't have (sorry apple watch etc) maybe it isn't possible.
Longer battery life - we all want to avoid chargers longer but really the current works for my uses.
Syncing with the phone and clearing data off the band. The text and email and other notices you see on the band? You won't see a "delete" button or option on any screen of the Band. Nor will you see a "delete" or "clear Band" option in the app you use on the phone. To use the band you have to use the Microsoft Health app on your phone. It has a sync/refresh icon at the top of its list of options above "Home". But it appears that refreshes information FROM the band - not the other way around. And what I mean is all those text messages and emails etc. that appeared on your Band, will still be on your band. At some point your phone will sync with your email account and that eventually seems to filter down to the Band - but there doesn't appear to be a built-in option in the Band or in the Microsoft Health app to simply clear the Band.
On the other hand there is a third party app "Clear My Band" which allows you to clear your Band of all the categories you wish - the app allows you to use "on" or "off" settings for most of your tiles on the Band. You have to use it from your phone but you set it up and when you want to get rid of the Band Notices of texts, emails, calls etc you just bring up the app and hit the button. They are off your Band - that does not delete such info from your phone or email account - just off the Band. Microsoft should include something like this in a software update to its app.
So other than synching, clearing data and iffy mic pick-up (maybe my issue alone) I love this version of the Band.
It works as a big numeral watch which my old eyes love and actually was one of the reasons I went for it. It also allows me to see and act on text/email/call notices in places where I can't have my phone out (on the road, in meetings, etc.) and does all my fitness tracking to an accuracy level that works well for me.
I have read reviews talking about the "flaws" but in my estimation this does enough things well in one device that I don't believe there is a comparison to be made to replace it. You could get better devices to do some but not all of the things it does. So - swiss army knife comparison. If you want one thing on your wrist to do a lot of things this is it. But for any one or two tasks there probably is a better tool to fit that request... you just may have to grow more arms to hold each.
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56 Comments
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zeeBomb - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I got bands I got bands!zeeBomb - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I always admired the bands Microsoft made. Nice review Brett, definitely on my watch list this holiday season (see what I did there? :p)Fallen Kell - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I just personally have a hard time with these bands and smart watches... I mean, until they look like the below, I just can't see myself choosing the smart bands/watches over the real deal:https://omegaforums.net/attachments/2-jpg.39091/
plewis00 - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I would say this is pretty damn close:http://www.tagheuerconnected.com/product
kiwirayda - Saturday, December 5, 2015 - link
It should be for Six times the price and not quite the full feature set. Brilliant execution in style and form!JKflipflop98 - Saturday, December 12, 2015 - link
Looks like a big, gaudy chunk of obsolete junk to me.remo_mein05 - Thursday, December 3, 2015 - link
Nice watch..http://theyouthjob.com/?ref=103109nandnandnand - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Banned from AbandTechAshinjuka - Friday, December 4, 2015 - link
Soundtrack by Flosstradamus!⚠ ⚠ ⚠ https://soundcloud.com/flosstradamus/b-nned-2 ⚠ ⚠ ⚠
duploxxx - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
nice features and design but also expensivejasonelmore - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
$199?!?!?ok man, buy another smart watch with all that stuff
phoenix_rizzen - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Band 1 is $199. Band 2 is $249. This is definitely in the expensive range of fitness trackers.dsraa - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
That is definietly a typo!! Since they released the Band 2, they dropped the price of the original to $99. And right now, due to holiday pricing, its $79.So go fix it......mis-information central.
Ratman6161 - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
He was talking release prices...not what you could buy it for now. Anyone that wants to can do what I just did in about 10 seconds which is to typ "microsoft ban" in the search bar on Amazon.com and see $105 for the band and $249 for the band 2.This is the same with all electronic devices...prices drop over time and as soon as the "new and improved" or "Version 2.0" comes out, the original goes on the (virtual) discount rack.
Samus - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
I don't know, I agree. At $250, you get basically all the same stuff in the Apple Watch for $350, which is far more featured. Healthkit is also much more advanced than Microsoft's Health SDK.etherlore - Thursday, December 3, 2015 - link
The lack of GPS in the apple watch makes it useless for running or cycling.Qwertilot - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Not sure about this for hiking - the big thing wearables can do for that is navigational information and the screen shape is just wrong for that vs a smart watch. Also I suspect its better to take the GPS battery load on the phone when you're out for 8+ hours.Does look pretty though :)
NesuD - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
As far as I can tell on mine the gps is meant strictly for tracking rides and runs. I don't believe it was ever intended to be for navigating. I don't really know why anyone would think of using it that way. It has never been pitched that way.Ratman6161 - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
I'd be curious to see what the battery life looks like on longer duration activities. I'm a cycling enthusiast and would really like something that could be using the GPS for 8 hours. A more typical ride for me would be 2 to 3 hours but I'm curious if it would be usable for the occasional century ride (6 - 7 hours).Zizy - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I read elsewhere that sleep tracking actually works without any manual parts - it senses when you sleep, so it should appear on their Health stuff even when you don't manually enable/disable it.Nice review, I especially like the comments about notifications, which seem like a missed opportunity to enable the best of both worlds.
But I miss more in-depth battery review with various sports. Will it survive night sleep tracking, entire work day and evening exercise with GPS (run/bike)? As smartwatch functionality is (currently?) a missed opportunity, majority of people interested in the device will care for the fitness part... but battery life there isn't tested - your scenario is mostly a smartwatch oriented test.
xthetenth - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
It does automatically track when you sleep even if not prompted to, although of course it isn't necessarily as reliable for tracking how long it takes to start sleeping, and it does note that it was detected rather than manually demarcated.Eagle1848 - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I have one of these and you are right, xthetenth, it does automatically detect sleep, but the parameters are looser to prevent accidentally entering sleep mode. I think it's something like 2 hours of not moving along with a couple other indicators, so if you toss and turn a lot (as I do) it won't detect sleep accurately very often. I tried it a few nights when I first got it and I think it detected sleep accurately about 1 night in three or four. Best bet is to manually activate it like you said as it detects everything really well such as time to fall asleep. Automatically detects sleep spot on with near 100% accuracy though if I am somewhere I won't move a lot such as taking a nap on the couch.xthetenth - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Yeah, I've had mine detect me going to sleep when I forgot, but I bought it to track sleep, so I've only forgotten once and don't have a decent amount of info on how reliable it is for me. The data when manually activated are quite good though, and match up quite well to what happened as far as I can tell.phoenix_rizzen - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Does it allow you to track more than 1 sleep cycle in a day? For example, can you track a 2-hour nap in the middle of the day? Or sleeping for 3-4 hours at night, getting up and doing stuff for an hour or two, and then sleeping for 3-4 hours again? Or is it a binary "sleep on/sleep off" once per day?I've tried several sleep tracking apps on my phone, and so far, none of them support multiple sleep cycles in a day. :( Meaning they don't accurately track the real numbers of hours of sleep I get in a week. Having 2 kids under 5 (one just barely over a year old) makes "sleep" a very fluid concept. :)
pavlindrom - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Yes, the band can track as many sessions as you want, and they'll show up on your phone. I got it recently, and have taken naps here and there that I tracked. Now, for naps, it may or may not catch it automatically, if you intend to go to sleep, just let it know, and it'll track it. You can go through all the history on your phone whenever you please. The band will only display basic stats for the last one. I hope this helps.Devo2007 - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
While the band was the first wearable sold by Microsoft, it technically wasn't Microsoft's first foray into wearable technology. That (dubious?) honor goes to the SPOT watches.Klug4Pres - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
"Fitness and I have a love/hate relationship"If you have posted real data, it looks as though you are pushing yourself quite hard! To average 159 bpm during 54 and a half minutes is pretty intense.
tipoo - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Or strapped it to a dog to look good for the review :Panactoraaron - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Any chance you will review the m3 and i7 versions of the surface pro 4? I think many folks are intrigued with the 'reports' of the m3 getting much better battery life than the i5 and the i7 getting much better performance with the Iris graphics. It would make a great read coming from you guys.simard57 - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
And when will the Lumia 950 be reviewed?Laxaa - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Great review. Very neuanced and informative.It seems like perhaps the next version will be the one to get. This one seems like an improvement over the previous one, but it still looks a bit bulky and uncomfortable for my taste. I guess Windows 10 IOT will be implemented in the next one as well(seeing the advancements in wearable SoCs over the next year)
Arbie - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I've scanned the article twice and don't find mention of its accuracy, especially in heart rate and step counting. Those are pretty important, at least to me. I wouldn't consider buying this unless I knew it worked very well in those areas.N4g4rok - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Heart rate was accurate for me. I was hooked up to an EKG for a few hours one weekend and checked every now and again how they compared. They only ever differed by 2-3 BPM. Not sure how much value that'll add for you, but i figure i'd share.As for steps, i wore this and a FItbit Charge HR simultaneously, and the fitbit counted ~50 steps more on average throughout the day on a 8000+ steps day.
NXTwoThou - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
With the reviews of Band 1, it was found that until you did a walk/run with GPS turned on, it doesn't know your stride. It's pretty close though. Doing a single 1/2 mile walk with GPS fine tunes it.N4g4rok - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
"The Band seems capable of knowing when I am asleep, so it would be nice if I would not have to enable the function when I’m going to sleep, and then disable it when I wake up. This is a minor issue, but would make the sleep function quite a bit better since it’s very easy to forget to turn it on before you go to sleep, and as easy to forget to turn it off when you wake up."If you fall asleep with it on, it takes it's best guess. this shows up on the app as 'Sleep(Detected).' Some of the metrics like 'Time to Fall Asleep' might be a little off as a result.
NeoteriX - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Not all GPS implementations are the same, some have faster cold lock times and deal with interference differently. Others also use other GPS-type systems like GLONASS to augment the number of available satellites for GPS even further.It might just be useful from a superficial perspective to walk around a few blocks with the test device along with a few other GPS devices like cell phones or sport trackers (e.g Garmin) just to see the relative GPS competency.
moozooh - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
You can't swim with it? Well, that's dumb. I have a watch and a GPS navigator with barometer sensors, and they're both built to be more water-resistant than my own body. And I also have a tablet that is water-resistant despite the openings for the microphone and two speakers.WTF is wrong with you, Microsoft.
frostyfiredude - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Swimming with that would be so incredibly bad, it's got some weight and bulk to it. Seems like a good way to throw ones stroke completely off balanceLord of the Bored - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
Hey, in my area you can't take it OUTSIDE in the summer. That max temperature rating literally made me laugh.FEAR THE SUN.
genericnyguy - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
The Band 2 has a major flaw in step tracking (with an impact on calories, running speed w/ GPS off, connected app data, etc.). Pages full of complaints on the Microsoft support forums with no response from Microsoft as to a fix:http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/band/forum/msba...
ronnybrendel - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
Can you use Microsoft Band 2 with an Android Phone? If so, are there differences to using it with a windows phone?ronnybrendel - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
nvm. I'm hesitant to install apps with that many permissions and upload my health data to someone elses computer.errorr - Friday, December 4, 2015 - link
The penalties for HIPAA violations are such that I assure you your info is much safer than most other types of cloud storage. MS has had to build Azure and Health from the ground up with HIPAA and HITECH restrictions in mind.This also includes a 30 day legal obligation to inform you of an accidental or malicious disclosure and comes with associated fines.
There is a whole bunch of info on their website about compliance and auditing...
Miller1331 - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
Great review, maybe worth picking up in the holiday salessonci - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
Why people say smartwatches are expensive, I got an Armani, its more expensive and it only shows time..designerfx - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
So, garmin watch: 2-4 weeks battery life.Microsoft band: 48 hours.
Jawbone: 1 week +.
Why would anyone accept 48 hours again?
Spivonious - Friday, December 4, 2015 - link
GPS burns battery. Jawbone has no GPS, and Garmin is rated at 8 hours with GPS active.I have the Band 1 and with GPS going on a full charge, I can get 6-7 hours. 2-3 days if no GPS. Remember that this is a lot more than a pedometer.
beginner99 - Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - link
I will probably be one of the last person to buy such a thing, I was late to mobiles, late to Smartphones and also not really getting the smartwatch thing. To make this work for me, I want the wearable to be able to communicate with the phone over a pretty large distance, like 100-200 meters. Maybe that already works but AFAIK Bluetooth is limited to maybe 10 meters or so? Anyway, the point is that you can leave your ever larger phone lying in your office, backpack,...and get notifications and stuff without having to put the huge phone in your pocket. Same for fitness. I can put the phone in the locker and communication remains intact.marvdmartian - Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - link
Here's an improvement I didn't see, while skimming the article; a more robust charging port. A friend of mine went through three of the original MS bands, within a year's time. The sole reason was that the charging port kept going bad on the devices....and if you can't charge them, they're useless.And while I have no idea how this type of device stacks up against, say, a FitBit band, feature-wise, I do know that if they're close, chances are better that the FB band will be purchased, at a $75 to $150 price band, over a $250 MS band.
Spivonious - Friday, December 4, 2015 - link
I haven't had issues with mine (Band 1) and it's gone through the washing machine.finbarqs - Thursday, December 3, 2015 - link
I've had the Band 2 since day one, and I've been using it on a daily basis. I Crossfit about 5-6 times a week, and I also like to do hikes as well as golf. Here's my take on it, having used GPS and regular workouts on a daily basis -- as well as using some of the features the band offers:1. Heart Rate inaccuracies. Sometimes at the peak of my workout, it would claim my heart rate would only be about 140-150 bpm, when I literally can feel my heart pounding out of my chest. However, on a medium run, it jumps to around 170+. Keep in mind, these are just glances during a workout. However, at the end of a crossfit workout, it would say I would've burned approximately 500-600 calories within the hour. To me, it sounds kind of high probably about 5-10% higher than I would expect it to be.
2. Sleep Tracking/Smart Alarm- Microsoft claims that the there are different stages of how we sleep, and the band 2 (and band 1) tracks this. Apparently, (on average) it takes me approximately 8 minutes to fall asleep, and I would wake up 2-3 times during the night with an average of 5 hours of light sleep and 2 hours of deep sleep. The band's "Smart Alarm" feature will wake you up on a 'light sleep' through it's vibration feature so that we may wake up feeling refreshed rather than being completely groggy. -- It kind of works I suppose. But I am addicting in reading my sleep patterns...
3. Pedometer is somewhat inaccurate.
4. Battery life on this thing will last 2 days without GPS -- which brings me to my next....
5. GPS - First time it took literally about 5-10 minutes to lock. By then, if you're on a timed workout, you've missed quite a bit of your workout. However, after the first initial lock, the other times it took me less than 1 minute to lock GPS. The battery life on the GPS seems to be better than what I've come to expect: I thought perhaps I would get 4 hours on a full charge, however when I played golf over the holidays, I had about 45% battery life, and I used the golf app (pretty cool). Lasted me until Hole #13 -- 4-5 hours in before it completely died on 45% charge. I'm guessing with GPS will probably last you 8-9 hours. -- This is probably important for a lot of you. The GPS is pretty cool - it shows a map and a trail of where you traveled, along with stats of your run: For example, it'll show the first half of your run that you've averaged 6-7mph, while the 3rd half 3-4mph, and the last stretch another 6-7mph (they show a cheetah lol)
6. If you crossfit, you can load benchmark workouts and it'll guide you through the workouts with time. It'll also give you some tabata workouts as well too.
anyways, it's flawed, and I've considered returning it for the more expensive Polar watch, but so far, it's been pretty decent with some inaccuracies. I will say that I was afraid to bring this watch to the tough mudder though... I have washed my hands with the watch on (I think it has the same water rating as the apple watch)
juliabrown943 - Thursday, December 3, 2015 - link
what Jeffery said I am impressed that some one able to make $8960 in one month on the computer . you could try this out.....>>>>>>>............. .earni8 dot ℭommilkod2001 - Monday, December 7, 2015 - link
I rather buy Casio watch with calculatorthedeezus - Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - link
As a band 1 & 2 owner i can say the battery life is almost 2 days. If you use gps its more like 1 day and that would be 4-6 hrs gps tracking and then charging when you get home. Imo the one thing i dont like about the band 2 and its a small complaint is the clasp, i wish it had less flat angles, not a deal breaker for what it does and as of this post it has music controls for windows phones.lighthouseav - Monday, January 4, 2016 - link
I got the Band 2 back in November and have been using it ever since. I had tried the first Band but it felt like a handcuff whenever I rolled my wrist. I love the feel of the new Band 2. I wear to the inside of the wrist. The strap closure has just enough movement between clicks to adjust so that the Band 2 is firm to the skin but not pinching.I use this with a Windows phone (on a free phone after rebate deal with my new carrier - and I needed a new phone). So I get all the supposed benefits of Windows - which to my simple understanding adds Cortana. I think all other aspects including the voice reply to texts etc. is supposed to work with other operating systems. Can't say though since I have Windows phone.
But I will say I don't talk to it as much as one could - it doesn't always pick up my speech well. I sometimes wonder though if that is because the mic is set to the lower button side of the band when you have it on. Maybe they are trying to avoid all the outside noise if it were placed to the upper edge - but that would seem to be the better position.
You can also reply to texts by tapping the "Reply" underneath the text message and tapping one of the preset replies ("I'm driving" "I'll call you back") and you get to customize one or two more). You can also reply by typing your reply on the tiny keyboard - and I have done all three. It takes some practice to get efficient on the keyboard because it is so small a keyboard but I have been very happy - other than it autocorrects and I can't seem to find a button or box to stop that on the Band. It may exist and I haven't found it - so acronyms and slang get some uncomfortable corrections at times. And although your texts and email may be tiny - you can hit the "action" button and it will scroll your message word for word in larger character size so you can read. The speed is adjustable in 3 (?) settings to get it comfortable for you.
The "haptic" vibration notice for incoming calls, texts, emails and other notices is fine, although when I'm moving or busy I don't seem to notice all of them. I sometimes use the timer/alarm setting and that is great. I did have a morning wake-up alarm set that worked for a while but then in my love of all things sleep - I believe I grew accustomed and now my body doesn't acknowledge the alarm on low haptic setting. I can raise the level if I really need it but I wonder about battery usage.
On the other hand having texts/emails and incoming call notices pop up on the inside of my wrist when I'm in a meeting or some public setting is very helpful (idents caller by name if the number is in your contacts - at least I think it is only if in your contacts list). I have had a few text comments timely directed at me as I was in the middle of a discussion. And those call, text and emails stay on your band until ... well until you act to get rid of them - see "Peeves" below. But it means if you miss the notice or the vibration you haven't missed the particular notice. When you look at the Band it will show a number on each tile that indicates how many of that particular notice you have not yet viewed - phone tile 2, text 3, email 1 - when you finally look at those notices the number disappears.
On a side note - your friends who think they are cute can send rude texts that also pop up at untimely moments when your wrist is exposed to third parties. Or if you are getting calls from a competing company, someone wants to hire you away or the like??? If the name is in your contacts that name shows on the band. So watch out.
Battery usage: I use the gps only for cycling and turn it on at the start and later, off, after done riding and IF I remember the gps is on. I have done longer rides up to 6 hours and still have 35% or more battery rating - but that is starting from a full charge. To prevent the shower dousing I am trying to train myself to stick this on the charger when I get up so I rarely go a day without topping off a charge. Since I use it as my watch I get it back on after shower and changing. So it is the rare shower douse day where I go more than a day without charging - but I have.
Water resistance - as I noted, the fit is good but it is so good I tend to forget I have it on. I have worn into the shower multiple times before I realized it was on and remember it is water resistant not waterproof. So it has gotten 15 - 30 seconds of shower dousing multiple times and no issues so far. It has not been fully immersed at any time.
I am a cyclist who had been using an on phone app mapmyride free version which doesn't provide much detail in the free version. Using the Band 2 it links to mapmyride and now gives me all the detail in mapmyride I didn't see before. I have to step out from my house a bit ( as in further out on the driveway - not houses away) before I get a GPS lock but after that all seems good: time, distance and route all match what I used to get with the phone app and is accurate as to the roads/offroad I ride. It is nice to now see the speed, elevation and heart rate details throughout the ride that show up in the new graphs that I never got before. I say nice, but disconcerting - no more lying to myself about how fast I was going up the hills or in sprints. Every now and then I do see an odd blip on speed details that only shows up through the graphs as a sudden spike - it may be a brief loss of gps. And as much as I like the elevation concept, although all my rides start and end at the same place my elevation rise and drop - it gives both as cumulative numbers - never equal out at the end. I may be missing something but to my simple mind if I start and end at the same place my rise should equal my drops.
Heart rate? I can't say how accurate it is because I haven't compared to other devices. But it appears to work in a "relative" sense, meaning it shows increases where I know I was pushing hard, it shows decrease when I'm relaxing and the average seems about right for my age and exercise. I don't really ask for more than a relative knowledge.
The display works great for me - you can set the watch function to be off or to pop on when you move the wrist. I use it to pop on when I move my wrist. I have "old" eyes - as in my arms aren't long enough to get regular watches out where I can focus on the little numbers or the little hands. This I can read easily without glasses and since it pops on at night I can check time easily in the dark.
Sleep: Again, I am fine with relative information. I have it set to autodetect and it seems fine enough for me. It confirms I wake up a lot and probably don't sleep as much as I should. Accuracy - really no idea of percentage accuracy but good enough for what I want to know. Although it did show up I nodded off during a big conference - I hadn't realized how long. Luckily I wasn't a speaker.
I haven't used it with a programmed workout which you can do apparently.
Information tiles. The Band 2 has a variety of touch tiles available and you can pick and choose and arrange to your heart's content. I have some I thought I would use (news, UV) that I rarely use... but still you have the option.
The new music controls: I love that they exist but the control seems simply to be turning on the music linked to your phone, pausing the song, controlling the volume, and allowing you to go forward or back in the song list. Great! Which song list? I don't know... you get no indication. It may be that it simply picks up with whatever playlist you were last using on the phone. It may be that it just grabs into your music files randomly. I really can't say. But it works to turn it on. As long as you like the music you have on your phone what does it matter?
Peeves:
I would also love waterproof as opposed to just resistant (would make triathlons workable) but maybe with the number of sensors that others don't have (sorry apple watch etc) maybe it isn't possible.
Longer battery life - we all want to avoid chargers longer but really the current works for my uses.
Syncing with the phone and clearing data off the band. The text and email and other notices you see on the band? You won't see a "delete" button or option on any screen of the Band. Nor will you see a "delete" or "clear Band" option in the app you use on the phone. To use the band you have to use the Microsoft Health app on your phone. It has a sync/refresh icon at the top of its list of options above "Home". But it appears that refreshes information FROM the band - not the other way around. And what I mean is all those text messages and emails etc. that appeared on your Band, will still be on your band. At some point your phone will sync with your email account and that eventually seems to filter down to the Band - but there doesn't appear to be a built-in option in the Band or in the Microsoft Health app to simply clear the Band.
On the other hand there is a third party app "Clear My Band" which allows you to clear your Band of all the categories you wish - the app allows you to use "on" or "off" settings for most of your tiles on the Band. You have to use it from your phone but you set it up and when you want to get rid of the Band Notices of texts, emails, calls etc you just bring up the app and hit the button. They are off your Band - that does not delete such info from your phone or email account - just off the Band. Microsoft should include something like this in a software update to its app.
So other than synching, clearing data and iffy mic pick-up (maybe my issue alone) I love this version of the Band.
It works as a big numeral watch which my old eyes love and actually was one of the reasons I went for it. It also allows me to see and act on text/email/call notices in places where I can't have my phone out (on the road, in meetings, etc.) and does all my fitness tracking to an accuracy level that works well for me.
I have read reviews talking about the "flaws" but in my estimation this does enough things well in one device that I don't believe there is a comparison to be made to replace it. You could get better devices to do some but not all of the things it does. So - swiss army knife comparison. If you want one thing on your wrist to do a lot of things this is it. But for any one or two tasks there probably is a better tool to fit that request... you just may have to grow more arms to hold each.
Krishnaamin25 - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - link
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