MICROSOFT FINALLY JUMPS ON THE WEARABLES BANDWAGON

Posted By Simon Montford on October 30, 2014

After months of speculation Microsoft finally released their new wearable device that is focused on helping its customers stay fit and healthy. The device is branded the 'Band' (must have taken their marketing department many sleepless nights to come up with that) and the RRP will be £199.

A few nice features include, a UV sensor that measures how long the wearer has been exposed to sun, a stress monitor, an optical heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, gyro, a light sensor and a skin temperature monitor. It also has GPS and a mic for note taking while on the go (compatible with Cortana), which will make busy executives happy. It will also send notifications to your wrist such as emails, calendar reminders, calls received, texts, and social updates.

The device enables data to be uploaded to the cloud and analysed via MS's health app which runs on Android and iOS as well as Windows (good move Microsoft). 

Microsoft's more 'open' approach is a good strategy because it will undoubtedly increase adoption rates and enable the company to benefit from being able to sell other integrated services such as Azure and Office. This is because the health app enables the user to combine data from the Band with data from third party apps like MyFitnessPal and devices as well as with MS Outlook, MS HealthVault and MS HealthService.  

For Sale: Microsoft

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