David Briddock explains why the Microsoft Band has plenty of potential
These days, Microsoft is keen to drop surprises. A recent example was its new Microsoft Band wearable product and associated Health app.
The marketing blurb states that the Microsoft Band is a fitness and activity tracker with GPS, basic smartwatch functionality, multi-platform app support and much more. But what's the reality?
Initial Experience
Purchase this product, and you'll receive an attractive package that opens up like a ring box, with the Microsoft Band prominently displayed. Inside there's also a proprietary USB charging cable, with magnetic connection.
The Band itself may look a little bulky when compared to some other activity trackers. These dimensions are necessary to house the large number of sensors, which includes a location sensing GPS receiver.
For some, this may mean the Band is a little uncomfortable on the wrist. But then again it is available in small, medium and large strap sizes and actually weighs in at just 60 grams.
The front of the Microsoft Band is dominated by the 11 mm x 33mm, full colour, TFT, capacitive touch-enabled display, which has a resolution of 320 x 106 pixels. The power and action buttons are located at the bottom of this display.
The Band's thermoplastic strap has a novel clasp mechanism, and two buttons are pressed to open a securing piece, allowing it to slide up and down a slot. It works well, ensuring rapid adjustment and a secure fit on the wrist.
Familiar Interface
Just like Windows 8, and the new Windows 10, the Band has a tile centric interface to compliment its responsive touchscreen. The display's colour and background wallpaper are user configurable.
An ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness of your touchscreen display automatically, and a tiny haptic vibration motor adds sensory feedback to the touch experience.
Currently there are a total of 17 tiles, though we can expect this number to rise with future software updates. The display can show up to three tiles at once, with up to 13 tiles being active at any one time. And, of course, each underlying tile app is optimised for the touchscreen display.
It's easy to scroll through the tiles, and you can rearrange the tile order to suit your daily routine. Nevertheless, with such a small display, it's best to only activate the tiles you'll use most often during your daily routine.
Living With Band
It makes no difference to sensor operation whether you decide to wear the Band in classic top-of-wrist watch mode or with the display attached underneath the wrist. However, installing your screen protector as soon as possible is highly recommended, especially if the display is underneath the wrist.
The charging connection for the two 100mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries is made underneath the display. A full charge takes less than 1.5 hours and typically lasts about two days. However, switch a few things off, especially power hungry elements like the GPS sensor, and you might get more.
Wireless communication is handled by a low-energy Bluetooth 4.0 chip. There's a simple setup wizard that walks you through connecting your phone via wireless Bluetooth and taking your first steps with the Microsoft Health app.
Alternatively you can use the magnetically coupled USB connector, which is similar to the one found on Microsoft Surface tablets or Apple's MagSafe connector.
From the fitness perspective, the Band offers quick access to your activity history and workout information. The main screen displays your steps, calories burned, sleep history, fitness history and workout programme progress. The Band also connects to various smartphone apps, such as RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal.
In addition, there are a number of productivity apps. Mailbox activity and email previews are just a glance away, while a calendar sends alerts directly to your wrist, and the built-in timer and alarm functionality comes in useful for setting lap targets or as a gentle and noiseless morning wake-up alarm.
Band Sensors
Microsoft has equipped its Band with an impressive sensor collection. A couple of sensors are located on the left side of the display, but the main sensor area is located at the bottom of the inside of the band. Here you'll find heart rate, skin temperature and many other sensors. When combined, the data from these main sensors, along with your personal profile information, are used to assess your activity levels. Turning on one or more of the optional sensors can improve the accuracy of these calculations.
Let's take a look at some of these sensors and what they offer.
Heart Rate Monitor
Microsoft Band continuously monitors and display your current heart rate, day and night. Heart rate data supplements and refines the calories burned measurements and performance statistics from walks, runs, workouts and sleep.
An optical heart rate monitor, located at the back of the clasp and surrounded by a green glow, uses a light sensor to detect tiny fluctuations in your capillaries.
To discover if the Daily Heart Rate monitor is active, drag the 'Me Tile' to the right and look for a Heart symbol. If you're tracking a run, a workout or your sleep, it will turn on automatically.
When the light sensor is searching for your heart rate, the Microsoft Band displays 'Acquiring', then 'Locked' once your heart rate is detected. If you're wearing the band too loosely or not at all, a reminder message to this effect will appear.
Turning the Daily Heart Rate monitor off saves battery life. However, estimates of your calories burned are less precise when heart rate data is missing.
As you go about your daily activities, heart rate fluctuation statistics are constantly available. Just select the Microsoft Health app on your phone and a chart of your steps or sleep pattern is just a tap away.
Accelerometer/Gyrometer Sensors
The three-axis accelerometer and gyrometer sensors detect motion or the lack of motion when you're in a deep sleep.
In a simple scenario, data streams from these sensors can be used to count your steps. When combined with profile information and heart rate measurements, it helps determine how many calories you've burned during a particular exercise session or throughout the whole day.
However, more sophisticated apps will interrogate the same data to glean deeper activity insights and patterns -for example, your nightly patterns of light and restful sleep.
GPS Chip
Many fitness bands and some smartwatches (including the Apple Watch) don't have a GPS chip, but the Microsoft Band does.
The 'Run Tile' is used to start and stop GPS tracking. When GPS is activated, the Band accurately tracks the distance travelled over a particular time for activities like walking, running, hiking or biking.
The Band also stores a record of your route for future analysis. When this data is synced back to the Microsoft Health app, you can retrace your route as displayed on a map and scrutinise checkpoint times.
Skin Temperature And Galvanic Skin Response Sensors
The Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) sensor measures the conductivity of the skin area between the clasp GSR sensor and the secondary GSR contact point, which is under the Band's display face.
It's GSR data that's used to determine if the Band is currently being worn or not. Also, skin temperature measurements have obvious uses for accessing how you're responding to a particular workout. But so far more imaginative applications haven't materialised.
Interestingly, GSR technology is also used in certain types of lie detection equipment, so who knows what Band apps we might see in the future.
UV Sensor
A useful summer-time feature is the ultraviolet sensor, which gathers a cumulative picture of this damaging electromagnetic radiation.
Monitoring the UV readings means you'll no longer have to guess if it's a good idea to apply some sunscreen, wear a hat or disappear off into the shade for a few hours.
Microphone
Maybe not a true sensor, but a critical component nevertheless, a built-in microphone means you can interact with Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant. However, to use this feature today you'll also need a Cortana-enabled Windows Phone.
With Cortana active on both your phone and the Band, just press a button and speak into the mic (to the left of the touchscreen) to ask Bing a question, check today's weather, set a reminder, dictate a message and much more - all without having to take your smartphone out of your pocket.
As Cortana is rolled out with Windows 10, in summer 2015, you'll be able sync the Band with tablets, laptops and desktops as well as smartphones.
2015 Update
In February 2015, there was a significant Microsoft Band update, including some great productivity features that are accessible while exercising or when a user can't easily engage with their smartphones.
As Microsoft Research senior researcher Tim Paek said, "If you get an urgent message and you need to respond right away, it can be very inconvenient to rummage around for your phone. With the device on your wrist, you can reply easily and discreetly."
In particular, there's an innovative Virtual Keyboard, designed specifically for the Band, and the new Voice Replies functionality powered by Cortana.
With the Virtual Keyboard, you can edit that text using the tiny yet surprisingly usable QWERTY keyboard displayed on the diminutive screen.
"It's the smallest keyboard around, so we designed the layout to leverage the entire screen real estate for tapping on the characters you want," said Paek. "We also made it easy to tap and edit words. We're definitely upping the ante here on input for wearables."
Virtual Keyboard builds on core Microsoft Research technologies developed for the latest Windows Phone. This includes Word Flow, which helped Windows Phone set a Guinness World Record for both sighted and blindfolded texting on a touchscreen device.
Speech recognition is made possible through Cortana, the personal assistant app for Windows Phone. As you speak, the Band displays the words it detects.
But there's more. Microsoft researchers have now applied machine learning techniques to enhance the responses previously available on the Band.
This intelligent auto-reply feature means the Band can analyse all kinds of communications, then suggest message responses. As in 'Yes' or 'No' type questions or when an appropriate response is "I'm almost there."
For another example, imagine you're about to leave work and your partner sends a text asking whether you'd prefer Chinese or Mexican food for dinner. Microsoft Band can recognise that the best response involves just two choices, namely 'Chinese' or 'Mexican', which can be presented as single-tap auto-reply buttons.
This close partnership between Microsoft Research and the Microsoft Band team is a clear indication of the cultural shift taking place at Microsoft under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella.
Cross-Platform Nature
As you'd expect, the Microsoft Band has no problem working with Windows Phones, such as the new Nokia Lumina 640 or 640 XL, ideally running version 8.1. And of course, this means you'll have full access to Cortana directly through the Band's built-in microphone.
However, Microsoft wanted to make a cross-platform device, unlike many of the alternative fitness bands and smartwatches in the marketplace today.
Microsoft says the Band supports the Apple iOS 7.1 operating system running on 4s, 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus iPhones, plus numerous Google Android 4.3 and 5 (Lollipop) smartphones with Bluetooth support.
Apple iPhone owners seem happy, even those who have the latest iPhone 6 an iPhone 6 Plus. And the Microsoft Health app works as expected, including RunKeeper data integration and route map display. Plus I've seen good reports from other smartphone owners, such as the Sony Xperia Z3.
SDK
Microsoft wants the Band to be a hit with as many consumers as possible and not just Windows users, so in addition to Windows Phone, you can download the Band's software development kit (SDK) for Apple iOS and Google Android.
But what can you do with this SDK?
Well, it has access to all the Band's sensors, the sensor data store and the complete user interface including tiles.
This means you could design an app that sends motivational information to the display, while the owner is still undertaking their run, cycle or other exercise routine. Or you could develop brand new apps that imaginatively merge data from multiple senses to provide new ways to interpret your daily activities, fitness exercise routines and sleep patterns. Or perhaps we could have apps that have deep, data-centric relationships to existing smartphone apps such as instant messaging integration, important glanceable notifications and the latest news headlines on user-definable topics.
Alternatively you might just like to provide an interesting way to set colour themes and wallpapers.
Final Thoughts
Microsoft Band is one of the most flexible fitness bands available, thanks to its extensive sensor array, cross-platform apps and open development environment.
The suggested retail price is £169.99 for the mid-April 2015 UK launch, via PC World, Currys, 02, Amazon and others. This may seem a little steep, but remember, it's a powerful activity tracker with GPS functionality and a basic smartwatch too.
And as we've seen with the February 2015 update, there's plenty more to come, so Microsoft is probably already thinking about extending its wearable device range.
Specifications
Band Sensors
• Optical Heart Rate
• 3-axis Accelerometer
• Gyrometer
• GPS
• Ambient Light
• UV
• Galvanic Skin Response
• Skin Temperature
• Capacitive
Other Features
• Capacitive 1.4" TFT full colour display.
• Bluetooth 4.0.
• Microphone.
• Haptic vibration motor.
• Magnetically coupled USB connector.
• Dual 100mAh rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Compatibility
• Windows Phone 8.1 or later (with Bluetooth 4.0)
• iOS 7.1 or later (iPhone 4s, 5, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus)
• Android 4.3 to 5.0 smartphones (with Bluetooth 4.0) (list to be extended after Windows 10 release)