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Microsoft Band

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Re: Microsoft Band

#351

Post by genofon »

mirsadm wrote: post #164
sytelus wrote: post #117

While everyone is trying to make a watch that looks as traditional as possible, Microsoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes. That's some guts. At $200 this looks like great device with built-in sensors including GPS and UV that also talks to whatever phone you own. I also like the fact that heart rate monitor is always on. Addition of barometer could have been nicer, however.…

I think they're going after correct audience. They're going after people who probably already record these things. For eg I use a heart rate monitor, cycling computer that records GPS coordinates and speed/cadence/altitude changes when I cycle. If this thing had ANT+ connectivity and worked with extra sensors I would buy it to replace my cycling gear. I can't see anyone spending $200 for this if they're not at least…

I'm not serious about exercise but I'll buy one. I work with data and I'm curious about what my measurements look like. i tried other apps but they required too much effort, so the cost/benefit wasn't right for me.

Re: Microsoft Band

#352

Post by freehunter »

dingaling wrote: post #126
bhauer wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using wireless charging for nearly two years on my Lumia 920. And for the past year, my wife's Lumia Icon has been doing the same. I picked up a couple more charging plates when she switched to Windows Phone. Now that I've used wireless charging, I'll never go back. Connecting wires to charge is so 2012. I want my Surface Pro to charge wirelessly. And my Tesla Model S (well, that is, if I had one).

One benefit of old-school wired charging is that I can still use the device in a normal orientation whilst it is charging, so long as the cable is long enough. Do you find that wireless charging prevents that? I assume the fevice has to lie flat on the plate somewhere near a power outlet.

Seriously, I hate everyone who bought an Android phone instead of a Palm Pre in 2009-2010, because if they did, we would still have the incredible things they came up with. Not only did they have C++/Javascript/HTML as their programming stack and not only did they provide directions on their site on how to root their devices and boot custom kernels over USB, they had wireless charging built in and had a great wireless charging stand that I used on my HP Touchpad for years until it finally gave out. You can have the tablet standing at any angle you want, working on it (boot into Ubuntu with a wireless keyboard, why not? It's a Palm) while it's wirelessly charging.

But no, Google was cool and Palm was old hat, so now they're gone and we are using Java to make apps and charging by laying our phones flat and plugging our tablets into the wall.

Re: Microsoft Band

#353

Post by easytiger »

sytelus wrote: post #117

While everyone is trying to make a watch that looks as traditional as possible, Microsoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes. That's some guts. At $200 this looks like great device with built-in sensors including GPS and UV that also talks to whatever phone you own. I also like the fact that heart rate monitor is always on. Addition of barometer could have been nicer, however.…

> crosoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes

How exactly? It doesn't look very radical to me.

Re: Microsoft Band

#355

Post by higherpurpose »

sytelus wrote: post #117

While everyone is trying to make a watch that looks as traditional as possible, Microsoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes. That's some guts. At $200 this looks like great device with built-in sensors including GPS and UV that also talks to whatever phone you own. I also like the fact that heart rate monitor is always on. Addition of barometer could have been nicer, however.…

> While everyone is trying to make a watch that looks as traditional as possible, Microsoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes. That's some guts

Not as much guts after Samsung already did it:

https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/wearable-tech/SM-R3500ZKAX...

Re: Microsoft Band

#356

Post by cyanbane »

integraton wrote: post #116
cwyers wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've announced apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, at launch.

Do those apps support HealthKit and Google Fit?

Looks like it supports data relay to MapMyFitness Suite of Apps, which I would think could then relay it to HealthKit if there is not already a direct export from MS's iOS App.

Re: Microsoft Band

#357

Post by rjbwork »

cwyers wrote: post #341
jacquesm wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, since Linux & FreeBSD are license free they have intrinsic advantages over Microsoft.

Yes, it is possible (and common) to run Linux or one of the BSDs for free. But at large scale, a lot of people opt to pay one of Red Hat/Oracle/SuSE/Canonical/etc. for their free Linux ANYWAY. Buying Windows also means buying support. How much of this cost advantage goes away if you're paying Red Hat et al support fees?

The fact that you guys are even talking about "buying windows" and "buying support" when talking about buying into the Windows Azure stack shows that you most likely haven't used it much, if at all, and aren't quite sure what you're talking about.

Re: Microsoft Band

#358

Post by bane »

This looks fantastic. I was really disappointed with all the possible directions Apple could go with their smartwatch, they just iterated on a design Samsung's been out with for a few years now. This is actually a good rethink, looks like a good v1 device, isn't overpriced, has basically the functionality you'd want and works cross platform.

Absolutely fantastic.

Re: Microsoft Band

#359

Post by cwyers »

rjbwork wrote: post #357
cwyers wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is possible (and common) to run Linux or one of the BSDs for free. But at large scale, a lot of people opt to pay one of Red Hat/Oracle/SuSE/Canonical/etc. for their free Linux ANYWAY. Buying Windows also means buying support. How much of this cost advantage goes away if you're paying Red Hat et al support fees?

The fact that you guys are even talking about "buying windows" and "buying support" when talking about buying into the Windows Azure stack shows that you most likely haven't used it much, if at all, and aren't quite sure what you're talking about.

I haven't used it much; I have used AWS a bit more, and there I recall you had to pay more if you wanted an instance on Windows or on RHEL proper rather than using CentOS or Debian. Those costs probably do add up to a lot more as you scale up (although it's silly to look at that in isolation). But he's comparing using Azure to self-hosting on your own hardware, I think.

Re: Microsoft Band

#360

Post by maxerickson »

com2kid wrote: post #191
javert wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I took the person saying "MS is mum on it" as "they are keeping it secret." If they are keeping it secret, that's interesting. But I'm possibly reading into this something that isn't there.

Hi! Dev lead here. Obviously not an official MS response! We are using a single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs. We are completely non-blocking on all IO (including all sensors), and our CPU spends the majority of its time in a very low power mode. Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! I cannot wait until people look at our battery size in mAh.

On the product announcement page, it's listed as Dual 100mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries.
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