The wearable industry is, by all means, growing to welcome all the players who want to jump in. The next big technology company to make its foray into the smart wearable device market is none other than Microsoft as it announced on Oct. 29 its new Band fitness tracker.
To make sure it stands out among the sea of fitness trackers and smart watches that have been inundating the market in recent months, Microsoft equipped the new device not just with the traditional sensors that detect users' heart rate, steps taken and skin temperature.
The Band also comes with a pack of novel sensors, such as a UV sensor that can determine levels of exposure, a three-axis accelerometer to evaluate sleep patterns, and a galvanic skin response sensor to detect stress levels.
All this information is collected into Microsoft Health, a revamped HealthVault that resembles Apple Health and Google Fit, serving as a repository of the user's health information.
The difference, however, is Microsoft Health works on all platforms, not just on Windows Phones, but also on iOS and Android. Microsoft is also willing to license its sensors and software to other fitness band makers.
"We are as open as you get," says Microsoft's Matt Barlow, head of marketing for new devices. "We are iOS, we are Android and we are Windows Phone."
Microsoft has also taken a page out of Google and equipped Band with an Intelligence Engine that gathers all the user's information so that it can make intelligent suggestions over time. For example, Band will eventually be able to become the user's digital fitness coach and suggest specific workouts that are appropriate for his fitness level. It can even pull out information from other Microsoft apps like Outlook to provide certain insights, such as how the user's activities at work are currently affecting his quality of sleep.
"Imagine you've set the goal that you want to get fit and lose weight as part of your exercise routine," says Microsoft's personal devices manager Zulfi Alam. "Based on your burn rate and exercise over one week, we will soon be able to auto-suggest a customized workout plan for you. As you follow that plan -- or if you don't follow the plan -- our technology will continue to adjust to give you the best outward-looking plan, like a real coach would do."
Band also comes equipped with Microsoft's personal digital assistant Cortana, which users can interact with through the microphone, although it doesn't come with speakers. Cortana provides text-based notifications for emails, SMS, calls and even Facebook and Twitter notifications.
Microsoft's wearable syncs with any smartphone running on newer versions of iOS, Android and Windows Phone via Bluetooth and runs on a 100 mAh battery that Microsoft claims can last up to 48 hours of "normal use."
Runkeeper, Jawbone, MyFitnessPal and MapMyFitness have already agreed to partner with Band to provide Band-specific apps.
Gold's Gym has also signed on to create custom workouts that Band can recommend to users based on their fitness information. Starbucks is also an early adapter and will allow their customers to pay for their lattes and frappuccinos using a gift card barcode on Band.
Microsoft's new wearable fitness band will be available for $199 from its physical and online stores starting on Oct. 30.
