Introducing Microsoft Health & Microsoft Band

My wife and I both wear a Jawbone UP24 and about half of my coworkers (~50) wear one type of fitness tracker or another. From my NJ/DE perspective, they are very popular.
 
dr.kevin said:
America is the fattest country in the world. No one gives a shit about health.

Fail.
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Entirely an issue of cost of food vs. disposable income. The same reason people have the money to blow on gadgets like this.
 
It's more than just a step counter and calorie counter. I think this is a great tool for older adults, especially if it can monitor heart rate and blood pressure. It could save a person's life.

I think these are great devices! This just pushes technology to help monitor our vitals and let us know about things that about to go down. Dr. Michio Kaku talked about this about 5 years ago that wearable technology are going to be a "thing" in 2015 and by 2020 we'll be looking at toilets that will have sensors in it that could monitor your digested food and potentially give you advanced warning of any digestive issues (his example) like discovering colon cancer before it becomes noticeable.
 
wgm3446 said:
It's more than just a step counter and calorie counter. I think this is a great tool for older adults, especially if it can monitor heart rate and blood pressure. It could save a person's life.
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this is one of the only reasons i can actually think of that makes me ok with these devices. as long as the person is capable of understanding how to use it and the needed smartphone/computer to make full use of it. i like them in general, but i think that is because i like gadgets and toys.

i used to run, bike, and swim a lot. the only thing i ever wanted to keep track of was time while running and swimming. i guess it's nice to know some of the other stuff they tell you and can be fun to be competitive with friends. looking at some numbers is not going to motivate me to get back to eating better and working out on a more regular basis. if the mirror is not doing it, not sure something i can turn off and put away will either.
 
I'm kind of interested in these just as a stats geek. Right now I think the Surge is a better device but I'll wait on reviews of how well these things actually work and integrate to Android and other software before I get one. These seem much more efficient than a smartwatch because all I would ever want is a notification of text/email there's no need to read it or try to reply to it on such a tiny format, I don't want a crappy smartphone attached to my wrist that needs to be recharged just as often when I already carry my phone in my pocket to begin with.

Basis Peak - $200, 4 day battery life, no GPS
FitBit Surge - $250, 7 day battery life, GPS
MS Health - $200, 2 day battery life, GPS
 
Steve said:
Seriously, who wears this kind of stuff? These remind me of smart watches...everyone talks about them...nobody wears them. Do any of you wear a fitness tracker of some sort?
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A month or so I bought a Fitbit Flex and have been wearing it primarily because my work gives a discount on our health plan if you link a tracking device to your account. I also could stand to lose a few pounds so it makes me more aware of my exercise (or lack thereof). The Fitbit Flex is very basic, so I actually did order a Microsoft Band yesterday and am looking forward to learning more about my fitness.
 
Steve said:
Well, the way they calculate "obese" in this country is retarded too. An athlete / bodybuilder with less than 5 - 7% body fat that weighs 210lbs at 5'9" is severely obese.

Back in my bodybuilding days, I had to actually have a physical by a doctor for insurance because the BMI for 5'8" - 220lbs was something like 35% body fat.
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This. My 7yo son is naturally ripped. He already has a better six pack than I did in my prime. The kid is pure muscle. He's also very active, plays soccer, wrestles, etc. At his last doctor's visit a few months ago, the doctor told my wife that he was 'borderline obese', then she asked him to take off his shirt. She backtracked very quickly.

On topic, I'm not into the wearable thing. I can see how it would be useful for some, but they just seem like the type of neat toy you play with for a week and then forget about.
 
Steve said:
Seriously, who wears this kind of stuff? These remind me of smart watches...everyone talks about them...nobody wears them. Do any of you wear a fitness tracker of some sort?
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One co-worker got one as a gift and wears it. They also monitor how much you sleep, which is a useful feature, but I wouldn't pay 100 bucks for it.

PCunicorn said:
35percrnt of people in the US are obese. Yes that's ridiculous but it also says that we have 65 percent that are fit, or at least not obese, which means around 65 percent of people do give some shit about their health.
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70% of adults 20+ are overweight. source
 
nilepez said:
One co-worker got one as a gift and wears it. They also monitor how much you sleep, which is a useful feature, but I wouldn't pay 100 bucks for it.



70% of adults 20+ are overweight. source
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Overweight according to BMI which is an index created by observing mostly white males of military age. Cheap and dirty because height and weight are in medical records.

Hip to waist ratio are far more reliable.
 
So this is sold out at most places, BestBuy will supposedly have them Nov 7th as MS seems to have a 7 day exclusive (smart move on their part).

I've been doing a lot of research on this, as my VivoSmart cost $180 - for $20 more, you seem to get a lot more. From what I've read, this was designed by the Surface team (in part at least).

The sleep data is actually useful (Garmin and Polar both haven't gotten their s*** together on this) with deep sleep time, wake events, average HR, and more.

The device itself has more sensors than are used. It supposedly has perspiration and temperature sensors as well but according to MS, they aren't being used. Battery life has been reported at over 48 hours if you don't use the GPS function. Works with all device OS's (iOS,Android,Microsoft). Just wish they curved the screen.

Seems like a solid entry on their part. It'll likely force Garmin to rethink their price "premium" they put on their VivoFit and VivoSmart. I can't see anyone paying $179.99 for what they're offering if $199 gets you this.
 
nutzo said:
The weight categories are under, normal, over, obese, and morbidly obese.

And there is no serious difference in long term health between people of normal weight and over weight.
Even people labeled as "obese" don't have significantly more health problems.
It's when people get to the upper end of the obese or into the morbidly obese categories that you start to see significant increases in health problems.

Basically, as long as you don't have any real problems getting around, such as taking a 2 mile walk or spending a couple hours walking around a park, then your are not likely to have any more health problems than someone of normal weight. In fact you might have less problems when compared to someone who wears out their knees jogging every morning.
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Runners have stronger knees. But like anything, it can be overdone.
 
Semantics said:
Overweight according to BMI which is an index created by observing mostly white males of military age. Cheap and dirty because height and weight are in medical records.

Hip to waist ratio are far more reliable.
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True. The BMI is horrible if you want anything accurate. For years, I was listed as "Obese" according to the BMI index. But I hover around 13-14% body fat. Healthy is considered 10-22%.

The major issue with the BMI is that lean muscle weighs more than fat, so if you have any decent amount of muscle it'll make the numbers very inaccurate. Nothing beats underwater weighing (bodpod comes close).
 
Unknown-One said:
captainyarr said:
Oh, that's definitely the recent MS strategy. They release all their shit on iOS & Android before paying any attention to Windows Phone. I can say that pisses both of us WP users right off./QUOTE]
Actually, the Band was released on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone same-day.

Not only that, but some features (like integration with a voice assistant) are only available when paired with a Windows phone.

I'd say they have their priorities in order.
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Now MS has released versions of touch Office on Android and iOS. Still no updates on Windows RT or windows phone. They definitely do not support themselves.
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captainyarr said:
Unknown-One said:
Now MS has released versions of touch Office on Android and iOS. Still no updates on Windows RT or windows phone. They definitely do not support themselves.
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It's very odd that after two years since the launch of Windows 8 that's still no touch first Office suite for Windows. Clearly they've been working on it, they just showed another demo clip. For whatever reason it looks like they want to bundle the release of desktop Office 2015 with the touch version and Windows 10.

What's funny though is a decade ago they'd be getting hammered for tying everything to their own platforms. Now that they seem to be almost fully platform agnostic as far as Office goes they're getting hammered for not supporting their own platforms first. But they may have taken platform agnosticism a bit too far.
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heatlesssun said:
It's very odd that after two years since the launch of Windows 8 that's still no touch first Office suite for Windows. Clearly they've been working on it, they just showed another demo clip. For whatever reason it looks like they want to bundle the release of desktop Office 2015 with the touch version and Windows 10.

What's funny though is a decade ago they'd be getting hammered for tying everything to their own platforms. Now that they seem to be almost fully platform agnostic as far as Office goes they're getting hammered for not supporting their own platforms first. But they may have taken platform agnosticism a bit too far.
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They are optimizing how much they can ignore actual users and maximize the pandering to IT dept's negative stereotypes of users.
 
captainyarr said:
Unknown-One said:
Now MS has released versions of touch Office on Android and iOS. Still no updates on Windows RT or windows phone. They definitely do not support themselves.
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Patience dude, it will come. Personally, I am super excited about getting a Microsoft Band to replace my Garmin Forerunner 305 that is having issues. Should have bought one right away, oh well. :(
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ManofGod said:
Patience dude, it will come.
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It will. And there wasn't quite the necessity for Windows anyway since it has desktop Office that for most things is touch enabled enough to work well for the things most would do on a tablet any way. There is a modern version of OneNote for instance but the desktop client I find to be much better and OneNote is one of the finest examples of a touch friendly desktop client there is. I hope that the desktop version still gets some touch improvements because even with the touch first clients, having the ability to run the full desktop clients with access to add-ins, macros, etc. is still useful at times even on a tablet.
 
captainyarr said:
ManofGod said:
I got my band, it is pretty sweet. I hope they eventually open it up for other developers.
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Cool. :D This has to be the first time in years I have been super excited about a product and cannot get one at the moment. (That is, unless you include the price raping that is taking place on ebay. :rolleyes: ) Sorry but, there is no way at all that I will pay $440 for a $199 device.

Of course, it helps that my Garmin 305 is in desperate need of a replacement.
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Steve said:
Do any of you wear a fitness tracker of some sort?
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I wear a Polar FT7 heart-rate monitor when I work out. I take the chest band off post-workout, and keep the wristwatch part on. My wife's got a fitbit, and she loves it. Me, I'm a stat junkie. If I had one of those things, I'd be focusing on it far too much.

And for the person who asked about smart watches, a friend of mine's got one and loves it. It looks like the Gear Fit, but I don't know that it's that model.
 
I'm not into these trackers that you keep on all the time. The one that interests me the most is the flyfit one. I need something that will assist in tracking while I swim. There are tracking watches for swimming but it costs like 400 dollars.... which is more than I'd like to spend on one.

I use a Nike GPS tracking watch when I run outside.
 
I will get one in the coming weeks.

This will help my coach, trainer, and doctor all be on the same page to check my data.
 
Well, I have one on back order at the local Microsoft Store. From what I was told, we will probably not see anymore until November 28th, black Friday. I wish they could get these things out quicker otherwise, people might lose interest. (Hopefully not though since these are fantastic stand alone devices.)
 
They haven't advertised them yet, I don't think this initial rush is their best attempt. It does seem to have a healthy demand though.
 
Ok... I see what's happening. The quote tags are screwed up and keep stacking weirdly. :eek:
 
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I really wanted this Band but it looks like Microsoft has lost out on a sale. (I was willing to spend the $199 too.) I picked this up from Groupon instead: Tomtom GPS running watch with heartrate monitor I still like the Band but, I find that this was a better deal for just a running GPS watch which was the primary purpose I was going to use it for anyways.
 
steakman1971 said:
Can Microsoft please stop playing the "Me too" game? C'Mon!
I'm just not seeing a lot of original ideas out of them. A lot of the copies are not going to make it. Why would I buy this over a FitBit, AndroidWear, or the upcoming iWatch? (Actually for me, I'm not buying any - don't find them interesting at all).
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Me, too? What else is a "too"? They've had tablets and phones for ever... You could say the same for every company out there. You think the iPhone or Android was the first smart phone? Innovation within a given market is still innovation, and ultimately that is how consumers win.
 
Well, picked up my Medium sized Microsoft Band last night at the store. (Back ordered and they just came in.) Have to say I am extremely happy with it so far. It feels just like having a watch on but does so much more than a watch alone ever could. It is also fantastic that once I set it up, I do not have to have the phone on me to use the health functions or just as a plain old watch.
 
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