In addition to showcasing the company’s upcoming operating system, which features a unified interface, Microsoft has released its first health tracking wearable, the Microsoft Band. The wearable fitness tracker, which is designed to be placed on the user’s left hand, is priced at $199 and is capable of tracking the wearer’s steps, heart rate, along with stride length. Apart from this, the wearable also features a notification system, where it will display text, email, and Twitter alerts too. The product will be available to be purchased from Microsoft Stores in the US tomorrow.
The software giant has already laid out the foundations of its plan that it intends to reach to fruition; to make, develop and distribute the best possible hardware by which people can use to make their lives healthier and better. The device no doubt possesses an optical heart-rate monitor as well as a very unique feature of being able to keep track of your sun exposure through the use of its in built UV sensor (ultra violet).
Furthermore, the device also possesses a galvanic skin response sensor to measure stress, and a built-in GPS. While the screen size is a meagre 1.4 that possesses a resolution of 320 x 106 pixels, the great thing about the wearable is that it features a touch touchscreen interface and is powered by two 100 mAh lithium-ion batteries.
Microsoft has also made the device compatible with the iOS and Android platform and of course its Windows Phone OS, although the company did put in one limitation that iOS and Android users will not be able to take advantage of; a voice command feature. Through the use of a microphone, users can issue voice commands to Cortana, the speech recognition software belonging to Microsoft. Unfortunately, those voice commands can only be executed if the band has been paired with a Windows Phone.
