Microsoft Band

vorn182

Inside, you will get used to it very quickly.

vorn182

I believe that it rates the quality of your sleep, a rough night won't be a decent sleep,  which in theory would impact you the following day.  A decent sleep and you'll feel better the following day.  

I usually have "good", and a couple of times "optimum".

oasismark

Surprisingly i have, its quite comfy, tho i think i will end up swapping for a large, its right on the full size, id like to have a bit of leeway, if i want it bigger.

ok i dont need the band to tell me that, i have a 3 year old. means i will just rely on automatic sleep detection.

can you make the always on time screen brighter? its just a bit dull in bright sunlight.

vorn182

I would definitely swap it if you are on the limit.

I don't think you can make the always on screen brighter.  I can only see the brightness in the setting, which I have on auto.  But you are right, it's not very bright in sunlight.

I'm not convinced by the auto sleep detection, it thought I was sleeping when I was feeding the baby,  but since then hasn't picked up any naps.

vorn182

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/microsoft-band-135-99-instore-o2-using-20-open-code-2207818

oasismark

So had my weekend with the band.

Have to say its pretty good, better than i thought.

Good things
notifications are great even from a iphone, i didnt know it reads out longer messages to you, 1 word at a time.It also does notifications & facebook chat, and not just txt messages
Easy to use not loads of different interactions to learn like the apple watch.Automatically tracked sleep very well on the 1st night (see * later)Battery is well over a day, possibley 2.I havnt had time to go for a run to test the gps etc. but i did a test and it posted to strava perfectly.
Now the bad
Its really too big and bulky, ive had to unbutton my shirt cuffs as its just too big to fit under.*I had to take it off the 2nd night as it was catching on bed sheets and even waking me up.Within hours the edges were scratched, its the shape and positioning of it, you just cannot avoid scratching it.only had 3 calls over the weekend and 2 of them the band didn't pick up and show me who was calling??
Overall for the price its a great bit of kit, but..due to the bulkiness of it, i cant wear it at night and its a problem with shirts and jackets. Ive decided, I will be returning it and waiting on my apple watch order because of one situation, I was driving and my daughter was txting me to pick her up, but i couldn't reply without breaking the law, (not even a quick 'yes') and i thought whats the point of having this thing if it doesn't do what i want. So although i think both MS band & apple watch are gen 1 products and need more work, im going to go for the apple watch purely for its better integration with iphone for taking calls & replying to txt etc. I imagine with a windows phone its brilliant, but i dont want to change me phone.

bellso

For once, having a Windows Phone is an advantage with the Band [and so it bloomin should be as they're both MS products!!]

Cortana support via a press of the action button means you can reply to texts, emails etc over voice. When connected to my Audi's BT connection i don't even need to touch anything - Cortana speaks through my car speakers and asks if i want to read or ignore a text, and then if i want to reply to it.

I agree on the bulkiness with a shirt though, cant see how they can get it much thinner due to all the sensors. I do prefer to wear mine screen down, helps a little, never noticed it in bed.

Messiah

Complete agreement on above.  For once having a Windows Phone device is a benefit   Must add though that the Cortana integration/use via the vehicle BT has nothing to do with the MS Band but is simple phone Cortana being used.  Very cool function and one I have enjoyed for a couple of years now

^^ nice cat but spooky avatar btw

oasismark

Returned my Band today. However ill look out for Gen 2.

Even tho 'its not a smart watch, its a fitness band', i think if MS made it look more like a watch, and changed the orientation of the screen to a square watch like one, they would be competing in the smart watch category, and at a much lower price than most smart watches, they could really sell a load.

kayzee

Had mine a while now and don't notice it even when typing at a computer anymore, however it is scratches to absolute hell.

Most annoying thing is that with the iPhone the Bluetooth disconnects all the time, like... up to 5 times per day, very frustrating. Does anyone else experience this with Android or Windows Phone?

One thing I use it a lot for is alarms, surprisingly. It's just so convenient having a silent alarm going off to remind you of something that no one else knows is going off