Microsoft has marked its foray into the wearable space with the launch of its first fitness-focused wrist-wearable device dubbed the ‘Microsoft Band’.
The new Bluetooth fitness band will let users track their daily physical activity and review stats with just a glance at their wrist. The band offers 24-hour heart rate tracking, calorie tracking, sleep tracking and GPS tracking to help users keep a tab on their fitness goals.
‘Microsoft Band makes it easier to reach your fitness goals. You can track your daily physical activity and review your stats with a glance at your wrist,’ the Redmond noted on its website.
‘Just like a personal trainer, Microsoft Band guides you to improved wellness by constantly learning about you, your current fitness level, and your future needs.’
Microsoft Band features an adjustable rubber strap and a 1.4-inch, 320 x 106 pixels color touch screen with a customizable background. The dust and splash resistant band promises to offer two days of battery life and takes just 1.5 hours for a full charge.
The device has been equipped with 10 built-in sensors including the optical heart rate sensor, a 3-axis accelerometer / gyro to track movement, a gyrometer, GPS, an ambient light sensor, a skin temperature sensor, a UV sensor, a capacitive sensor and a galvanic skin response sensor.
The Microsoft Band will also provide users with call, email, text, weather, finance and social update notifications from Facebook and Twitter and an access to Window’s personal digital assistant Cortana. The device can also be set to operate on watch mode for a continuous date and time display, and can be used by wearers to make quick, credit-card and cash-free purchases at Starbucks.
The $199 device will work alongside iPhone, Android and Windows Phone handsets. The band is currently available for sale only in the US, there’s no word on the device’s UK launch yet.
Along with the wristband, the software giant has also announced its new health tracking service dubbed Microsoft Health.
