Wearables for Windows Phones are few and far between, with only a handful, if even, devices compatible with the platform. Microsoft decided to resolve this issue by throwing their hat into the race with the Microsoft Band, a fitness tracker/vaguely smartwatch-like wearable. The Band was met with a few impressed looks, and a lot of skepticism. The Band works with all three of the major phone OSes; Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8.5. This review was carried out using a Microsoft Band and an Android Smartphone.

Functionality

Microsoft certainly pulled out all the stops in this category for their first wearable. They clearly wanted one that was as usable as possible. The band includes; a microphone, a pedometer, a heart-rate monitor, GPS and an activity tracker. The pedometer is one of the most accurate I’ve used, and certainly up there on the level with FitBits and other trackers. What sets the Band apart from a lot of them is its functionality as a Smartwatch as well as an activity tracker. The Band can display notifications from your phone which can be customised in the Microsoft Health app, and can even send a few pre-defined replies to text messages if you can’t pick up your phone.

While not set to “Always on” by default, the Band’s screen can be set to “Watch mode” which is similar to the Glance Screen available on Windows Phones. The screen brightness is turned to low and a low res image of the time is displayed, effectively making the Band a Smartwatch rather than just a Smart Band. All the data gathered from the band, Steps Taken, Heart Rate, Activity Tracking, Sleep tracking, etc. are synced to your Microsoft account through the Microsoft Health app.

Microsoft Health

the Microsoft Health app is the application used to connect the Band to a phone. The phone application collects data from the band and syncs it online with your Microsoft account. The app lets you customise the background and theme of your band, though there are only a few preset backgrounds available and the themes are the usual colours used in Windows Phone themes, so the choices are pretty limited. All the tiles and apps on your band are managed through the Microsoft Health app, even to the point of updating the order they appear. This can be handy as the small screen of the Band would make customisation on the device a chore. Removing an app from the band is as simple as tapping a check-box.

Design & Interface

The design is where the band starts to fall a little flat, pun definitely intended. I don’t know if the designer of the band had ever seen the shape of a human wrist, but wrists aren’t flat, they don’t have a straight line across the inside of them. There are three to choose from; large (49mm wrist height), medium (41mm wrist height) and small (39mm wrist height). I don’t have big wrists by any means, but a Large is just about enough to fit me. The device looks great, but for the first few days of wearing it, you really feel it. It’s designed to be worn tightly with the flat display on the inside of the wrist. It took a week for me to finally be able to wear it as tightly as is recommended without having to adjust it every few minutes.

The interface is very like Windows Phone. The watch screen displays one large tile with several other tiles beside it which can be seen by swiping through them. The large tile displays the time and, by pressing the action button on the side of the Band, you can scroll through your tracked steps, heart rate, distance traveled, etc., or you can tap on the tile and see all the information together. The apps are simple and easy to use, launching them sets them to full screen with a back button to the left side. The available apps for Android and iOS are limited at the moment, but not much is lost as the Band functions quite well by itself.

The Band isn’t waterproof, only splash-proof, so don’t try swimming with it!

Battery Life & other Comments

The Band has decent battery life for a wearable with an LCD screen, lasting well over a day with sleep tracking. I got into the habit of putting it on charge while having a shower in the mornings and it has yet run low. Since the announcement of the Band, and the initial hype around it, things have gotten quieter with regards to Microsoft’s wearable. It was recently, and with little fanfare, released in the UK. If you’re interested in getting one, there is an easy way now, without the need of resorting to eBay, by ordering through Currys.ie or PCWorld.ie.

Conclusion

The Microsoft Band is a peculiar device, it excels in functionality but falls short in design, almost the opposite of the Windows RT Surface Tablets. When you get right down to it the band is a really nice piece of tech, and I would recommend it if you were looking for a good Smartwatch/Smartband hybrid, but take the time to get used to it before passing judgement. I give the Band a 3.5/5; a great first effort, a worthy device and a must-have for any Windows Phone users wanton for a wearable, but it’s not for everyone.