Hi Ya'll. As soon as I heard they released the Band, I stopped by the store to pick one up. I've posted some photos (pity I couldn't order them) I took in the store, and then while unboxing. I had one of those Friends & Family 5% discount cards, and since it didn't say anything about the Band I was able to use it, but they said I wouldn't get the screen protector or Starbucks card - no biggie. They offered the extended warranty which I wholly recommend for the Surface Pro, but I declined and confirmed that I had something like 45 days to change my mind.
After I got the Band booted up, it had about 80% battery left so I decided to just wear it immediately. The clasp is a pretty clever design, but I wonder about its durability in the long haul. The screen is bright, and it connected quickly with my L920. At first, I wondered wear all the additional apps were - the Starbucks, the Finance, the UV etc. From the phone app, you would add those applets to a maximum of 12 which I chose: Messaging, Mail, Cortland, Calendar, Run, Exercise, Sleep, Alarm and Timer, Finance, UV, Starbucks, Facebook Messenger, and Notification Center (doesn't seem to do anything). You choose the applets, you choose a color, a background pattern, and it syncs to the Band. With some of the applets, you can customize settings such as Finance where you can choose which stocks to track.
Putting it on, it really did feel kind of clunky. I don't have thick wrists, and it looks kind of wide because of the stiffness on the band along with the wideness of the screen. I tried it facing up like a watch, and facing down which is more my preference now. After wearing for about an hour, I no longer felt like it was clunky, and having it face downward was a much better way to view it in my opinion. Once on, it's pretty easy to adjust the clasp for a comfortable fit. Swiping around the screen is fairly smooth, and in the settings I was able to turn on the watch mode which keeps the screen on to display the time - if it's going to be on the wrist, it better show me the time.
I'm not that all into the FitBit like functions like a pedometer, but being able to see the heart rate is pretty cool. I mainly got this because there is not compatible smart watch for WP, and this is the closest we got. It does fit the bill very nicely, as texts comes in the Band vibrates and displays a few lines of the message. I could respond to the text with 4 canned messages, or dismiss it and fire up Cortana. Holding down one of the buttons, I speak into the mic to text so-and-so. Whereas you would normally get voice prompts from Cortana, you read the display and continue speaking by pressing the button with each prompt. So far, it works quite well in quiet settings. I've not tested it much in noisier areas like my car on the freeway-it didn't fare too well. Incoming email alerts also shows a few lines of the email, and if a call comes in you see the caller ID. Note that only new texts, email, missed calls and FB messages are displayed - it does not pull up what you already have.
I have not used the fitness functions yet, but will soon. The UV function basically tells you how long based on current levels when you'll get a sunburn. Could be helpful. I'll be using the sleep function tonight, so we'll see how it goes. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. The Band for me was to be an extension of my phone, and it does a good job of it. One nice thing is that the Band is connected to my phone via BT, it still connects to my car's BT for music streaming and phone calls with full Cortana use. The best part of pretty much all MS products is the cross platform capability. None of that Apple/Google crap where they just completely ignore the WP platform. I have an iPhone 5s from the T-Mobile test drive, so I paired to it and the app and function is identical to WP with one major exception - no voice capabilities. So, no Siri. As much as I like that WP gets some exclusivity in function, I feel that it should at least launch voice services on other platforms like what you'd find on a BT headset. For all its cross platform appeal, it may limit adoption from Android and iPhone users.
If your Band is on its way, congratulations. You should dig your new gadget. If you're on the fence about it, I'll tell you what I tell everyone when they're considering a Surface Pro 3. Just buy it, and try it out. MS Store has a 30 day return policy with no restocking fees, so it's risk free to try it out. Chances are, you're probably going to like it.
After I got the Band booted up, it had about 80% battery left so I decided to just wear it immediately. The clasp is a pretty clever design, but I wonder about its durability in the long haul. The screen is bright, and it connected quickly with my L920. At first, I wondered wear all the additional apps were - the Starbucks, the Finance, the UV etc. From the phone app, you would add those applets to a maximum of 12 which I chose: Messaging, Mail, Cortland, Calendar, Run, Exercise, Sleep, Alarm and Timer, Finance, UV, Starbucks, Facebook Messenger, and Notification Center (doesn't seem to do anything). You choose the applets, you choose a color, a background pattern, and it syncs to the Band. With some of the applets, you can customize settings such as Finance where you can choose which stocks to track.
Putting it on, it really did feel kind of clunky. I don't have thick wrists, and it looks kind of wide because of the stiffness on the band along with the wideness of the screen. I tried it facing up like a watch, and facing down which is more my preference now. After wearing for about an hour, I no longer felt like it was clunky, and having it face downward was a much better way to view it in my opinion. Once on, it's pretty easy to adjust the clasp for a comfortable fit. Swiping around the screen is fairly smooth, and in the settings I was able to turn on the watch mode which keeps the screen on to display the time - if it's going to be on the wrist, it better show me the time.
I'm not that all into the FitBit like functions like a pedometer, but being able to see the heart rate is pretty cool. I mainly got this because there is not compatible smart watch for WP, and this is the closest we got. It does fit the bill very nicely, as texts comes in the Band vibrates and displays a few lines of the message. I could respond to the text with 4 canned messages, or dismiss it and fire up Cortana. Holding down one of the buttons, I speak into the mic to text so-and-so. Whereas you would normally get voice prompts from Cortana, you read the display and continue speaking by pressing the button with each prompt. So far, it works quite well in quiet settings. I've not tested it much in noisier areas like my car on the freeway-it didn't fare too well. Incoming email alerts also shows a few lines of the email, and if a call comes in you see the caller ID. Note that only new texts, email, missed calls and FB messages are displayed - it does not pull up what you already have.
I have not used the fitness functions yet, but will soon. The UV function basically tells you how long based on current levels when you'll get a sunburn. Could be helpful. I'll be using the sleep function tonight, so we'll see how it goes. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. The Band for me was to be an extension of my phone, and it does a good job of it. One nice thing is that the Band is connected to my phone via BT, it still connects to my car's BT for music streaming and phone calls with full Cortana use. The best part of pretty much all MS products is the cross platform capability. None of that Apple/Google crap where they just completely ignore the WP platform. I have an iPhone 5s from the T-Mobile test drive, so I paired to it and the app and function is identical to WP with one major exception - no voice capabilities. So, no Siri. As much as I like that WP gets some exclusivity in function, I feel that it should at least launch voice services on other platforms like what you'd find on a BT headset. For all its cross platform appeal, it may limit adoption from Android and iPhone users.
If your Band is on its way, congratulations. You should dig your new gadget. If you're on the fence about it, I'll tell you what I tell everyone when they're considering a Surface Pro 3. Just buy it, and try it out. MS Store has a 30 day return policy with no restocking fees, so it's risk free to try it out. Chances are, you're probably going to like it.
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