Integrating data across multiple Microsoft health-type products
OK, I am a Band newb, but I still think I stumbled into one of the problems with this technology. I know some of the folks on this forum are deeper in the Microsoft world, so maybe you can clarify for me. For reference, I own a Band and a Windows Phone (the awesome new Lumia 640).
I THINK there are three separate entities dealing with health data but they don't really integrate with each other (four if you count the Band separately).
1. The app for the Band, "Microsoft Health". Collects data from the Band and displays it on my phone (or PC). It gets its input from the Band, so it doesn't include things I might want to input such as food tracking or weight. Pretty nice, sleek, and easy to use.
2. "MSN Health and Fitness", a website and app. Great diet tracker, but the step tracker is not tied to the Band (maybe uses my phone's location??) and the app/site has tons of magazine-style articles and extraneous things I don't need to see. Might be good for a more advanced athlete, but as a person just trying to get started this is way too much information.
3. "Microsoft HealthVault" big data storage for all sorts of health information, most of which I would need to manually input. Looks like it can handle long-term personal medical record management and import data from certain companies (like LabCorp). It also has a food tracker but it isn't as good as the MSN Health and Fitness version, and they do not sync. It also has a step tracker (I must manually enter since it doesn't grab data from the Band). Really, the only useful part of the Vault is the ability to export data.
OK, so correct me if I am wrong, but these three sites/apps should be integrated with each other, and the Band, right? This is exactly the sort of obvious silliness that keeps Microsoft a step behind Apple and Google.... In my dream world there would be ONE MS-related health site/app where I could input data (food, weight, doctor's records) and it would automatically collect my Band data (steps, distance, heart rate, sleep) and this could all be displayed on my phone/PC.
Why isn't anyone in Redmond seeing this problem? What work-arounds are you guys using? As a lazy, overweight American I know that making this too complicated is reducing my commitment to change. :-(
OK, I am a Band newb, but I still think I stumbled into one of the problems with this technology. I know some of the folks on this forum are deeper in the Microsoft world, so maybe you can clarify for me. For reference, I own a Band and a Windows Phone (the awesome new Lumia 640).
I THINK there are three separate entities dealing with health data but they don't really integrate with each other (four if you count the Band separately).
1. The app for the Band, "Microsoft Health". Collects data from the Band and displays it on my phone (or PC). It gets its input from the Band, so it doesn't include things I might want to input such as food tracking or weight. Pretty nice, sleek, and easy to use.
2. "MSN Health and Fitness", a website and app. Great diet tracker, but the step tracker is not tied to the Band (maybe uses my phone's location??) and the app/site has tons of magazine-style articles and extraneous things I don't need to see. Might be good for a more advanced athlete, but as a person just trying to get started this is way too much information.
3. "Microsoft HealthVault" big data storage for all sorts of health information, most of which I would need to manually input. Looks like it can handle long-term personal medical record management and import data from certain companies (like LabCorp). It also has a food tracker but it isn't as good as the MSN Health and Fitness version, and they do not sync. It also has a step tracker (I must manually enter since it doesn't grab data from the Band). Really, the only useful part of the Vault is the ability to export data.
OK, so correct me if I am wrong, but these three sites/apps should be integrated with each other, and the Band, right? This is exactly the sort of obvious silliness that keeps Microsoft a step behind Apple and Google.... In my dream world there would be ONE MS-related health site/app where I could input data (food, weight, doctor's records) and it would automatically collect my Band data (steps, distance, heart rate, sleep) and this could all be displayed on my phone/PC.
Why isn't anyone in Redmond seeing this problem? What work-arounds are you guys using? As a lazy, overweight American I know that making this too complicated is reducing my commitment to change. :-(
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