A quick 2 cents: it was the first time I've ever bought a device within a day of learning about it, and even stranger, that I dropped $200 without biting my nails for weeks first. Definitely it was the specs that sold me, though TBH it never once occurred to me that they wouldn't work. The Microsoft brand to my eye is worth quite a bit more than other fly-by-nights, so I assumed I'd strap it on and my expectations would be met.
So far that's largely true. To enumerate a few examples:
- consistently good experiences with HRM, though I suspect it's running a bit on the fast side for me
- surprised that it estimates my indoor running distances within a few hundredths of a mile, though not across different speeds
- excellent connection to my Android phone (HTC One) and constant stream of notifications (no problem with vibration)
- GPS is spot on (too bad about battery life though)
- not sure the sleep data mean much, but it is tracking *something* LOL
- several of the sensors (esp. GSR and body temp) are not exposed but we may get access later on
The largest disappointments for me so far are:
- yeah, I can't believe how soft the bezel is (and I'm way compulsive about scratches)
- darn, typing/mousing is nearly impossible, but I hate to take it off for hours
and for me, the biggest peeve is:
- terribly woeful integration with MFP
I realize that we'll see better MFP integration in the coming months, but as a big fan of tech (who's weathered storms like these more times than I can count) I can feel it deep in my bones that we'll NEVER see it well done, at least not with MyFitnessPal. It's half-baked and half-a**ed at this point, which means it will only get *marginally* better. (OTOH, I have very high expectations for what we'll see next year on Microsoft's HealthVault -- if that isn't excellent I will definitely let off some steam about that!)
As I've already ranted on another thread (my FIRST post!), I won't repeat myself in toto here, but the basic concern is this: I'm wearing a device on my wrist almost 24 hours a day that provides "accurate" data on my daily calorie burn, and YET MFP insists on giving me four predetermined options for activity level (sendentary, lightly active, active, and very active) with fixed daily burn levels. Why my exercise calories and steps are transferred (and not always accurately) from the Band and not my total calories is a mystery.
tl;dr Love the Band, don't mind being an early adopter, and looking forward to planned firmware updates. MFP integration is pretty sad.
-Matt
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