MS band U.S, apple watch 9countries.

[vineet_vpns12]

Huff! ( in her voice reply).
Even Cortana have no clue, what a MS band is.
But one thing she know, she didn't form any opinion about apple watch, or you never asked so I never thought about it.

 

[dkediger]

Band as a demo has came in reality on 29th Oct. It's approx. 4? month, in this time,, a company have to show their global revenue, their different statics, etc etc, but still playing water water.....
It's like 2 sides.
1.pupils globally are dying to get band.
N no news on its launch,
.
2.pupil know apple has launched the watch, they even know when its coming, and even that I'll be soon gonna available to their near by store's.

But it will also only work with an iPhone - indeed it actually requires an iPhone in some proximity for most of its functionality.

In my mind, this is the differentiating concept between the Band and the aWatch: The aWatch is mostly a shrunken iPhone, a remote screen for the iPhone. The Band is pretty much a stand alone device truly carving out its own space.

That doesn't necessarily excuse a limited soft launch, but as has been mentioned, the Band is really defining its own space.

 

[hotphil]

Lol who remembers the Zune? This is exactly the same stunt Microsoft pulled with it and it failed. I don't understand why its so difficult to make the band available for other countries.

You'd have thought they'd have learnt from Zune. Lots of folk wanted one outside the US, but couldn't get one. Then they pulled it. My guess, Zune music store licensing agreements couldn't be reached. Someone may well correct me.
With Band, there's not the same kind of legal stuff in the background. But what's missing is Cortana. I suspect Band release outside the US is at least partially delayed as MS want Cortana out there (not in Alpha/Beta forms) to tie-in.
Or they could just still be sticking to the "Cloud first, mobile first, US only" mantra.

 

[vEEP pEEP]

Apple dominates in marketing. Nobody comes close. The know to get it out to first world countries as fast as they can. They know people love their products and want to be the first. They want to sell out to increase demand and make news in all these countries. Smart Watches have been out for a while, but Apple will re-invent it. Just like the tablet.

I am an MS fan, however both Android and MS cannot challenge this behemoth now, even with better products.

MS had this ability with the launch of Windows 95 - they spend about $200 million and The Rolling Stones and had a revolutionary product - and then they faded.

The Band came out before the iWatch. It is half the price. Release it now. And not just in the US. Market it in the office - your Band will tell you how many steps you have taken at work (yes, on your Windows OS driven desktop or laptop). Have HR talk about health and fitness. Maybe a company will can use this info to reduce illness and long term disability at work by collecting data with employee agreement.

I don't know.

But MS needs to step up the marketing. Apple re-invents copy products products and makes them popular. MS - copy Apples marketing scheme.

Mr. V

 

[jmshub]

I don't see people cross-shopping the band and the Apple watch very much. They are just different products. But nevertheless, Microsoft needs to improve their international distribution with the Band.

 

[RJ Priest]

Just wait for Windows 10....

This is becoming the go-to excuse. While we have many reasons to be excited for Windows 10, skepticism is warranted. Windows Phone 7 was supposed to be the big game changer (remember the iPhone and Blackberry funeral procession held by the WP team?), then WP8, now Win10.

I can only hope that with Windows 10, comes easy accessibility to purchase Microsoft devices (no carrier or country exclusive 'flagship' phones, devices, etc.)

 

[vineet_vpns12]

Apple dominates in marketing. Nobody comes close. The know to get it out to first world countries as fast as they can. They know people love their products and want to be the first. They want to sell out to increase demand and make news in all these countries. Smart Watches have been out for a while, but Apple will re-invent it. Just like the tablet.

I am an MS fan, however both Android and MS cannot challenge this behemoth now, even with better products.

MS had this ability with the launch of Windows 95 - they spend about $200 million and The Rolling Stones and had a revolutionary product - and then they faded.

The Band came out before the iWatch. It is half the price. Release it now. And not just in the US. Market it in the office - your Band will tell you how many steps you have taken at work (yes, on your Windows OS driven desktop or laptop). Have HR talk about health and fitness. Maybe a company will can use this info to reduce illness and long term disability at work by collecting data with employee agreement.

I don't know.

But MS needs to step up the marketing. Apple re-invents copy products products and makes them popular. MS - copy Apples marketing scheme.

Mr. V

+1

 

[ajayden]

Yes I do agree that Apple has that marketing power. I am also sure that they will be selling loads of Apple watches. However if we look at the specification of the Microsoft Band, one thing stands out.

1) Microsoft band can be paired with any device, WindowsPhone, Android and iOS. This is a real advantage for the band, as the Apple watch can only be paired with iOS device. If Microsoft releases the band globally, they will also get a major chunk of the market, as we have seen that the band has sold very well in US.

2) Next feature is the price point. Microsoft band sells at $199 compared to $349 for Apple watch. An average user would only need to see the time, have GPS, pedometer and heart rate monitor for most of the stuff.

So even if there is no doubt that Apple will sell the watch in hundreds of thousands, Microsoft band still has a chance to sell a lot with the 2 features that stand out for the average user.

 

[Jcmg62]

Well, it'll be interesting to see how much potential market share MS loses due to not launching the band globally. In real terms, when the band was first announced about half a dozen of my gym mates were really excited about getting hold of one. They all use iphone, I'm the only windows phone user in the group. Its now been a few months with zero sign that the device is ever going to show up in the UK and the talk in the gym yesterday was very much about getting hold of the apple watch sport version. So there you have it, in a real world scenario MS have just lost 6 customers cause they seemingly can't figure out how to ship goods around the world. Maybe they need to headhunt someone from Amazon

 

[hotphil]

If Microsoft releases the band globally, they will also get a major chunk of the market, as we have seen that the band has sold very well in US.

To be fair, selling very well and selling out a very small inventory are different things. It's an emerging market and MS were only exploring it with the Band as an in-development product. They never pushed it, and the limited number of units available shows that. I wouldn't actually be surprised to see them go the other way and just trashcan it.

 

[paulxxwall]

There both different products . Ones a fitness band that tells time etc. The other is a smartwatch that has fitness capabilities. Ms needs a smartwatch and a fitness band . For casual times dinner, going to the club, wearing a nice suit, I wound not wear that ms band but the apple watch would look sweet especially that rose gold but would not sport that one while exercising either. But apple has sport editions . So apple may have a watch for just about everyone were ms did not go after looks with the band but its a band . Apple will sell more.

 

[Keith Wallace]

Microsoft didn't intend for this to be a device with wide appeal. It was just a demo of their sensor patents, in an attempt to get others to license it. They never expected the device to be this successful. Even if Microsoft had launched the Band in 9 countries, the forum would just be filled with complaints about being sold out internationally.

The reason Microsoft is staying within the United States is a simple matter of supply. They still haven't managed to get the Band stocked consistently for its U.S. customers. An international rollout, should it ever occur, would wait until Microsoft can get a stable supply that meets the demand of American customers, plus the other countries.

 

[Visa Declined]

Google is rumored to be preparing Android Wear to work with iPhone, which is something that many iPhone users are hoping for. The Moto 360 costs only $229 bucks right now.

 

[mesamit]

Microsoft doesn't know there is a world outside US. for example : Bing

 

[mikey2toes]

Microsoft doesn't know there is a world outside US. for example : Bing

Your right and ms need to stop releasing stuff just for us customer's and realize that there is more people out there that use there platform. I live in Ireland and there are less features here then in say India. We don't even have cortana ffs

 

[mkg3]

Microsoft didn't intend for this to be a device with wide appeal. It was just a demo of their sensor patents, in an attempt to get others to license it.......

Why do many of you say this as though you (all) have some great insight into MS strategy of Band. Is it rational and logical - perhaps but unless you have NDA in place - in which case you wouldn't be saying anything - would know what the real strategy is.

Further, it is not mutually exclusive to have a hit product and license technology and provide service for the product.

It just seems to me that you guys are just justifying poor performance by MS and trying to rationalize it as though there is an alternate big plan....

 

[dkediger]

Maybe because Microsoft has stated, multiple times, what the situation is: a demonstration platform.

That said, it is now time for MS to either fully embrace the Band themselves, or find an OEM to shovel it off to in order to give it a chance. The Cortana integration, as has been mentioned above, also likely has a large part to play. The recent updates are encouraging.

I would suspect that closer to W10 release, MS' intentions to make the Band a first class citizen or not will become clearer.

 

[Keith Wallace]

Why do many of you say this as though you (all) have some great insight into MS strategy of Band. Is it rational and logical - perhaps but unless you have NDA in place - in which case you wouldn't be saying anything - would know what the real strategy is.

Further, it is not mutually exclusive to have a hit product and license technology and provide service for the product.

It just seems to me that you guys are just justifying poor performance by MS and trying to rationalize it as though there is an alternate big plan....

It would seem you're ignorant of the situation and attacking facts as assumptions without actually learning anything about the topic. It's been discussed and explained since shortly after the Band launched that the idea was to present the Band as a means of showing off the sensor tech Microsoft has. It's been brought up multiple times in articles on Windows Central. Anyone who even somewhat keeps tabs on the Band can figure this out really easily.

On that middle part, I think there is a real level of disagreement here. Google manages to make its products work within a multi-manufacturer market because Google doesn't make the devices it slaps the "Nexus" tag on (instead letting several companies take turns making the devices). Apple has made itself a one-manufacturer ecosystem. Microsoft's holding 90%+ of the Windows Phone market because of the level of commitment to the ecosystem and the exclusive firmware features. The Surface has been the only true hybrid Windows device to experience widespread success, with everything else being from established brands from before Microsoft entered the game--and even those devices are convertible laptops, as opposed to true hybrid devices like the Surface.

When a company makes the hardware and controls the ecosystem, it's logically difficult for competition to thrive. Unless the ecosystem developer's hardware is niche or generally crap, it will almost always make more sense to buy the comparably capable, comparably priced hardware from the company who knows the software better than anyone else. That's why it would be tough for the Band to both be a cost-effective, high-quality device, yet not seriously hurt the competition. If the FitBit Surge was to carry the same sensor tech as the Band, why would you pay $250 for a FitBit using the same tech as a $200 Band when the tech is FROM the Band manufacturer?

 

[vineet_vpns12]

Your right and ms need to stop releasing stuff just for us customer's and realize that there is more people out there that use there platform. I live in Ireland and there are less features here then in say India. We don't even have cortana ffs

No Indian don't have Cortana , unless you change the region. Etc.

 

[vineet_vpns12]

Why do many of you say this as though you (all) have some great insight into MS strategy of Band. Is it rational and logical - perhaps but unless you have NDA in place - in which case you wouldn't be saying anything - would know what the real strategy is.

Further, it is not mutually exclusive to have a hit product and license technology and provide service for the product.

It just seems to me that you guys are just justifying poor performance by MS and trying to rationalize it as though there is an alternate big plan....

I would only comment on the last three words of your about MS.
"alternate big plan".. MS now don't have it, they had it months b4. (distribution of band w-wide).
Now this opportunity has gone.
.
MS should have hold band like a diamond, bit they hold it as "sand",
And no there is zero opportunity for them, as iwatch will fill that zone.