Oh, how the tables of technology have turned now that Microsoft appears poised to have Apple playing catch-up in the smartwatch wars.
In a surprise debut, the Redmond, Wash.,-based software giant launched its first health-and-fitness wearable, the Microsoft Band, late last week, sending Windows fans into a tizzy. The band quickly sold out online and in stores, appearing to set the stage for a successful holiday sales season.
With a combination of strategic design, pricing and timing, Microsoft has a clever plan to grab a chunk of the would-be Apple Watch crowd. Apple's highly anticipated wearable won't launch until after the holidays, a rare exercise in poor timing by the Cupertino, Calif., trendsetters that Redmond has successfully exploited with the early launch.
The Microsoft Band is part of a large, ambitious vision for Microsoft to dominate the digital health landscape. Part of the new Microsoft Health Platform, the device features a GPS, a UV monitor to keep track of potential sun exposure, sleep sensors that detect the quality of your nightly rest and integration with popular fitness apps such as RunKeeper.
The emphasis on health tracking comes in addition to text message, email and other alerts that you'd expect from a smartphone-compatible band.
Priced at a reasonable $199, not only is the Microsoft Band $150 cheaper than the upcoming Apple Watch (which starts at $350 and up), it is also a cross-platform device: it works with Android, iPhones and of course Windows Phone, meaning that non-Windows Phone users are likely to get a taste of the software with this band. While the Apple Watch won't include a GPS or a UV monitor, it does offer the increasingly popular Apple Pay digital wallet platform, some cool new ways to communicate (it reportedly "taps" you to get your attention) and lots of sports and health-tracking functionality.
The Microsoft Band isn't a watch. That's key in understanding how it contrasts with Apple's wearable. With a variety of band options and styles, Apple's fitness-and-health device is meant to replace the watch you already wear (even though so few of us do), and also to be worn all the time. It doesn't look weird to wear the Microsoft Band at the same time as a watch, but you're not going to to be able to wear it to a formal event.
I'll have a more detailed review after wearing my new Microsoft Band this week, but at first blush it looks like Apple has some competition.
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