Microsoft Officially Announces Microsoft Band

Microsoft announced its first wearable device, the Microsoft Band in a blog post after releasing companion apps for their product.

According to Microsoft, the band “helps you keep track of things like your heart rate, steps, calories burned, and sleep.”

The band provides guided workouts, 24-hour heart rate monitoring and automatic activity counting, as well as email previews and calendar alerts. It also has Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) sensors, which can identify stress and a UV sensor to measure sun exposure.

The Microsoft Band is designed to last 48 hours on a single charge and can be worn all day and all night.

Microsoft is also launching a cloud-based health service called Microsoft Health, which can gather data from both the Microsoft Band and other fitness data gathering devices, like smartphones and other fitness bands. The Microsoft Health app is available on Windows Phone, iPhone and Android.

“We always insisted that the band had to work not just with Windows but with iOS and Android,” said Matt Barlow, General Manager of Marketing for Personal Devices.

The band will cost $199 and is set to be sold in Microsoft stores and website starting Thursday, Mashable reported.

Source: mashable.com, macrumors.com

Image Credit: www.businessinsider.com