May 18, 2016

Live Healthier with the new Microsoft Band {Review}

Disclosure: In partnership with Women's Health as a WH Action Hero, I received a complimentary Microsoft Band for review purposes. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Now that I’ve made some big fall race decisions and have new fitness aspirations, it’s time to get motivated. I’m always looking for ways to keep living happier and healthier while getting involved in bigger and better things.  As a busy person, I’m also always looking for things that can help me do that.  With the school semester winding down (thank God) and a light summer class load (thank God again), I have more time to get into a really solid routine and focus a little more on getting stronger.  

I was lucky enough to get to try out another new fancy fitness band, this time the new Microsoft Band, thanks to my partnership as a Women’s Health Action Hero. While I’m not a huge numbers person I do find that casually knowing my steps and being reminded to move on more sedentary days can help. Also the sleep trackers on fitness devices is a great reminder of how much my body actually needs more sleep which leads to stronger fitness and better overall productivity. Getting better sleep is pretty much always a work in progress for me, le sigh

Out of the box, the new Microsoft Band was really easy to use and figure out, which is a huge plus. The Microsoft Band itself comes with a USB charging cable and a paper manual and quick start guide.  It's a little bulky but fairly comfortable to wear. 

Live Healthier with the new Microsoft Band {Review}


Using the Microsoft style of tiles took a little getting used to but merely because I had never used it before on their phone or OS interface.  It was easily to configure what tiles you wanted in what order to display on your band as well as change the settings. You can also customize the home screen color and design;  I chose a blue patterned screen.  You can tap or swipe the home screen to get information. Tapping lets you look at metrics like steps. 
 
Live Healthier with the new Microsoft Band {Review}
Home screen with step count
I found the step and floor count comparable to other devices, based on what they usually tell me my average is. I think they are all slightly inaccurate, so I don’t focus on it too much, but I do like to compare my daily averages to each other sometimes. 

Here are my thoughts on some of the Microsoft Band's features: 

Features Overview


Heart Rate Monitor
            I don’t find the HR sensor on the wrist as accurate as the chest band, in general. For basic HR though, this device was fine. It has an optical HR sensor on the inside of the device with two little LED green lights that supposedly read blood-flow in your wrist and determine your heart rate continuously throughout the day. 

  Microsoft Health App
            Their app gives you all the basic health & fitness metrics you want. I accessed this app on my Android™ phone, but it also works with the Windows Phone and iPhone®. The Microsoft Band can also connect to other for those only delivers basic data.   

Run and Exercise Tracking
            Obviously, this was one of the biggest tests for me since I usually use a Garmin watch (and not my phone) to track runs. I also used this to track my heart rate and calorie burn during a Yoga Sculpt class and a couple lifting sessions. During runs, I was surprised how much I liked it. I simply turned on my GPS if I was outside, tapped on the "running man" icon, and pressed the bottom button to start the run. I turned off the screen during runs to save battery, besides periodically checking my distance or pace. 

Live Healthier with the new Microsoft Band {Review}

The Microsoft Band has really nice functionality and statistics for workouts. You can download guided workouts, although I haven't used that feature. 

Phone Stuff
 Like smart watches, you can receive basic information from your phone, such as text messages, calls, emails and calendar, if you set it up. I found it burned the battery more, so I just had text and calls synced with my phone’s Bluetooth. 

GPS and Zzzzs
GPS during runs seemed surprisingly accurate and didn’t take long to connect in the city.It also tracks sleep automatically-without having to turn on it on-which was a big plus.
           
Overview

You can only have a certain number of tiles or apps on the band, which was a little annoying.  The battery lasted about two days which is comparable to my FitBit. I thought it was pretty for solid day-to-day use and a nice alternative to other fitness trackers and smart watches. 

Overall I think the Microsoft Band is a nice mid-range functionality-wise device that I can see myself wearing on a regular basis for daily tracking or workouts.  



Do you use a fitness tracker? What's the most motivating feature for you? 

8 comments:

  1. I'm loving this Garmin VivoActive HR watch even if I'm not sure how accurate some pieces of it are. I try to stay away from numbers but I am enjoying seeing how much activity I get in a day. I don't think I realized how active I am some days!

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    1. Girl you are super active-I'm sure you rock your step counts!

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  2. One of my clients has this, and I've been curious about it. Right now, I don't want to know how many steps I am NOT taking, lol.

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    1. LOL same. This watch is a interesting twist on the fitness tracker though!

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  3. I hadn't heard about the Microsoft Band, it looks really cool! I do feel silly wearing my Nike+ watch and Fitbit at the same time, it would be nice to have a device that could do it all!

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    1. Haha I feel ya. I rocked both my Garmin and Fitbit for a while!

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  4. Where did you get your "positive energy" bracelet? I love it but don't know where they can be had.

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    1. Hi! It is from Momentum Jewelry. They are one of my favorite brands that I'm also happy to be an ambassador for. I am constantly wearing their Motivate Wrap bracelets. https://momentumjewelry.com/

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