Hacker News Reader

Comment by chiph | Hacker News Reader

Looking at the feature list, the Apple Watch appears to be more of a "lifestyle" device. While Apple may add apps later (or 3rd party developers), it doesn't appear to do sports/fitness tracking, sleep efficiency tracking, etc. The Microsoft Band does.

However, if you're a serious athlete, you'd probably want a different device, as neither are waterproof. So for triathlon, or just wearing in the shower, pick something like the Garmin or the Basis.

I have a Band, and within the device's limitations, it's excellent. I'm able to read and send messages while leaving the phone in my pocket (handy in Austin that has a "hands-free" law when driving). Simple Cortana queries show up on the screen, while more complex answers ("Show me the closest tailor") require you to look at your phone.

View on HN

great points. i have thought about how i wouldn't apple watch during my hockey games.

what kind of phone are you using with your band?

I also have a Band. It doesn't work with my iPhone 4, just 4S and above--although maybe this update will fix that (unless the 4's bluetooth is too old).

I use it with the desktop sync app. This means I don't get text notifications or anything like that, but the health tracking is fantastic.

The Band uses Bluetooth LE for notifications, so it's unlikely you'll ever be able to use the Band with the iPhone 4.

Thanks! That's what I guessed but never knew for sure. Hopefully v2 will ship with WiFi. Til then, maybe I should get a new phone.

I have a Windows Phone, my brother also owns a MS Band and he has an iPhone (not the latest, but the one before), another family member has an Android phone (Galaxy something). The MS Band app is available on all three stores but only mine integrates with Cortana (which is great).

To get the Cortana integration, you need to have a Lumia (Windows Phone). Which is understandable, since Cortana is proprietary to the Windows ecosystem, just like Siri is to iOS and Google Now is to Android.

The rest of the Band features work on either Android or iOS. The New Microsoft seems to be platform agnostic where it makes sense. Which is cool.

I've got a Lumia 920. The software is excellent, but the design of the case could be better. I added skateboard tape to the back to keep it from slipping out of my pocket (which always seemed to happen in movie theaters...) Resale value won't be anything like that of an iPhone, mostly because the plastic case is showing wear & dings that the glass + aluminum iPhone wouldn't have.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com