Microsoft Band SDK Release and Band Studio Introduction | Hacker News Reader

Microsoft Band SDK Release and Band Studio Introduction

channel9.msdn.com

61 pointsnumo1613 comments

I've had the Microsoft Band for about two months now. For me, it's the perfect combination of pedometer, heart rate monitor, and GPS tracker. It's great for running and removes the need for an uncomfortable chest strap. Although I've found the heart rate monitoring to be inexact to say the least, I'm hopeful that that's something that can be improved via software update.

Very exciting to be able to develop my own applications for it now!

Did you notice any difference with your dedicated "heart monitor", if you have one. Please share, i'm quit interested in that

Not OP, but can answer. At its best, the band tracks relatively well to my chest strap. However, it's not 100% consistent - Some days the band seems to bounce around while my chest monitor is steady in the expected range. With that said, the band is close enough that I roll with it alone for my normal short runs(~5k) and only bother with the strap for longer distances. YMMV.

I recently had a full heart work up at a place that had me hooked up to an EKG machine while on a treadmill. I had a Band on and compared the data over time and it was consistent the whole time within just a couple of bpm. I was extremely impressed by how accurate it was.

It was only one day, but I left pretty confident in the data.

It's a lot more accurate when you set it to track an exercise. I believe it decreases polling frequency normally to save battery.

I have some weird heart issues and it can have trouble with that as well. If it's not set to track an exercise, it's frequently reading 10-15 bpm lower than my actual heart rate.

Okay, this is NOT what I expected when I clicked on the link. With all the crazy MS news lately, I honestly thought they were putting out a competitor to Logic Studio with a full SDK.

You're not the only one, sad to say.

I thought the same.

Yeah me too, more like Apple Garage Band...

Are there any numbers out there on the user base? How many people are you developing for?

If they gave you that number there would be no developers, silly.

They can't give you usage numbers when there is no significant user base, and they don't want to discourage you from writing software for it by providing you with the knowledge you will make no profit from it. :P

This is exciting. Hopefully people will start to create apps that extend existing stuff. First thing I'm doing is working on 2fa. Tired of having to get my phone out for that nonsense.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com