Get Started with the Microsoft Band SDK Preview | Hacker News Reader

Get Started with the Microsoft Band SDK Preview

developer.microsoftband.com

49 pointsmnkypete33 comments

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Ideas:

(I'd be more interested in controlling my phone from the wrist)

Two-factor auth codes on the wrist instead of unlocking phone.

Beep my phone button (so I can find it when it's lost).

Record conversation. I have bad memory in long meetings.

Pager. A simple 'push this button to buzz the other person who is also wearing a band that you are linked to'. My wife needs me and sometimes I have headphones and can't hear her and don't see the phone light up.

FWIW, I currently get two-factor auth codes on my band just because it shows text messages out of the box.

That's more convenient than unlocking my phone to get the code when I miss the brief notification. My plan though, is to port my PIN grid proof of concept to the band.

https://www.wittenburg.co.uk/Entry.aspx?id=69e92695-f6eb-42e...

Going to have to give UI some serious thought, but looking forward to making it happen.

Some 2fa implementations need you to use an app to generate a token code rather than texting you a code.

SMS is not a very secure channel for that second factor. Better than nothing, but cellular has all kinds of security problems.

If anybody is interested in a some code, I released a small sample application: https://github.com/felixrieseberg/MicrosoftBand-Sample.

I really wish I could buy one, but alas it's not in the UK yet.

I like the concept, I like the sensors and I love that it's cross phone platform.

I've no idea why they are taking so long to get to other markets. Please don't make this the next Zune.

This is awesome! Im not sure what you can do with it, but skin temperature and heart rate both seem like something that can be used to measure things like focus and emotion (real mood bracelet). Im curious about the kinds of things people will do with this! Im also super curious on the app store that will be available for it. Will probably be a itunes kind of thing where you have to plug the thing into a computer to get the app. Its an exciting time to be a developer!

Serious question - why would I buy a Microsoft Band? Why is it awesome?

Does anyone have a convincing reason to buy the MS Band over the Apple Watch?

Turducken?

They aren't really head to head competitors. Two differences that come to mind are: You want it this week, and GPS.

Of course, that first one was more convincing several months ago.

ha. well they are competitors in that they compete for space on someone's wrist. personally, i'll only wear one device.

Sure. My meaning was more that I would not expect people to be carefully choosing between them, due to things like the quite different design sensibilities and so on.

i see what you mean. agreed.

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.

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.

From the linked article you can see links to:

> Band SDK Preview for Windows Phone

> Band SDK Preview for Android

> Band SDK Preview for iOS (coming soon)

I guess it depends on how much weight you put into cross platform.

Even if you just want to support one phone system you get access to a bunch of sensors that aren't currently slated for the iWatch.

> Use a range of sensors including heart rate, UV, accelerometer, gyroscope, and skin temperature, as well as fitness data, to design cutting-edge user experiences.

Cross platform support. I'm assuming Apple's will only work with iOS devices. Windows will support Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

It's also less expensive, and from what I can tell, less bulky. You can also buy it, where as you cannot buy the Apple Watch.

Also, not sure about the various types of Apple watches, but it seems like the MS one is just one type, and does everything, where as the Apple watches each come with different features.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure which watch comes with what on Apple's website. GPS isn't mentioned on the Watch or Sport Watch pages, but it is on the health-and-fitness page, so maybe it's only the sports watch with GPS? Not sure.

I guess the simple answer to your question:

> why would I buy a Microsoft Band? Why is it awesome?

It exists, and can do things now. Apple's Watch? Even Apple isn't clear on what it can do.

It's an odd place to be where Apple's product lineup is more confusing and less clear than Microsoft's. Reminds me of a certain commercial by a certain tech company mocking the difference choices for an OS. =)

I can tell you why I bought the MS Band: wanted to track my sleep pattern; I wanted to keep a track record of my workouts; I wanted to keep a track record of my running. Why is it awesome: GPS, UV Monitor, optical heart rate sensor; 3-axis accelerometer; skin temperature sensor; microphone; Bluetooth; touch enabled color display; etc.

Convincing reason to buy the MS Band over the Apple Watch: probably the number one reason for me is that it works with my Phone: Lumia 925. Other reasons: cost and availability.

I bought it for the same reasons. Have worn it everyday except 2 or 3 since I bought it. It's right up there with my iPhone and Air as my favorite device.

I will wait and see whether the Apple Watch is better. I don't like it's lack of GPS or size(I love the band/livestrong bracelet type form factor), but will keep an open mind. So far though, I love my Band and think it will be very tough to beat.

I'm unlikely to buy either, but if I were going to I'd go with the Microsoft Band. It's unobtrusive. The Apple watch looks massive, and IMO quite ugly. Square watches in general are hard to pull off, and that's with ones that don't jump off the wrist and meld in with the band better. This is obviously a superficial consideration, but if it's something I'm going to be seen wearing daily it had better look acceptable to me.

Built in GPS. I don't want to bring my phone on runs with me. For me, it replaces a Garmin GPS watch.

I have checked almost all MS stores neat Sunnyvale and teh Band is out of stock. Even their online store shows it as out of stock.

Hopefully they will fix the problem that no one has been able to buy one for a while. The SDK is great, but not that interesting if everyone you know bought a different smartwatch because they couldn't find the Band.

I've actually seen people from all sorts of demographics wearing MS Bands, which surprised me. I'm guessing the sales might have surprised MS and they didn't have enough made.

Nice move by MS for developers. Too bad you can't use the SDK on other platforms for development, OS X and linux.

From page 2 of the SDK docs (linked to from the parent article):

Given the multi-platform support of Microsoft Band, the SDK is also supported on all of the same platforms the current Microsoft Health and Sync applications are released on. This includes: 

Windows 7 or later

Windows Phone 8.1

Mac OS X 10.9

iOS 8

Android 4.2 (API 17)

Since the iOS SDK says coming soon, I'd expect there will be more SDK content for OSX when that ships.

LOL, anytime I ask about linux availability, nobody has anything to say about LINUX.

Will there be a Web API?

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