How’s that for click bait? I’m pretty proud of the title if I do say so myself!
But wait, before you browse to the next click bait and be “Shocked and amazed at what happened next” let me elaborate… because I really do think wearables like the Microsoft Band have some benefits that most people will not think of at first. (I’ll even do a real Microsoft Band review at the end of this post)
How many times have you picked up your phone to check what time it is and then get sucked into Facebook, reading emails, or playing some game and you completely forgot to check what time it was? Or how about when you get a text message and while you had your phone out you get sucked into doing something else. Smart phones are quickly taking us away from life keeping many people glued to their screens. I mean, why interact with the rest of the world when you can argue with some guy you don’t know online about which political party is more evil?? I’d go as far to say our addiction to our smart phones could be causing irreparable harm to our kids and families. Communication should not be limited to emojis!!
I’m sure you’ve seen it by now, but the YouTube video “Look Up” sums up these thoughts nicely:
Which brings me to the point of this post. I’ve had a Microsoft Band for a few weeks now. I’m a gadget geek. I admit it. As much as I demonize the fact that smart phones may be killing our relationships, I’m guilty of the behavior myself. How cool is it to have the entirety of human knowledge in the palm of our hand! Oh.. and I just got a Facebook notification.. be right back…
Am I right?
Anyway, back to the Band. One of the things I really like about the Microsoft Band (and yes, other wearables) is the haptic feedback (that’s a vibrating notification to the rest of us) to alert me to text messages, phone calls, reminders, and emails. This may seem like a small feature and maybe it’s not even a selling point for the Band, maybe you want a Band because of the heart rate monitor and GPS (also cool by the way). But what I’ve noticed is that now when I feel a little vibration on my wrist I quickly see who’s calling, who’s texting, who’s that email from. If I want to I can read that text or the first few lines of that email. I don’t have to pull out my phone to check. I don’t have to get sucked into the latest Facebook argument or pictures of kittens. I simply glance at my wrist and then I’m free to interact with the world again. I can look up more.
How many times when eating out with friends or colleagues do you get a notification on your phone and you don’t want to be rude and pull your phone out? But it keeps bugging you wondering what the notification was and you never get fully engaged back in your conversation? Or maybe you are the rude type that pulls out your phone anyway while someone else is talking to you? Did you just harm that relationship? The ease of being able to glance at your wrist to stay informed and ignore what’s not important to stay involved in what’s going on is HUGE. It really is.
When you aren’t pulling out your phone at every notification, you are staying more engaged in the real world. You aren’t getting sucked into something else on that smart phone. You aren’t making someone feel like your phone is more important than they are. Relationships can improve, you’ll have less online arguments… You won’t get hit by that truck because you were looking at Facebook while crossing the street. Wearables could save the human race!
Still a stretch? Yeah.. probably, but still… I would argue that all of us spending less time on our phones and more time with the world would make it a better place (or at least more interesting).
So, when you want to know what time it is, instead of pulling out that smart phone and time sucking another 1/2 hour of your life, just look down at your wearable (I have also heard of this low tech thing called a “wrist watch” that can also do this).
Stay engaged.
Microsoft Band Review
Oh yeah, an actual review of the Microsoft Band? Okay, sure, here are my thoughts on the band.
It’s awesome. Go buy one now.
Not enough? Okay.. okay.. dang… some people. First of all I’d like to say that I don’t remember Microsoft EVER getting anything right or even mostly right on version 1. Can you? It took 3 versions for the Surface to get any respect and I’m sure they’ll get Windows right one of these days? I would say Microsoft finally got it right on the Microsoft Band out of the gate. It’s simple to set up. Simple to use. It’s not overly complicated with a lot of things you don’t need. I didn’t have any problems pairing it up to my phone. It just does what it does and it does it well. It’s like they took a page out of Apple’s playbook on this one.
Features
So, I may have mentioned notifications… love them… Emails, texts, appointments, Facebook, and Twitter… I just have to glance down and get back on with my life.
There’s also the Heart Rate Monitor and GPS that you can use to track your workouts. I’m not positive about their accuracy. I went on a run last week and had RunKeeper going on my phone at the same time and at the end of my run, the Band said I went 1/4 mile further than my phone did. (I’m going to assume the Band was more accurate so I can feel better about myself).
You can track your sleep patterns as well. I used to have a Jawbone Up for this, but I found the Up very uncomfortable and the amount of detail you get from the Band is much better.
I like that I can wear the band all day and night and accurately track my calories burned for an entire day. I like that I can see my resting heart rate when I sleep.
There are a LOT of other features but I won’t go into them all as I’m sure they’ve been blogged about ad nauseam.
Comfort
The biggest complaint I’ve heard about the Band is comfort, and all I can think is that people are stupid… or maybe they just have different shaped wrists than mine? I find the Band to be extremely comfortable, and I hate wearing things on my wrist. I can wear it like a watch or on the inside of my wrist and find it comfortable both ways. I sometimes forget I’m wearing it to be honest and it’s never bothered me while I’ve slept. I really don’t understand the complaints about comfort? I guess you just have to be careful to get the size that fits?
Battery Life
The other thing people have complained about is battery life. It’s not great, maybe a few days at the most. I never let my Band get low enough to really know. I’ll usually plug it up in the morning while I drink my coffee and then not worry about it until the next day. If you were going to wear it on a multi-day hiking excursion the battery life could be an issue, but if you can spare an hour a day while you are at your desk? I don’t think it’s a problem at all.
The other thing I have noticed. Since I’m not pulling out my phone as much, my phone battery is lasting a lot longer. That’s another benefit I bet you didn’t think of.
Expandability
There’s a lot of impressive hardware in the Band and the phone apps don’t take full advantage of all of it. I HOPE to see the functionality of the apps expanded to take advantage of the hardware. I have the Android version of the Microsoft Band app as well so I can’t take advantage of some of the cool Windows Phone features like using the microphone in the Band to have Cortana do stuff for you. Maybe some of that functionality will come to Android? Hopefully???
Needless to say, I’m happy with my Band purchase. I like where the technology is headed. So, I’ve done my part to save the human race. What have you done today?? 
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