The Return of a Naked Wrist – Musings on The Microsoft Band

This is The End of a Naked Wrist Musings on The Microsoft Band. At least for now.

It was a fun experiment while it lasted. After an extended review that included bike rides, runs and lots of walks around the neighborhood and everyplace else I go I have decided to return my Microsoft Band.Not because I didn’t like it. Rather because it didn’t do enough of the things I needed it to do. This is not an indictment against The Microsoft Band. As I mentioned in this post Naked Wrist Musings - Part Deux  I’m not the (current) target market for this device. And, I’m OK with that.

My offer to Microsoft:
If you ever decide to make a waterproof Sports Edition and include Bicycle & Altitude Oriented Tracking I would be happy to try one again.
Hint, Hint … Microsoft … Are you listening?

Impressive Device

The technology involved in the building of The Microsoft Band is impressive and will have a future in the Wearable Computing market. If Microsoft continues to pursue what seems to be a strategy to drive the Microsoft Health platform, and I suspect they will, I expect Microsoft to continue to add a few more Healthcare Specific Functions (see my post here). Things like Blood Pressure Monitoring and perhaps Blood Sugar Testing could be integrated with existing devices. IoT, Gen X and The Microsoft Band

The upside here is these devices all become part of the whole Internet of Things (IoT) calculus and they can be powered by the Microsoft Band that is tethered to a mobile phone. This could be a nice Trojan Horse for the new Microsoft Lumia line of phones. Wisely, Microsoft made it so The Band works with other mobile devices. However, there is no reason not to cater to an audience that is willing to pay for a secure, easy to use interface that is the Lumia Phone.

Market Factoids:

• Retirement Now! There are 10,000 people reaching retirement age every day in the USA alone. These people, or their insurance companies, may be willing to pay to monitor their health vitals. I’m sure Microsoft is paying attention here. This is a market that is waiting to explode.
• Gen Y is Eighty-six million strong and is 7% larger than the baby-boom generation. (source: Barron’s)
• Gen Z are the Digital Natives. They have grown up surrounded by technology.

So Long For Now

I’ve realized through this experiment that I am not the target market for The Microsoft Band.

That’s OK and I was happy to give it a try. I was really happy to be one of the early adopters of the devices. It was by a pure fluke that the Microsoft Store in U Village happened to have one in stock.

I am willing to try them again. If and when Microsoft comes out with a waterproof version. Hint: Microsoft … are you listening?

Until then … This is The End of a Naked Wrist Musings on The Microsoft Band.

What’s Next?

As I mentioned in my previous posts I do think the Microsoft Band has a future. I’m pretty sure Microsoft is going after a market that is going to continue to grow. Especially as Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers continue to age and want to monitor their every waking (and sleeping) moment. To me the market for this particular breed of The Microsoft Band is to drive the idea Wearable Computing in the healthcare space. And, to a lesser extend drive or create an IoT model for the devices that may be able to connect to The Microsoft Band.  It’s clear Microsoft is using this product as a lead-in to the Microsoft Health app.

If you have a Microsoft Band let me know what you think. You can also keep up with The Microsoft Band on Facebook and Twitter.

Kudos to the Microsoft Band team for the website design, the OOTB applets and the Social Experience. There is room to grow here, but I think Microsoft is off to a good start.

Image Credit: Microsoft Corporation

Jeff is business advisor, mentor and community engagement expert. He has spent most of his career in the Enterprise Content Management industry. He brings over 20 years of Channel Sales, Partner Marketing and Alliance expertise to audiences around the world in speaking engagements and via his writing. He has worked for Microsoft, Kodak, and K2.

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