Now I Know Why Microsoft Abandoned the Band

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http://choicespregnancycentre.co.uk/public/Fckeditor/editor/ I used my Microsoft Band 2 for maybe four and a half months before the wristband fell apart (clumsily repaired by me with Scotch Tape in the photo above). This is not a minor problem, because the wristband is not replaceable and the tear exposed important-looking metal innards. Nor is it an uncommon problem, as I learned from Google. What a piece of crap! I apologize for saying nice things about the Band in this post, back in July. Microsoft has announced that there won’t be a Band 3, and it’s unloading its Band 2 inventory at a discount. Don’t be tempted.

Until my Band fell apart, I actually liked it and wore it all the time, even though it wasn’t waterproof and all I really used it for was to count my steps and tell the time. Also, it barely got through a whole day on a single battery charge. I could probably cover all my personal fitness-tracking needs with a wristwatch and a pedometer, but when my Band self-destructed I replaced it with an approximate counterpart from another manufacturer: a Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate +. The Fitbit does pretty much everything the Band did—in most cases, better—and because it isn’t tricked out with a lot of pointlessly fancy graphics its battery lasts much longer. And the wristband is replaceable.

Recently, I read that some people who wear fitness bands are more likely to gain weight than people who don’t, apparently because they view their supposed “calorie burn” as a license to overeat. I myself have always ignored the calorie-counting feature, since nobody really knows how to count calories and the relationship between food consumption and weight gain is immensely complicated. I just like knowing roughly how far I’ve walked when I play golf and walk the dog—and, occasionally, taking a peek at how long I slept the night before (which the Fitbit tracks automatically).

2 thoughts on “Now I Know Why Microsoft Abandoned the Band

    • My son had a nice Fossil watch many years ago. The wristband had one of those little rubber rings that keep the end of the band from flopping around while you’re wearing it — and that little rubber ring broke. We happened to be in New York, and there was a Fossil watch store right there, so we took it in. But the person behind the counter said nope, uh-uh, no fix for that, guess you’d better buy a new watch. Something similar with cameras: the most valuable part of a valuable camera is the tiny nub of plastic that keeps the battery door from flying open.

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