Microsoft announces wearable after early app release

Microsoft announced its first wearable Wednesday in a blog post after releasing companion apps for their product, called the Microsoft Band, in the Mac App and Google Play stores earlier in the day.

Rumors about the wearable have been swirling for some time and Forbes reported earlier this month that the band may be released "within weeks."

With the band, Microsoft will be joining a saturated market filled with businesses competing for the rising number of consumers interested in the quantified self. Lenovo quietly added a wristband tracker to its website this month and then there's the multiple Fitbit options.

According to a Microsoft privacy statement the band helps "you keep track of things like your heart rate, steps, calories burned, and sleep."

The companion Microsoft Health app is available on Windows Phone, iPhone and Android.

“We always insisted that the band had to work not just with Windows but with iOS and Android," said Matt Barlow, General Manager of Marketing for Personal Devices, according to the blog post.

"As we built Microsoft Health, we started thinking, ‘Why should Microsoft Band be the only device that feeds into and benefits from this service?’ We want it connect to any device customers are using to track their health and fitness. We want to remove any and all barriers to providing insights back to customers, regardless of the device they are wearing.”

The band will cost $199, according to The New York Times, a steal compared to the Apple Watch due out next year, which starts at $349. The band is set to be sold in Microsoft stores and on the company's website starting Thursday, the Times reports.

The app's open cloud platform "stores, organizes and learns from your fitness information in order to give specific prompts to improve your fitness," the blog post states.

The band provides guided workouts, 24-hour heart rate monitoring and automatic activity counting, as well as email previews and calendar alerts, according to the Google Play Store details. It also has Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) sensors, which can tell if you're wearing it or not and a UV sensor to help you decide on whether to apply sunscreen.

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“Once the algorithms know enough about you and your biometrics in a steady state, they will recognize patterns and opportunities to improve your health and fitness," Zulfi Alam, general manager of personal devices stated, according to the announcement post. "These proactive insights, or the ‘Intelligence Engine’ as we like to call it, are what will differentiate Microsoft Health, Microsoft Band and our products in the years to come.”

Gadgets, Microsoft, Mobile, Tech, Wearable, Microsoft Smart Band, Microsoft health App, App, Health, Smart Band.