Now I want to buy one just to take apart and program with netmf.
I still think it is way overpriced and went be successful until it sells for half the list price.
Gus, itās cheaper than most of the competition, and offers compatibility with ALL the major mobile phone platforms, as well as both Mac and Windows, and carries more sensors than any available fitness band, including on-board GPS.
Will it sell well for $199? I have no clue. But it is no more overpriced than any other fitness band on the market, and given the intelligence built into the Microsoft Health service, which doesnāt cost anything to use (other than a willingness to trust your data to them), Iād say this is not overpriced at all.
Just my 2 centsā¦
@ devhammer - they are all overpriced! Too me $100 is just perfect and I would buy it even if I do not need it.
Wasnāt the Apple watch $350? What a joke! Again, my own opinion.
@ hagster: Any price indication for the radius ā¦ ?
Youāre certainly entitled to your opinion, but let me ask you thisā¦do you think you could produce a consumer-grade device, with heart rate, UV, accelerometer, gyro, GPS, etc., AND write polished software for the device AND write 3 mobile companion apps, PLUS 2 desktop PC sync apps, AND tie it into a massive data crunching back-end, and sell it for $99 apiece?
The closest thing on the market to this is the Samsung Gear Fit. Donāt know if the Fit supports GPS natively (though I donāt think so), but I know that the Fit only supports certain Samsung phones, and no support for iOS or Windows Phone.
I agree with you 100% that the pricing on the Apple Watch is nuts, but Iād bet they still sell well. And I would love to see the Microsoft Band at $100, just because I hate to spend more money than I have to. But I donāt agree that $199 is an unreasonable price for what theyāre offering, or compared to the competition.
And if enough people will buy it for that price, then by definition, itās not overpriced. 
I was gonna say, if a Band should be $99, then what should a Cerb40 cost 
@ godefroi - $10 or less if we sell as many as Microsoft does
Sounds good, Iām rooting for you 
@ PiWi - the short answer is that I donāt know. You can easily tot up to BOM costs from what Justin has published though.
@ Gus - Apple could sell used kitty litter for $350 / oz and sell tons of it as their marketing group has done an amazing job of selling the sizzle. Comparatively Microsoft couldnāt give away glasses of water in the desert, but Iām impressed with this little device (other then it doesnāt have any Gadgeteer sockets on it) as it is an impressive little device not only in terms of what it can do itself but also in terms of integration with Microsoftās health app which impressed the wife with itās features and that it is cross compatible with a number of platforms which is truly unique in this area. The level of completion that this device has coming out of the gate with customization etc makes me think they found some of the old spot watch guys and tapped some of their expertise and experience.
Microsoft has always relied on technology to sell itself which works Ok if the need is obvious but otherwise its just a crappy marketing plan that neuters products like Gadgeteer where the need is a little beyond peoples limited view of blatantly obvious (and we are talking about geeks in this particular market). Apple markets a need that has nothing to do with the technology itself so they donāt rely on peoples understanding of technology, in fact they count on people to not understand the technology so selling an overpriced product is actually part of the marketing plan, itās brilliant.
Iām going to try to pick up one of these up next week while Iām in Redmond but based on the lineups Iāve seen I doubt Iām going to be successful in getting one.
Itās not the hardware that makes up the majority of the costs, itās the software. This is the reality that I think hardware guys have a hard time wrapping their heads around.
My Band should arrive next week via UPS. Reading that Hacker News post is reassuring, assuming itās real. I was going to get the fitbit Surge (still might), but this thing sounds like they really got it right from a feature perspective, except for the battery. The battery life is still less than I would have wanted. 48 hours makes it difficult to use for sleep tracking. I canāt keep my fitbit Flex charged and it has a 7 day battery. Iām hoping that the utility of this will compel me to keep it charged, but Iām not optimistic. Thatās why I think the Apple Watch and Android watches will be a failure. The limited functionality of this, and the architecture, give Microsoft the best shot of having the best battery life.
Also, I wanted automatic detection of sleep mode. The Surge has that, and hopefully, Microsoft will add that in a later update.
Weāll see.
The Band is remarkably comfortable and I was rather skeptical about the display being on the underside, but it really is a natural feel and I have had no problem adjusting to the location change. Now I have to wait for the SDK to come out, Iāve got 3 apps I plan to make for it already. Thrilled that it is reasonably priced compared to things like the Pebble, Galaxy Gear, and Fitbit when you consider the functionality of it. My wifeās Fitbit and my Pebble were plugged into the same charger one nightā¦ 9 months later a Microsoft Band arrived.
@ Valkyrie-MT, the sleep tracking works fine. It has more than enough power to go all day and all night. Iām charging about every 1.5 days, but I have found that it charges to 60% in about 20 minutes from red low-battery warning, so if I drop it on the charger right before taking a shower in the morning it will have more than enough power to last through the work day by the time Iām dressed. It takes about 1:50 to go to 100% from near-dead.
[quote=āPintSize.Meā]My wifeās Fitbit and my Pebble were plugged into the same charger one nightā¦ 9 months later a Microsoft Band arrived.
[/quote]
Ha! 
If someone here cracks one open and manages to get NETMF booting on it, Iād love to see it.
I havenāt yet picked one up (I donāt wear watches, rings, etc. so I struggle with cool wearable tech knowing Iāll get tired of wearing it), but Iām tempted just to crack it open.
Itās an M4, but I havenāt checked manufacturer/specs or checked to see if we left any programming pads inside the device.
Maybe iFixit will tear one down?
Pete
Given how much is crammed into the device, Iād be pretty surprised if there was any interface for programming. At least anything user-accessible, even assuming you could get it open without destroying it in the process.
Looking at mine it has several screws, I think it comes apart pretty easily. Iām guessing getting it back together would take a bit of work because Iām sure the tolerances are quite slim, but it can probably be done. I donāt know about being able to access pins to program it.
Iām with Pete in that I donāt wear watches, rings etc (old hockey player I guess), but I did have a couple of the Microsoft Spot watches and wore them occasionally when the wife would drag me out to formal events and Iād use the watch to discreetly keep up on scores etc. I want to get a Microsoft Band, but needless to say they were sold out, but I did try the demos on so I know what size I need when they do come back into stock.
I canāt wait to learn about the chip being used flash and ram size