Microsoft Band 2 ships in Australia

Microsoft calls it a fitness wearable but its Band 2 which ships in Australia from tomorrow is every bit a smartwatch too.

Band 2 ships in Australia

Microsoft calls it a fitness wearable but its Band 2 which ships in Australia from tomorrow is every bit a smartwatch too. And given it also measures UV exposure it might come in handy in the hot Australian sun. It will cost you $379.99.

Band 2 is pretty similar to Band 1 which didn’t debut in Australia. It has a long curved 32x12.8mm colour AMOLED display with 320x128 pixel resolution, a Li-Polymer battery, two buttons at the bottom and a configurable list of tiles that scroll across the display.

It shows, among other things, steps and calories burned, floors climbed, heart rate, and sleep quality. The side buttons display statistics about your performance.

Band 2 also features smartwatch-like functions. You can access messages and you are notified of incoming calls. You can use the Cortana voice recognition system to reply to texts or set reminders. It also shows emails, calendar, Facebook feed, Facebook Messenger and Twitter updates.

Microsoft Band 2.

Microsoft says you’ll get up to two days of battery life from Band 2, but indications are you’ll get a lot less when extensively using functions such as GPS.

The Microsoft Health app collates fitness stats and is available for Band 2 for iOS, Android and Windows Phones. You can also access your fitness metrics on a desktop using a web dashboard.

Band 2 collects statistics on activities such as workouts, tracks cycling, walking, running, weightlifting, golf, rowing and sleep. You configure what activities show on the tiled menu.

The wearable device is stacked with 11 sensors that measure UV exposure, ambient light, galvanic skin response, and skin temperature among other things. There’s also a 3-axis accelerometer/gyro, GPS gyroscope, and barometer that measures elevation changes while exercising.

Band 2 is water resistant and dustproof, and comes in three sizes.

Until now Band 2 had been available in Australia only at the company’s retail outlet in Sydney and as pre-orders on the Microsoft Australia website. From tomorrow you can also pick a Band 2 up at Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and Rebel Sport retail outlets.