Microsoft poised to enter health and fitness wearable market with cross-platform device
by Chris Dodd | 07 Jul 2014
According to Microsoft expert Paul Thurrott, the wristband will work with Android, iPhone and Windows Phone systems / Shutterstock.com/Dudarev Mikhail
Technology experts are tipping Microsoft to launch a new piece of wearable fitness technology this autumn, which will work in tandem with all three of the major smartphone operating systems.
Rumoured to be a rival to the Samsung Gear line, the new product will not focus on smartwatch capabilities, but more so on health and fitness tracking, with the device being described as a wristband.
However, it has been put forward by Microsoft expert Paul Thurrott that the device could potentially display smartphone notifications.
The device will also be looking to make ground where others have failed, by ensuring that it's compatible with more than two operating systems when syncing with a mobile device.
According to Thurrott, the wristband will work with Android, iPhone and Windows Phone systems.
As well as making use of Microsoft’s own health apps, Bing Health and Fitness, plus Healthvault, the device will also work with third-party applications too.
The wearable fitness technology and app market is growing rapidly, with a report recently finding that daily fitness application usage has increased by 62 per cent in the last six months.
Such is the importance for businesses of grabbing a share of the growing market, that leading developers including Apple and Google, alongside sports wear giants Nike and Adidas, have sought to make large investments to gain a foothold in the sector.
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Technology experts are tipping Microsoft to launch a new piece of wearable fitness technology this autumn, which will work in tandem with all three of the major smartphone operating systems. Rumoured to be a rival to the Samsung Gear line, the new product will not focus on smartwatch capabilities, but more so on health and fitness tracking, with the device being described as a wristband. However, it has been put
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"Culture is the beating heart of this project"
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
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