Microsoft Band 2 REVIEWED

I have been looking to buy a smart watch for a while and have always looked at the Fitbit Surge!

After Christmas we went shopping and ended in Currys / PC world. The first thing I saw was the Fitbit and immediately headed over to gage a better look and feel for the device. The watch had been reduced to £147.00 (£30 off) so was already tempted to buy it straight away! I think it was the style that I was drawn too and the fact it looks like a watch.

Having taken my partner, she decides to pick up the Microsoft Band 2 and says “what about this?”

I must say I loved the design and the fact it had a colour screen!  Although one thing at did put me off was the price! Only an additional £20, but £20 is £20!

After reading the description and facts about both watches, I opted for the Microsoft Band 2.

Apone receiving the box, I was very keen on getting it home and trying it out. I was expecting a long set up process, because after reading the reviews of the Fitbit, feedback was it took about an hour to set up!  

I love when you get home and open your new toys, you feel like a small kid again J The packaging was colourful and not over packaged like most of goods these day!

The watch turned on straight away and asked to be paired with my phone. I downloaded the Microsoft Band app and linked to the watch which took no more than 5 minutes.

I must say it was really easy and I was very impressed! Everything can be controlled from the mobile app, from the colour of the screen to the layout of the icons. You can also download one workout to the watch for later use J

Linking facebook, twitter and emails took seconds (The watch vibrates every time you get a notification, which you can read on the screen). If you get a phone call, the name is displayed on the screen, which you can reply with a text message!

Being the eager person I am, I charged it up and headed to the gym. I got in, clicked the power button, moved the screen to weight training and off I went. I always start a workout with a 10 minute warm up on the running machine, so it was a good to compare the calories burnt against the running machine!

Unfortunately the two didn’t balance. Heart rate on the watch was a lot higher than the running machine and calories burnt were double on the running machine than on the watch. (Not sure which one was correct)

After coming off the running machine, my heart rate dropped to a steady level. Throughout the weight training you could see the calories being burnt as well as your heart rate. I use my headphones while lefting and found it handy that you can change tracks from the watch!

First workout, I achieved 959 calories burntJ. When I got home, I reviewed my work out on the app, which broke down how long I have worked out, average heart rate, recovery time as well as displaying a graph!

Next, Sleep!

Used throughout the night and again reviewed on the app in the morning. This gave me a breakdown how many times I woke up, actual hours of sleep, how long it took to get to sleep and again with graphs.

Both very handy for me as I seem to keep waking up at night and a wanted to know how many calories my body is actually burning. (This will help me to then adjust the calories I consume during the day to then start dropping fat!)

Overall happy with the purchase and would recommend you fitness freaks to get one!

With everything, there has to be some negatives!  The stainless steel clasp scratches very easily. I wish you could change the direction of the screen. Would be helpful to have display going vertically. Waterproof would be nice for the bath or shower. And last but not least, a battery that lasts a little longer.

However, very chuffed with this product!

9 out of 10 

Reviews reflect the individual opinion of the reviewer