Microsoft Band

g0g

Very jealous! I'm on the verge but can't convince myself to make that final click!

So many questions:
1) Will exchange rate improve before launch (assuming you get charged now?)
2) Might they announce other countries in coming days with a better € price?
3) Could price drop before Christmas?
4) Will bundles be offered with the new Lumias (which I'm also tempted by!)?

@MJohnston was your total bill £ 210 / € 300-ish?

MJohnston

£206 it was, with the express shipping being an extra £10 as part of that. I really doubt they'll drop the price before Christmas, and I'm guessing if there's a Euro price, they tend to be less favourable than GBP prices. A Lumia bundle might happen, but I don't know when or if! I'm too addicted to new gadgets

I'm waiting on Three to say whether they're going to stock the 950/XL before I pull the trigger on one of those.

Fingleberries

The updated Microsoft Health app has improved the Cortana support with Band 1 users with Windows 10 Mobile, it's still not perfect, though. Now Cortana notifications are delivered to the Band, but the Band cannot be used for regular Cortana actions (make a note, issue commands, etc.)

If you're on Windows Phone 8.x, Cortana continues to work as you would expect.

g0g

UK MS site now offering Trade In deal on the Band 2 for anyone that owns a Band 1 or other fitness wearable.

How much can I get?
Product to Trade In Trade In Cashback
Trade in Microsoft Band £70.00
Trade in a Fitbit with original purchase price of £99 or above £50.00
Other wearable fitness or smart watch wearable device with original purchased price of £89 or above £40.00

MJohnston

g0g wrote: »

UK MS site now offering Trade In deal on the Band 2 for anyone that owns a Band 1 or other fitness wearable.

FFS, already pre-ordered and all, but that's good to know.

Edit: seems from here that you pre-order, receive your product, and then get a rebate for sending the older product back in. Grand so.

CatInABox

g0g wrote: »

UK MS site now offering Trade In deal on the Band 2 for anyone that owns a Band 1 or other fitness wearable.

Well, that's me ordering one then. I had been looking around to see how much I could sell my current band for, so this makes it exceptionally easy.

pastor

I will pre-order the Band 2 and then trade in my original band. I am delighted. With the recent price reductions on the original band I thought that I would get hardly anything for it.

jos22

is the trade in for the UK only ? can people from Ireland take part ?

g0g

Got a link for a more detailed page. Unfortunately they've considered what I thought was going to be my great plan of purchasing a banjaxed Fitbit on eBay to trade in!

Some important points on the terms:

This Promotion is open to residents of mainland UK and Northern Ireland only who purchase a new (not pre-owned or refurbished) Qualifying Product.
For your Trade-in to qualify for the promotion it must be a working, complete and undamaged Microsoft Band, Fitbit with original purchase price of £99 or above, or other fitness or smart watch wearable device with original purchased price of £89 or above.
The Trade in offer is not applicable to products which originate outside the UK. Qualifying products must be of original United Kingdom localised specification. Imported/ grey market products are not eligible for the promotion.

MJohnston

Anyone remember how much the Fitbit Flex used to cost originally? Thank goodness for my parents having a Nordie address.

theothernt

MJohnston wrote: »

Anyone remember how much the Fitbit Flex used to cost originally? Thank goodness for my parents having a Nordie address.

But the Euro to GBP rate isn't that great at the moment

g0g

Band 1 down to £99.99 on Amazon UK and sold via them so free delivery if of interest to anyone. I'm only tracking medium so dunno about other sizes.

ablelocks

has anyone else experienced the rubber peeling off the inner side of the band? happened mine yesterday. bought it from amazon.co.uk, so should i contact amazon support or microsoft direct?

theothernt

ablelocks wrote: »

has anyone else experienced the rubber peeling off the inner side of the band? happened mine yesterday. bought it from amazon.co.uk, so should i contact amazon support or microsoft direct?

Yeah, it's a common issue - the 1st gen Band wears out quite easily, mine has and I don't even wear it that often

Davy

ablelocks wrote: »

has anyone else experienced the rubber peeling off the inner side of the band? happened mine yesterday. bought it from amazon.co.uk, so should i contact amazon support or microsoft direct?

I haven't personally but it has been one of the recurring issues which a lot of owners got exchanges for, I would try amazon first and see what they say. It will depend how long you have it. If your not happy then go warranty with Microsoft, might do a swap.

Keeping the charging port clean so it will charge properly is the issue I experience every so often

ablelocks

i only have it 3 months with minimal "exercise use" - and I have the stats to prove it! Not happy that this has happened so soon. Will let ye know how i get on with Amazon and or Microsoft.

MJohnston

Microsoft should be grand with replacing it, they've replaced mine happily enough a couple of times. If you don't get anywhere with Amazon, just give MS Band support a ring. I have heard of this issue happening to others, has not been a problem for me at all, but it's not uncommon enough for them to refuse to fix it.

Fingleberries

There's even an option in the Microsoft Health App to "Replace My Band". I'd doubt they put it in there unless they were expecting they would need to make it easy to replace.

CatInABox

Fingleberries wrote: »

There's even an option in the Microsoft Health App to "Replace My Band". I'd doubt they put it in there unless they were expecting they would need to make it easy to replace.

Pretty sure they put that in there for anyone upgrading from Band to Band 2.

Fingleberries

CatInABox wrote: »

Pretty sure they put that in there for anyone upgrading from Band to Band 2.

You could be right - It seems to be to replace the existing band registered in the app with a different one (Band 1 or 2)

I never clicked it before, as I had no need to, but did think that it was the sign of someone not very confident in their product

ablelocks

well, have to say both Microsoft and Amazon support were easy and quick to deal with - MS Band tech guy immediately offered to exchange, but told me to ask Amazon first as he had heard they would do a refund. Contacted Amazon and she offered an exchange straight away, but I then asked for a refund - no quibble, offered there and then. So that was that sorted.

I then got back on to the Microsoft Store UK to get a refund on the screen protector that I had purchased separately - but the lady there wouldn't acknowledge my point at all, kept talking about t's and c's and asking me to click and read policies etc. I asked her to escalate to the TMO and tone and response changed immediately! Got my refund in the end but it took a while...

So looking forward to buying the MS Band 2 (and presumably another screen protector as well) - I'm hoping there'll be some Black Friday deals on it either through Amazon or direct with Microsoft Store.

All in all, fair play to Microsoft and Amazon.

MJohnston

You hopefully won't need a screen protector for the Band 2 as it has the latest curved Gorilla Glass to prevent damage - the Band v1 in comparison was just regular glass, and scratched to hell because of it without a protector. Of course, if you're doing rock climbing or something like that, it might still need one!

pastor

Argos are now listing the Band 2 for 254.99 at the following link for the large pretty good price:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4475239/Trail/searchtext%3EMICROSOFT+BAND.htm

g0g

pastor wrote: »

Argos are now listing the Band 2 for 254.99 at the following link for the large pretty good price:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4475239/Trail/searchtext%3EMICROSOFT+BAND.htm

That's great news thanks,I had feared €300 in Irish market. Even better value if released in a period where Argos are giving vouchers back when you spend X amount.

ablelocks

ablelocks wrote: »

well, have to say both Microsoft and Amazon support were easy and quick to deal with - MS Band tech guy immediately offered to exchange, but told me to ask Amazon first as he had heard they would do a refund. Contacted Amazon and she offered an exchange straight away, but I then asked for a refund - no quibble, offered there and then. So that was that sorted.

I then got back on to the Microsoft Store UK to get a refund on the screen protector that I had purchased separately - but the lady there wouldn't acknowledge my point at all, kept talking about t's and c's and asking me to click and read policies etc. I asked her to escalate to the TMO and tone and response changed immediately! Got my refund in the end but it took a while...

So looking forward to buying the MS Band 2 (and presumably another screen protector as well) - I'm hoping there'll be some Black Friday deals on it either through Amazon or direct with Microsoft Store.

All in all, fair play to Microsoft and Amazon.

just re-read the transcripts and something I didn't know - if you buy a device direct from MS and there are 3 returns within the warranty period, they will give you a refund if you wish....might be useful for some people.

mark_m360

Microsoft have a trade in program whereby if you purchased the Original Band from the UK (eg. Amazon), you will get a refund of £70. You just need to purchase the Band 2 from the Microsoft Store and use a UK address (eg. Parcel Motel). All the details are the website but it's pretty sweet.

https://storetradeup.com/gb/en/pages/band2/home

Redgirl82

The Band 1 is available for £99 from amazon, is it worth it? or better off spending the cash on Band 2?

Davy

Redgirl82 wrote: »

The Band 1 is available for £99 from amazon, is it worth it? or better off spending the cash on Band 2?

You have to decide if the new design and updates are worth twice the price, but the first one is fine, and good for that price.

MJohnston

Review of the Band 2 up from WinCentral, some new features mentioned:

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-band-2-review

There is now an optional Smart-Alarm tool that only goes off when you are tossing and turning in bed. [..] The Band 2 feature works by monitoring your movement during a 30-minute window around your alarm time. So if you set your alarm for 7 am the Band 2 may wake you between 6:30 and 7 depending on when you toss and turn in bed. The result? You wake up refreshed and not groggy. Don't worry, though, you can still use the snooze feature.

There is also an optional Auto-clock feature called Rotate. The clock turns on only when you raise your arm up to view the Band.

Finally, there is a UV reminder function. This is an alarm that goes off after a defined period of exposure to the sun, and it is ideal to avoid sunburn. Since the UV sensor is now on the clasp, when worn with the display on the inside of the wrist it exposes the sensor towards the sky.

Those are nice little additions, and the review mentions they won't be coming to Band v1.

CatInABox

MJohnston wrote: »

Review of the Band 2 up from WinCentral, some new features mentioned:

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-band-2-review

Those are nice little additions, and the review mentions they won't be coming to Band v1.

The verge have their review up as well, written by someone that seems to want a cheap as chips device that does everything. It's a weird review. See here.