12 days of Christmas gifts: day 3 is the Microsoft Band

As I wrote about here, fitness trackers have come a long way since the days of stop watches and simple pedometers.

Today they can count your steps, monitor your heart rate, track your sleep patterns, provide vital data for specific sports and activities, and much more. All while keeping you connected to your email, text messages and nearly every other popular form of communication these days.

Fitness trackers are far more than a fading craze—it’s a segment that will continue to grow and expand in the years and decades to come. This is why it makes such a great gift this Christmas season.

Whether it’s for your partner that keeps saying, “I swear, I’m going to get more serious about my health this year!” or for your parents who need a fun way to get back into the fitness game, it’s a gift that literally keeps on giving.

Enter the Microsoft Band 2. As Matt Paligaru wrote, the Microsoft Band 2 is “one of the most, if not the most comprehensive wearable on the market today.”

Microsoft Band 2 Features

This device is chock-full of features, making it a gift that will keep your family member or friend thanking you throughout the year.

Top of the list features include:

• Continuous Optimal Heart Rate Monitor. This not only tracks your heart rate continuously, as the name suggests, but it also tracks your sleep quality and calorie burn.
• Fitness Tracking. The Microsoft Band 2 is created to track specific sports and activities, providing vital information that you want for the given sport including running, biking and golf. It also provides fitness advice.
• Advanced Technology. It has 11 sensors that help measure nearly everything imaginable, such as your elevation—particularly of use for hikers and mountain climbers. Other features, such as built-in GPS, are a given on a device as advanced as this one.

Microsoft Band 2 Design

The band was completely redesigned to be sleeker and sexier. The body fits on your wrist much more naturally. The band has no hard edges so it’s more at one with you as you get out and get active.

It also features a scratch resistant screen that uses Corning Gorilla Glass 3 technology. This is a formulated glass that is incredibly durable and strong, ensuring it lasts no matter what you’re doing.

Microsoft Health

Microsoft Band 2 pairs with the Microsoft Health App. The band can upload all your data to the app so you see the details of your latest workout, set new wellness goals, see easy-to-understand charts on your activity, receive advice and much more.

The Microsoft Band 2 comes in three different sizes—Small, Medium and Large—ensuring it’s a Christmas gift that will fit everyone in your life.

Click here to read more articles in our 12 days of gift giving series