????最近你是否看過哪家大型科技公司的產品發布會？如果沒有的話，你可能錯過了一場“現代馬戲表演”。谷歌（Google）在發布Google Glass智能眼鏡時，謝爾蓋·布林和一幫特技跳傘運動員從飛機上跳下來，空降到舊金山。三星（Samsung）在發布曲面屏電視時，邀請到了知名導演邁克爾·貝，可惜大家發現他有幾行臺詞沒背熟。今年九月，蘋果（Apple）付給福德希爾德安薩社區學院(Foothill-De Anza Community College District )100萬美元，在那里舉辦蘋果智能手表的發布活動。

????因此，當一款產品靜悄悄地來了，沒有任何熱鬧與噱頭，反而讓所有人感到驚訝。這款售價199美元的微軟手環（Microsoft Band）是微軟進入可穿戴市場的第一款作品，沒有邀請一幫專業運動員捧場。微軟CEO薩蒂亞·納德拉并沒有搞一場演講來羅列微軟手環的主要功能。微軟也沒有在大屏幕上弄一些計步、鍛煉、心率之類的畫面。只是在10月末臨近的時候，簡單地點了個“發布”鍵，然后就開始接受訂單。

????這款主要戴在手腕的手環，是一個健身追蹤器，手環的一面搭載了一塊1.4英寸的觸摸屏，另一面安裝了一臺心率監測儀。像其它健身追蹤器一樣，它也有計步、監測睡眠質量、計算紫外線暴露程度、規劃健身計劃和跑步路線等功能。同時，它也是一款“智能手表”，可以通過溫和的震動提醒你注意。

????通過一系列手勢操作和滑動，你會發現，微軟手環也采用了Windows操作系統熟悉的磁貼布局(tile layout)。輕點主屏幕就會出現當天的各種指標數據，同時以虛擬化的方式顯示出你的心率。

????微軟手環被認為是一款可穿戴技術，但試戴了幾周后（正戴、反戴都嘗試過），最先讓人注意到的是它“技術”的一面。我從來沒有戴著它玩過攀巖，或是戴著它朝著墻或桌子什么的猛砸，但是我的微軟手環已經有了劃痕和毛糙。相比之下，我已經戴著我的Pebble Steel智能手表8個月了，但它看起來仍然像全新的一樣。

????在評測的過程中，我曾經把它與一款Fitbit Flex腕帶一起戴在手腕上，對比這兩款設備的計步和睡眠監測功能。（為了保證公平對比，我每天早上都會把這兩只腕帶戴的位置掉個個兒）。Flex腕帶要比微軟手環平均每天多計出1500步，而微軟手環顯示的睡眠結果要更好一些。

????這些差別也是可以預期的。每家公司都有自己的一套公式，用于將人的一系列動作譯解成“走路”或“睡眠”。當然，對于一款健身追蹤器來說，最重要的指標是它的一致性：它的監控能力是否足夠可靠，讓穿戴者可以依賴它改變自身行為？好在微軟手環的結果是具有一致性的，微軟總部的那幫人應該感到安心了。

????我尤其喜歡的一個功能就是它可以在我走路和睡覺時記錄我的心率。當我進入最高質量的睡眠時，我的心率會下降到每分鐘50次左右。當我處在一天中活動最多的時候，我的心率可能達到每分鐘130次。

????Have you watched a keynote from a major technology company lately? If not, you’re missing out on what I would consider to be a modern-day circus. Google once had Sergey Brin and a team of skydivers jump out of a plane over the center of San Francisco to announce Glass, the company’s Internet-connected eyewear. Samsung attempted to have film director Michael Bay on stage to introduce curved televisions, only to see him walk off after flubbing a couple of lines. Apple reportedly paid $1 million to the Foothill-De Anza Community College District where it held an event to announce its Watch in September.

????So when a product launches without any fanfare—simply appearing out of thin air in the early morning hours—it catches everyone by surprise. Microsoft’s MSFT -0.22% entry into the wearable technology market, the $199 Microsoft Band, wasn’t welcomed by a group of professional athletes. Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, did not walk us through a presentation outlining its key features. There were no step counts, exercise routines, or heart rates on giant screens. Instead, as the end of October neared, Microsoft simply hit “publish” and began taking orders.

????The Band, which is worn primarily on the wrist, is a fitness tracker with a 1.4-inch touchscreen on one side and a heart-rate monitor on the other. Like some other trackers, it can count steps, monitor sleep quality, calculate ultraviolet exposure, plan workouts, and map runs. The Band also doubles as a so-called smart watch, calling your attention to alerts with a gentle vibration.

????Using a series of gestures and swipes, you move through the familiar tile layout found across the various flavors of the Windows operating system. A tap on the home screen displays metrics for that day as well as a pulsating visualization of your heartbeat.

????Microsoft’s Band is considered wearable technology, but after wearing the device for several weeks (with screen facing both inside and out) it’s clear that the “technology” part comes first. At no time did I go rock climbing or slam my wrist against a wall or desk, yet my Band has already been rendered a scratched, rustic piece of hardware. Compare that to the Pebble Steel: I’ve been wearing it for the last eight months and it still looks almost brand new.

????During my test of the Band, I wore it alongside a Fitbit Flex wristband to compare how the devices tracked step counts and sleep tracking. (To ensure a fair comparison, I swapped which wrist each band was worn on each morning.) The Flex averaged 1,500 more steps per day than the Band and generally reported a better night’s sleep.

????These differences are to be expected. Each company has its own formula for how it translates a series of motions to “steps” or “sleep.” Within reason, the most important metric for a fitness tracker is consistency: is the device’s monitoring ability dependable enough so that its wearer can rely on it to change their behavior? Good news to the folks in Redmond: the Band’s results were consistent.

????One feature I was particularly fond of was the heart rate recordings that accompanied my step counts and sleep results. When I was experiencing my best sleep, my heart rate dropped to about 50 beats per minute. On the other hand, when I was most active during the day my heart rate would peak at 130 beats per minute.