A bit of a bargain - the original Band is a little on the clunky side, but fully functional and has more sensors than almost any other smartband or watch. Here's what I said in my original review:
Smartwatches tend to see a burst of use in the first few days and then things level out as the novelty wears off. Fitness bands tend to see activity creep up as you accumulate useful data and find more things that they can do, and I'd say that the Microsoft Band is more in the latter class. After 48 hours, I was ready to put the Band to one side as not really adding to my life. But as I exercised and slept and, well, lived, I found that the information being collected was getting more and more interesting. And, with some tweaking, the tiles became more useful to me, serving up notifications that genuinely saved me getting my Windows Phone out of its case. Add in Cortana and customised quick-reply messages, and I'm more convinced.
I've tried the Apple Watch briefly, I've tried Android Wear for a lot longer, ditto Pebble, all worn on the outside of the wrist and all with their own strengths and weaknesses. The Band is different, worn differently, collecting different (additional) data, and - crucially for AAWP - different in working perfectly with Windows Phone (8.1 Update 1) and above.
That's enough for me to declare it a success, albeit within the enthusiast sphere. We need 'Band 2', as described above, for this accessory to really work in the mainstream. Maybe later in 2015?
And now we have the Band 2 available in the USA - it's due to be around for review in Europe in the next week or so, so watch this space for AAWP coverage.