The Microsoft Band received an update earlier today and one of the cool new features is the virtual keyboard. You can type your replies from your Band. While it sounds silly, it works really well. The keyboard uses Microsoft's World Flow technology, which predicts commonly used words and phrases. Want to see it in action? Go watch our hands-on video.
The only way to bring up the keyboard on the Microsoft Band right now is by replying to text messages. After tapping the reply button, you have the options to use the keyboard, voice dictation, or quick reply shortcuts.
The main keyboard includes the standard letters with a period on the top left corner and a space button to the lower corner. You can't see what you're typing until you swipe towards the right. Don't worry if you think you are tapping the wrong letters. As long as you're tapping within the vicinity of the correct letters, Word Flow automatically predicts what you've typed.
Swiping towards the left lets you change what's being shown on the keyboard. You can change it numbers or symbols.
If you see a typo, tapping the word displays three suggestions above it. You can tap one of the suggested words or tap the backspace icon to erase it. There's also a plus sign to the left of the word you tap on. This lets you insert more words to the left.
It seems the keyboard is currently restricted for text messaging. We'd love to see this option for replying to tweets as well. It's still faster to type replies directly from your smartphone, but it's nice to have another way to do it. How do you feel about having a keyboard on your wrist? In what situations would you type with the Microsoft Band instead of taking out your phone? Let us know in the comments!
