http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us   Last Thursday, Microsoft quietly announced its first wearable hardware, the Microsoft Band. It started shipping the next day and could be purchased at Microsoft retails stores. This action makes me wonder the strategy Microsoft is adopting behind it. As we are all aware of, a vast majority of Microsoft’s revenue comes from business and OEM(other equipment manufacturer) sales. Microsoft authorizes other PC manufacturers to pre-install windows and at the same time, hopes that the manufacturers can make great products. But when manufacturers failed to do so (like the PC sales downturn a couple of years ago), Microsoft launched the Surface. Surface was never an act of competing with the others, it was made to stimulate PC manufacturers to make better products. This is the reason why the performance of Surface isn’t the key issue for Microsoft, the more truthful meaning behind was other manufacturers managed to make tablet-pcs, making PC even more portable and even “touchable”. In my opinion, Microsoft Band adopts this strategy as well. Microsoft probably never expected its Band leading the fitness wearable industry, the company hopes that the OEMs purchase its hardware and software license, just like what they did to PCs. The Band itself may be an excellence in the field, but it would never be so outstanding that it scares away its potential partners.     Another thing, just one day before the announcement of the Microsoft Band, Microsoft uploaded its app Microsoft Health Vault in most mobile app stores. This may be a sign indicating Microsoft is willing to use the Band as its first attempt to the market, attracting attentions from other OEMs and as well as compete against Google Fitness and Apple HealthKit by using Microsoft Band to partner with other OEMs to enhance its platform — Microsoft Health. I also noticed that there isn’t an icon or any labeling saying Microsoft on the Microsoft Band. This might be another sign showing Microsoft’s long-term strategy.