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Fitness Tracker

Mi Band Pulse Xiaomi Activity Tracker Gift Guide 2015
Wearable Technology

$15 Mi Band Fitness Tracker Adds Heart Rate Monitor

November 13, 2015

Mi Band Pulse Xiaomi

Believe it or not, chances are you have never heard of the company responsible for selling a quarter of the world’s wearable devices (*based on Q1 2015 numbers). When you hear sales number like that, you think of Fitbit or Jawbone or maybe even Apple, but it is actually Chinese technology company Xiaomi. And the company hasn’t been at it very long either; they introduced their first wearable during the second half of 2014 – the bargain priced Mi Band. Well, a year later, Xiaomi has updated the Mi Band to include an Optical Heart Rate Monitor. For less than a Jackson ($15 or 99 Yuan) you can buy the Mi Band Pulse, a rubberized bracelet that tracks your activity and sleep patterns, alerts you to notifications / phone calls, and records your heart rate. For the time being, no other fitness tracker comes even close to competing on price / features. The wearable is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Sadly there is no word on when Xiaomi plans to release the Mi Band Pulse outside of China and resellers are asking for a sizable premium on eBay.

Products such as Mi Band Pulse exemplify a larger trend in the wearable category. It seems that fitness trackers are in a race to the bottom. With entries such as Garmin and Misfit, people have begun to expecting more for less from their fitness trackers. When a $15 Mi Band Pulse offers extremely similar features to a $180 device (the Jawbone UP3), who is going to buy the $180 device. The feature set for fitness trackers can only expand so far and, beyond a phone app, there is very little software interaction by the end user. As long as it tracks your movement, one device is as good as another. Smartwatches, on the other hand, are rising in prices. This is partly due to the complexity of the wearable but also because buyers are expecting higher-end and higher-end finishes on the hardware. With such a complex device, there is a huge difference between a bargain brand and a higher end device. The software required to run a smartwatch and allow the user to interact with it needs to be very well thought out and executed near perfectly; unless you are licensing Android Wear, a tremendous amount of resources are required to achieve this. I think we will continue to see stratification between different types of devices in the wearable category and we are fascinated to see how the whole thing settles out over the next few years.

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by Doug Parker
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Garmin Vivosmart HR VivosmartHR Vivofit
Wearable Technology

Garmin Debuts Completely Redesigned Vivosmart HR Fitness Tracker

October 27, 2015

Garmin Vivosmart HR VivosmartHR Vivofit

Garmin’s Vivofit and Vivofit 2 have proven to be big hits for the company. While the list of features isn’t steep, the wearable is a very capable fitness tracker with a staggering 1 year battery life and stylish interchangeable bands. But a bare bones activity tracker isn’t for everyone; for those looking for a step up (or a new device after their non-replaceable Vivofit battery dies), Garmin has introduced the completely redesigned Vivosmart HR. Garmin has completely dumped the design of the original Vivosmart, favoring a new look based on the Vivofit 2. As the Vivosmart HR name gives away, the biggest feature of the new mid-tier activity tracker is the addition of an optical heart rate sensor. Based off of the company’s ‘Elevate’ technology used in their high end running watches, the heart rate sensor provides 24/7 monitoring. The company has improved the fitness tracking capability of band, adding a barometer to track steps climbed and the ability to atomically track how many minutes a week of intense activity you partake in. Garmin has also improved upon the “connected” features of the previous Vivosmart. The new device still vibrates and displays notifications but has added the ability to communicate back to your phone. This means you can now use the Vivosmart HR to control music playback or to help you find your misplaced phone. The tiny monochrome touch screen of the original Vivosmart has been also upgraded to a more roomy 1in x .42in screen, similar in size to the Vivofit 2. About the only downside when comparing the Vivosmart HR to the original band is that the HR version only has a 5 day battery life versus the original’s 7 day. Still, that is excellent for a connected device with an optical heart rate sensor. The Vivosmart HR will launch in early November for a list price of $149.99.

I think the new Vivosmart HR will likely be a home run Garmin. The device strikes the sweet-spot of balancing price versus features. The small, simple screen is more than sufficient and allows the activity tracker to have a 5 day battery life (which is among the best). There is an audience of people who are not ready for a full-on smartwatch and devices such as the Vivosmart HR provide a lot of the features of low end smartwatch without the complication. Versus some of its competitors, such as the Fitbit Charge HR, the Vivosmart HR is a much more capable and user friendly device. With all of the Vivofits sold during the Holidays last year needing to be replaced soon, Vivosmart HR could be positioned well to make it onto people’s gift lists..provided they don’t make the jump to a smartwatch.

 

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by Doug Parker
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Fossil Q Wearables Smartwatch
Wearable Technology

Fossil Finally Ready To Release Line Of Wearable Devices

October 21, 2015

Fossil Q Wearables Smartwatch

Over a year after they were originally teased, Fossil is getting ready to release their first wearable devices. There are 4 connected products in total, which are all branded as Fossil Q. The flagship product is the Q Founder, a stylish, circular Android Wear smartwatch. It lists for $275 and will be available sometime before the Holidays. From a functionality standpoint, the Q Founder behaves much as you would expect an Android Wear device to. Fossil has also created a special app for the smartwatch to sync with. The app is used to track your fitness data, manage notifications, and encourage you to be “curious” by prompting you to try things outside of your daily routine. This app is also used to manage the other Q devices.

If a full-on smartwatch is overkill for you, Fossil’s Q Grant might be the perfect fit. While it looks like a normal Fossil Watch, beneath the watch face of the Q Grant are fitness tracking capabilities, a vibration motor, and a multicolor notification LED. Similar to products such as Ringly, the notifications can be fully customized so you easily know what (or who) is trying your get your attention. Rounding out the Fossil Q product line are two fitness tracking bands with notification LEDs and vibration: the Q Reveler and the Q Dreamer. The latter of these features a striking leather band that can be traded out for a silicone one if you are hitting the gym. When they launch on October 25th, the Q Grant will sell for $175 – $195 while the Q Reveler and Q Dreamer will list for $125. All devices, including the Q Founder smartwatch, are powered by Intel hardware and are compatible with iOS and Android devices.

It is unfortunate that it took so long for Fossil to launch their line of wearable devices. Given the delay, we would have loved to see an element which was unique or really stood out. Sadly, we are left with devices that, feature-wise, are tough to differentiate from the rest of the market. Stylistically, Fossil did a great job creating a line of devices that clearly share the company’s DNA. While 3 out of the 4 wearables are more male-oriented, they all look great, but not striking. With so many of the newer smartwatches coming listing for over $300, the Q Founder is well priced to find an audience during the Holidays. The casual style of the other fitness trackers will also help them win over customers.

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by Doug Parker
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Wearable Technology

Misfit Shine 2 Is Thinner, Smarter, And More Connected

October 21, 2015

Misfit Shine 2 Shine2 Fitness Activity Tracker

Misfit has released a major update to their marquee fitness tracker. The Shine has always been one of the most svelte and fashionable trackers, constructed of colored aluminum and compatible with a range of accessories. It has been over two years since the original was released and Misfit has finally revisited it with the Shine 2, improving on the original in just about every way. First, what’s the same. It is still a disk-shaped aluminum, waterproof, wear anywhere, 6 month battery life fitness tracker. While the new version continues to be constructed of aluminum (although it is offered in fewer colors…for now), it is even thinner. To help shave off some of those millimeters, the physical button of the original has been replaced with a more responsive, capacitive touch surface. The LEDs have also been modified; the white-only lights of the original have been replaced with a ring of 12 multicolor LEDs on the Shine 2. The multicolor LEDs should allow users to better understand what the wearable is trying to communicate to them. Misfit has also updated the motion tracking hardware, adding a magnetometer to provide more accurate readings than the 3-axis accelerometer was capable of alone. It should also be noted that the Shine 2 is compatible with the company’s Link app, which allows you to use the device to control lights, music, or your phone’s camera. We took a look at it when we reviewed the Misfit Flash.

Perhaps the most notable addition to the Shine 2, though, is vibration. Like a lot of other fitness trackers, the Shine 2 can be configured to nudge you when it is time to move around. But Misfit has gone a step further and has enabled the wearable to behave as a connected device. The Shine 2 can vibrate to alert you to notifications and phone calls coming into your phone. For a device with a 6 month battery, this is an incredible feature! The wearable can also be used as a silent alarm clock, vibrating to wake you up.

The Shine 2 is on sale now for $99.00 and is available in black and (the ever trendy) rose gold. If none of these changes spark your interest, you can save some money and pick up the original version for $69.99. Misfit promises that accessories should be arriving soon and will include a new pendant, leather bands, and EkoCycle™ Field Bands.

The improvements to the Shine 2 strike us as being very purposeful, with every change and and addition solving a specific shortcoming. We are impressed with the changes that Misfit has made and think it will solve a lot of the issues we found with their entry level Flash. With the improvements to tracking and the addition of mobile connectivity, we believe that the Shine 2 is a compelling fitness tracker that will give Fitbit a lot of competition headed into the Holidays.

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by Doug Parker
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Microsoft Band 2
Wearable Technology

New Microsoft Band With Curved Screen Officially Announced

October 6, 2015

Microsoft Band 2

After rumors and leaks, Microsoft has officially announced the second version of the Microsoft Band. The original version of the band was launched just over a year ago and, while advanced at the time, it has not aged well from either a tech or style perspective. We thought the original was decent, but not great; it was very restrictive in what it could do and was not very comfortable to wear. The follow up device looks to improve on at least one of those issues. The Microsoft Band 2 is a much sleeker device, trading in glossy black plastic for metal accents, moving from a constrictive, flat display to a curved screen, and shedding most (but not all) of the batteries on the inside of the wristband. For those hoping for a true Microsoft smartwatch, the wait continues; at its heart, the Microsoft Band 2 is still a fitness tracker. That means it tracks your sleep quality, steps, calories, heart rate, and VO2 Max. The company, as rumored, has also added a barometer to the device which functions like the one on your smartphone to track altitude change (think: number of floors climbed). The band also retains the original’s GPS chip. Hopefully there have been some improvements made to it though; we found the original took a tremendous amount of time to find itself and consumed a ton of power. Thankfully Microsoft has dumped the plastic screen of the previous model, which scratched it you looked at it wrong, and is using Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3.  

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by Doug Parker
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Jawbone Up2 2015 version 2
Wearable Technology

Jawbone Updates Their Up Series Of Fitness Trackers

September 8, 2015

Jawbone Up2 2015 version 2

Jawbone’s newest Up fitness trackers have have a difficult past year. When the devices were announced last November, there was tremendous excitement about them, especially the heart rate sensing Up3. After a significant delay, the bands only hit the market a few months ago. Not only did the delay kill any buzz the devices had, it also put them in a position where they faced much stiffer competition than Jawbone likely anticipated. Despite a bevy of sensors and a version capable of mobile payments, the Up2, Up3, and Up4 were not very well received or reviewed. Even though they featured very capable hardware and a stellar battery life, software issues limited the usefulness of the device.

The good news is that Jawbone is looking to correct its wrongs; the company is pushing out a significant firmware update today. One of the biggest issues being addressed is resting heart rate. Up3 / 4 will now check your resting heart rate throughout the day (instead of only when you wake up). Jawbone has also implemented automatic sleep detection that is so reliable the company has disabled the “mode” button on the band. Finally, the Up2’s design has been tweaked; the band is now more strap-like and lighter weight. For those looking for a full featured fitness tracking wearable but nothing else, the improved Up series of bands offers a compelling option. But at a price point between $100 and $200, Jawbone is competing directly against some of the older Android Wear smartwatches which offer significantly more features. That is tough market segment to be in and an uphill battle for Jawbone.

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by Doug Parker
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Sports

MOOV NOW Promises To Take Fitness Trackers To The Next Level

July 28, 2015

MOOV Now Fitness Activity Tracker

The fitness tracker, once a revelation is now common place. We all know what to expect from them: steps taken, calories burnt, distance covered, and perhaps sleep pattern. Except for a connected feature here and there, the $30 devices are not too dissimilar from the $150 ones. The second version of the MOOV fitness tracker, called MOOV NOW, is hoping to move the needle and show people how much more they should be expecting from their device. The band has separate operating modes for working out, swimming, running, cardio boxing, and cycling. By having discrete modes, the band is able to provide customized information based off of your activity, even offering real-time audio coaching for everything except swimming. The waterproof MOOV NOW has the ability to track its location in 3D space so that it can record detailed information ranging from what stroke you are swimming, to the velocity of your punches, to how long your strides are. The band can be paired with a second unit for some activities to provide even more detailed information. In fact, the feature list of the $60 device is so overwhelming that it seems too good to be true. Oh and did we mention the 6 month battery life! The original MOOV received strong reviews except for its awkward design, which the new version seems to have attempted to address. We are excited to get our hands on a unit this Fall when it is released to see if it is as good as promised or if we are left feeling indifferent. Check out their introduction video after the break:  

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by Doug Parker
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