The Aldi online emporium was flogging off twin-packs of these Medion Fitness Trackers, so we took a punt and nabbed a pack to see how they fared, with a view to upgrading to something more techie later if we decide that they are beneficial.
We're not in any way fitness-fanatics, but we thought that these gizmos would give us some idea how many steps we do at home each day. Being cooped-up either shielding or working-from-home, it's easy to slip into a false sense of having done enough exercise.
The Aldi blurb proclaims most of the info that anyone would need when contemplating a purchase, but here's a quick run-down of what I've found after a few weeks of use:
The thing is easy to set up and is comfortable to wear, but care is needed getting the wrist-tightness correct - if it's too loose the pulse-sensor bit loses contact with the skin, if it's too tight then circulation to the hand can be affected. Operating the unit is simple - no swiping screens, it's a click-through system with just one screen touch-sensor, so it's fairly idiot-proof. There are no buttons or whatever on the sides, so it's ambidextrous.
Charging is simple - there are no separate chargers, cables or wires, there's an integrated USB connector which is revealed by pulling off the strap. It's a neat idea but when I plug it into my laptop the device screen faces downward, not ideal for checking whether the thing is fully charged. Looks like I'll have to find a short USB extension cable after all, or use one of my USB power-banks (more on that subject in a later post).
The tracker unit is flush with "activities", I've not used any of them yet as I'm not allowed to venture into the wild, but I'm looking forward to using the walking setting next time I escape these surly bonds. The pedometer seems to catch most steps but also counts some arm motions. At my most-recent haemo clinic when having my obs done I compared the pulse readout with their hi-tech machine and the data were a close match. Sadly there's no Yoga Mode which would have been of interest to Chris, but I'm sure that if she wants to upgrade to a different device with that included she'll do so.
Setting targets is a doddle, and the tracker emits a satisfying yet discreet signal whenever a target is reached. Chris has set a motion-prompt and tells me that it works as expected but I can't vouch for it as I need no prompt to move about, most of the time I need to be restrained.
The recommended free Android app installed first time on the phone and on the tablet, and is basic and simple to operate. Chris tells me that the app DOES have a Yoga Mode but she's yet to try it, so we're interested to see how that works out. We've not yet set up Cloud access so I can't comment on that. As far as I can tell, there's no way to export data to any other app or software when in phone/tablet-only mode. Sync-period is adjustable, I found that the default setting was draining my phone so I set it to max and it's been fine since, and manual syncs are simple enough. The sleep-tracker is odd though - "Time Asleep" = Deep + Light... + Awake!?!?
All told it's good for the money - it's not flash, it's fairly-well specced, and so far it's been reliable.
Oh, and it tells the time.
