GADGET SPECIAL .....STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

Digital step counters have been an ‘IN’ thing in fitness accessories. In most cases, these gadgets use a simple 3-axis accelerometer to track movement. The more expensive devices, which also track swim activity, for instance, pack in a gyroscope for orientation and rotation, a GPS tracker to measure outdoor distances, and an altimeter to calculate the number of stairs climbed or slopes ascended to provide you with more accurate metrics of your physical activity. Then, of course, there are those trackers that pack in a heart-rate monitor. These use LEDs that lie in contact with the wearer’s skin to illuminate their capillaries, while an adjacent sensor measures the rate at which blood pumps past to calculate beats per minute. All these electronics also work with one another to give you an idea of your sleep quality.

But sensors aside, the true quality of a fitness band or watch depends on the accompanying smartphone app and its algorithms that crunch all this data to give you information in the form of calories burnt, quality of sleep, heart health and more. Read on to get a lowdown on some of the newest devices—and their apps—to help you find a fitness tracker that works for you, your lifestyle and budget…

SMARTRON T.BAND | ₹4,999 | www.smartron.com

The t.band sports a rectangular 1.25-inch (diagonal) OLED display that’s set in a stainless steel frame. The screen is not touchenabled; instead you get a metal plate at the bottom of the display that responds to taps and presses. It packs in a 3-axis accelerometer to count the steps you’ve walked, an optical heart rate monitor, and an ECG sensor to measure blood pressure every hour of the day.

The device, with a 2-day battery life, carries an IP67 certification, which means it is resistant to dust and water. It cannot be submerged, so it cannot be worn to the pool.

Navigating the band’s interface is simple: Single taps on the metal plate under the display lets you read the time and weather forecast for the day; step count, distance covered, calories burned; heart rate and blood pressure. Heart rate and blood pressure is measured only when you keep a finger pressed on the metal surface for 120 and 30 seconds, respectively.

Double-tapping on these modes will let you view more data like the last four readings and how active you have been. However, it can store 14 days of steps, up to 10 heart rate and BP records, and 1,200 minutes of exercise data – even when not in the vicinity of the phone.

T.HEALTH Android & iOS The data measured by the band is interpreted by the app to compute heart rate variability (changes in the time interval between heartbeats), stress and fatigue levels; it gives you an overall health index and even plots an ECG reading for reference. The most recent measurements can be viewed on the dashboard, and a few taps on the respective tabs will give you the historical data for steps, heart rate and blood pressure in a graphical format.

Its Trends and Bio tab lets you view readings by day, week and month. And sleep patterns are displayed as a bar chart, depicting when and for how long you were in light or deep sleep. Its Exercise tab lists the step count along with calories burned, heart rate and distance covered.

You can also configure the app to sync with the band on an hourly basis; connect with Google Fit or Apple Health; enable up to 10 silent alarms and receive notifications for calls and text messages.

The Smartron t.band is for those who want a simple wearable to measure and monitor physical activity and health metrics. It also works well for patients who need to keep an eye on their heart rate and blood pressure.

GOQII VITAL | Starts at ₹3,499 for three months | www.goqii.com

The Vital sports a 1-inch (diagonal) colour OLED touchscreen with modes that display the date, time, exercise-tracker, heart-rate and blood pressure and step counter. Each of these can be accessed with a swipe up or down. In the exercise mode, you can manually start a running, cycling or “workout” session. Details of these sessions – like BP, heart rate and calories burned – can only be viewed on the app.

The tracker – with 7-day battery life – comes with a USB port, which fits firmly inside one of the wrist straps. While the fit is solid, prying the charging port out of the strap involves a bit of a struggle.

The Goqii Vital uses embedded sensors and LEDs to detect movement, heart rate and blood pressure. It can store records for up to 30 days without syncing with its mobile app.

GOQII Android & iOS The brand markets its band more as an addon to a fitness programme that’s driven by its app. The base plan includes a three-month subscription to a personal health coach who provides personalised dietary advice and tips on the kind of exercise regime you should follow.

Once you register for the service, you have to provide personal details like your age, weight, and health conditions. You are then prompted to select a personal coach from the few options that the app provides you. This instructor will help you set goals and work with you to achieve them. Interactions with the personal trainer take place over scheduled phone calls and chats within the app. Besides advice, the trainer also provides motivation to help you stick to your diet and exercise regime.

Goqii’s fitness plan also lets you add family members, who own a Goqii band, to your profile. This allows you to view everybody’s fitness levels and avail of “shared consultations”.

The app encourages you, with reminders, to log your meals, water intake and exercise routines regularly. You can choose to make this data public or private, view other Goqii user’s social feed, follow them and share tips. You can also participate in simple challenges like eating a pre-workout meal, cardio every day, etc.

Goqii regularly streams live exercise and motivational video sessions with experienced instructors. It is an interactive session, so you can even get your doubts cleared here. Plus you get an in-app store where you can buy all your health foods. You earn Goqii coins for everything you do within the app, which translates into discounts and offers.

You can also chat with an “expert” to clarify doubts on nutrition and medical conditions. If required, you can also avail of a consultation with a doctor over the telephone, set an appointment with one and get a second opinion.

The Goqii Vital’s coach-driven service, along with real-world practical advice, make it ideal for those who require constant encouragement and guidance.

SANZAR GEKKO GX1 | sanzargroup.com | ₹4,995

The Gekko GX1 is a large watch with dimensions of 62x56mm (most men’s watches average at 42mm, with sports models starting at 44mm). It looks like any other outdoor wearable with its rugged, waterproof build, and toughend mineral glass over its LCD. Its screen comes with a blue backlight and displays the hours, minutes and seconds prominently.

The timepiece packs in a pedometer to count the steps you take in the day and you also get four buttons on the sides to switch the watch on or off, remotely trigger the camera on your smartphone, and switch between screens on the watch face for the number of steps you’ve taken, the distance covered, calories burnt, alarm mode, stopwatch function, temperature, altitude reading and ultraviolet index outdoors.

It should be noted that the GX1 does not come with a thermometer, altimeter, or sensor to measure ultraviolet rays. Instead, it relies on the GPS of the paired handset to pick up these readings from weather services that work in its apps background. The watch can also display smartphone notifications for messages and phone calls via a blinking icon on its screen that’s accompanied by a beeping sound.

FUNDO BRACELET Android & iOS To pair the watch with the app, you will need to sign-up with an email address, after which you can navigate between its two screens: The first displays the step count, calories burnt, distance covered and the total number of active minutes. This screen also shows the readings for temperature, UV exposure and elevation.

The second screen gives you a reading of the number of hours you have slept, along with the breakup of your sleep quality for that duration.

The Settings mode on the app allows you to switch to the remote camera mode, configure smartphone notifications, the alarm clock on the device, and even set up a sedentary alert.

During testing, the iOS version of the app worked perfectly. It maintained constant Bluetooth connection, and saved the pictures clicked with the watch’s remote trigger in the iPhone’s Photos app. The Android version saved these images in a folder called FunDoCache in the Gallery app.

Notably, the Android app drops Bluetooth connection every time active apps are cleared and the way to work around this problem is to lock the app against accidental closure. There are a few other minor issues, including the display of the UV index on the watch face, but Sanzar assured us that these would be addressed in the next app update.

Basically, the GX1 is a timepiece that doubles up as a fitness tracker. And you don’t even need to charge the watch like other smartwatches. It runs on a flat CR2450 coin cell that’s rated to give you about a year’s use without needing a replacement.

FITBIT IONIC | Starts at ₹21,583 | www.fitbit.com/in

The Ionic boasts of a tough build – comprising aerospace-grade aluminium and Gorilla Glass 3 – that’s rated to be waterproof, so you can even wear it when swimming. You get a 1.42-inch touchscreen that works with its light sensor to ensure visibility even in direct sunlight. For fitness monitoring, it is equipped with a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, optical heart rate monitor, altimeter and GPS.

Its battery will give you around four days of use on a single charge, but this figure drops considerably when GPS is used to track outdoor runs. The device auto-detects your activity to give you a reading of your calorie burn, but we found this to be a hit-and-miss affair. For instance, it mistook an autorickshaw ride for a bicycling session. For more accurate readings, you can manually choose from different types of activities—run, bike, swim, treadmill, weights, etc—via the watch, and the device recalibrates how it interprets the data from its sensors.

If you need guidance when exercising, its Coach feature provides you with preset ‘timed’ exercises for warmups and workouts. The display gives you mini demos of the actions you have to replicate, while the watch records your fitness metrics. The Ionic even has a Relax mode that encourages you to breathe slowly, while it records your respiration. Over time, this app helps you train your breathing for better relaxation.

But that’s not all, you can also transfer nearly 300 songs to your watch (you will need the PC app for this). You can listen to these via Bluetooth earphones during your workout. You don’t even need your phone at hand because the device stores motion data for up to a week, and automatically syncs this with your handset when it’s near.

The Ionic also comes with NFC to use with Fitbit’s own digital wallet, but the brand has not tied up with any banks here so you cannot use this feature in India.

FITBIT VERSA | Starts at ₹18,939

The Versa is priced lower than the Ionic, and you get an anodised aluminium and Gorilla Glass 3 build quality that is waterproof up to 50m. It comes with a smaller 1.34-inch touchscreen that’s just as bright and works with its light sensor to ensure visibility even in direct sunlight. For fitness monitoring, you get a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, optical heart-rate monitor and altimeter. The GPS feature is absent, and you get a similar four days of use on a single charge. The smaller screen and the rounded edges of this smartwatch make it an elegant option for women, but this design aesthetic does not mean it lacks unisex appeal.

Given its shared ecosystem and watch firmware, the Versa works exactly like the Ionic in every respect (except for the lack of GPS, which could result in different metrics when it comes to outdoor runs). FITBIT Android & iOS This brand has been a frontrunner in fitness bands, and its app is testament to its experience in this area. It interprets the data from its wearables using proprietary algorithms to present it in a way that can be understood and worked upon.

The app is used to push updates to the device, and its Profile section also includes a reading of your physical activity for the last seven days. From here you can set targets for steps per day, water consumption, sleep goals, and even discover apps that work with the Fitbit ecosystem. Its main screen provides you with a dashboard for your weekly exercise, sleep patterns, heart rate, steps per day (broken down into hourly targets), weight chart, water as well as food consumption (you will need to add the last two values manually, but the app will use this data to calculate your overall wellbeing). Women can also add a widget from this screen to track menstrual cycles, fertility windows and related symptoms under a section called Female Health.

Under each of these sections, the app explains what each of the readings mean in the context of the user. For instance, after measuring your sleep, it will not only give you a reading of the different stages: awake, REM, light and deep sleep, but it will also explain the role each of these play in your wellbeing. You can set bedtime reminders that encourage you to wind down when it’s time to sleep, and you will also receive regular sleep insights via push notifications. After measuring your heart rate, the app will also provide you with a personalised Cardio Fitness score that’s calculated after taking your user profile into consideration to show you where you stand in comparison to people of the same age group and sex.

Through the app, you can also be part of groups for running, yoga, healthy eating and mental wellbeing. It even lets you challenge friends who are Fitbit users to achieve fitness goals.

The Ionic and Versa is meant for committed fitness buffs who are looking for advanced features to better understand their bodies. The app greatly adds to the efficacy of its watches as a fitness companion.

Savio D’Souza & Ashutosh Desai | TNN