Motorola MOTOACTV
Right away, the Motorola MOTOACTV strikes
us with its rugged looks and metal construction. You will find five sliver
buttons dotted on the top and right side of the MOTOACTV, which are for Start,
Music, volume keys and Power. The left and bottom house the microUSB and 3.5mm
headphone ports, which are each protected from the elements by a rubber plug.
The MOTOACTV has a 1.6-inch LCD color
display that is optimized for use in all lighting conditions. While testing out
the device under the afternoon sun, the screen remained very legible, which the
device itself is both sweat and rain-resistant. It comes out of the box with a
sports watch strap, which is styled in black and fiery red.
If you are looking for an all-in-one sports
device, the MOTOACTV maybe the right one as it packs the most features. To
start, there’s an accelerometer (which doubles as a pedometer), GPS, Bluetooth
4.0, ANT+, FM radio, Wi-Fi, Accusense technology and finally, the ability to
store and play MP3 files. Accusense technology is essential in indoor tracking
of distance, time, speed, calories burned, and heart rate, while ANT+ ensures
compatibility with other fitness sensor such as heart rate monitors, or cadence
and power sensors for bicycling.
Motorola
MOTOACTV
Loading music files onto the MOTOACTV is
done via USB connection. Once connedted, the MotoCast installation takes place,
and you can transfer music files via iTunes sync, or drag and drop. You can
also connect to a preconfigured wireless network, so that future wireless
network, so that future workouts are automatically synced to MOTOACTV.com as
soon as you come within WiFi range. Inaddition, you can sync data via USB
connection to a computer, or even via Bluetooth connection with an Android
smartphone that has the MOTOACTV app installed.
During a workout, the MOTOACTV shows a live
data screen with your time, distance, pace, heart rate sensor), calories and
elevation. You can mark any music track on the MOTOACTV as a “fit song” that
gives you an extra push during the workout. Over time, MOTOACTV will
automatically compile a list of song under “performance music” based on factors
such as calories burned and pace.
The MOTOACTV also acts as a handy window
into your Android smartphone as it displays notifications such as messages,
incoming calls and weather information. The downside is that there is no
developer SDK for MOTOACTV, and you’re limited to the three apps (Facebook,
Twitter and Weather) developed by Motorola.
What we really liked about the MOTOACTV is
the fact that it does not require a connection to a smartphone to monitor your
exercise. With its in-built GPS and fitness app, you can start your workout
within seconds. Getting a GPS signal is also fairly quick, more often than not
locking-on under a minute.
“Aside from tracking workouts, the
MOATOACTV acts as a handy window into your Android smartphone”.
·
Display: 1.6-inch LCD
·
Dimensions: 46 x 46 x 9.6mm
·
Weight: 35g
·
Price: $229 (8GB)
A
robust metal construction gives the MOTOACTV a rugged look.
A
rubber plug protects the 3.5mm headphone jack from dust and water
The
1.6-inch LCD display gets its scratch-resistant properties from Corning Gorilla
Glass.
And Performance
Nike+ Fuelband
Clad in a matte-black, rubberized material,
one is forgiven for mistaking the Nike+ FuelBand for a typical sports bracelet
accessory. This Nike+ - powered device does in fact track all your physical
activities and calories burned. A single button and metal clasp break an
otherwise plain look, but that’s where things start to get interesting.
The spring-loaded sliver clasp looks the
FuelBand in place. When the clasp is undone, you will see a built-in USB 2.0
connector in one end. The USB connector is used to charge the device, and to
sync your workout data to a computer.
Located along the FuelBand is a slightly
raised button that blends into the black, rubberized surface. The stiffness of
the button ensures that each press requires a decent amount of force, so you
don’t have to worry about accidental triggers when wearing the FuelBand.when
pressed, the button lights up a matrix of 100 white LEDs, giving the bracelet a
futuristic look, displaying various data points such as Fuel, Calories, Steps
and Time.
Fuel (or NikeFuel, as Nike brands it) is a
proprietary unit of measurement for tracking the physical activities you’ve
done for the day. It uses a built-in 3 axis accelerometer to track your motion,
and runs the data through its proprietary algorithms. Nike will then rank your
score through a point system on its Nike+ web portal. Alternatively you can
view the scores over a Bluetooth connection to your iPhone with the Nike+
FuelBand app installed.
Nike+
Fuelband
The LED dot matrix display provides
real-time update on your progress, and the color LEDs give you a gauge of how
close you are to achieving the daily goal. For example, the lights will start
out red during the initial phases, and will progressively orange, yellow and
then green (which is when you’ve hit your Fuel target score for the day). The
daily Fuel goal can be changed according to your preference too, while the
concept tis somewhat similar to FitBit’s flower icon, we find Nike’s
implementation more fun and addictive.
The Nike+ web portal is one of the most
comprehensive fitness portals we’ve seen, and in the case of the FuelBand,
gives you an overview of your progress by day, week, month or year. You also
can see the number of calories burnt, distance covered, number of steps taken,
and the active time. The portal also teases you in several ways to keep you
active. It will throw you a random challenge for you to accept, or you can
create your own. The portal also compares your performance against other
FuelBand users of the same gender and age group, as well against the overall
Nike+ community. Moreover, it has some degree of social integration, sharing
achievements on Facebook and Twitter.
The Nike+ FuelBand might lack GPS
functionality or advanced features like sleep monitoring, but makes up for it
by upping the workout fun factor through the NikeFuel point system and web
portal. Its futuristic display also stands out from the rest. As a basic
fitness device, the Nike+ FuelBand is excellent for the masses who aspire to
lead a more active lifestyle.
“The Nike+ web portal is one of the most
comprehensive fitness portals we’ve seen”.
·
Display: 100 white LED Lights + 20 color LED
Lights
·
Circumference: 147mm (small), 172mm (medium),
197mm (large)
·
Weight: 27g (small), 30g (medium), 32g (large)
·
Price: US$149
A
silver clasp locks the Nike+ FuelBand bracelet in place.
The
button lights up the LED dot matrix display when pressed.
An
array of 100 white LED lights makes up the tiny display on the Nike+ FuelBand.
