fitness tracker – Page 2

Groove learns your habits, keeps you motivated to workout

The Premise. The tech market has spoken, and people want devices that track their physical activity to motivate their workouts. Mobile devices work best when they do more than one thing, however, and so one company is rolling out wearable tech that does more than count burnt calories.

The Product. Groove is a hybrid smartwatch and fitness tracker. The device is worn just like a regular smartwatch, but also can schedule, track, and report workout data both personally and among fitness buddies. With the ActivLite band, notifications can pop up through an attractive light-up band so that owners don’t have to keep checking their watch as if impatiently waiting for something to happen. The Groove can monitor heart rate, observe sleep cycles, is waterproof, features voice commands, and is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.

The Pitch. The image of the Groove is what you would expect from wearable fitness – clean, young, active, and lively. The video does a good job of showing off the different things the device is capable of, and the campaign’s pictures flesh those ideas out by comparing the Groove to seven other popular smart watches and fitness trackers. The team behind Groove want to raise $200,000 to complete the companion app, get Bluetooth certified, and handle the production and distribution of their product beyond the initial crowdfunding step.

The Perks. The Groove Watch is available with app and charger for $179. In addition to the basic black and white colors, an Indiegogo-exclusive gold variant is available for $249. Both rewards will ship in January 2015. For those who want to start meeting goals earlier, a beta version will be out in October for those that pledge $1,499. Those that want to custom the colors and finish of their watch can design their own for $2,499.

The Potential. By integrating smartwatch features, an attractive design, and social tracking and goal-oriented aspects like the Samsung Gear Fit, the Groove lets other people offer something to strive for when outside motivation is needed, and a reason not to take off the device when it feels like a lazy day. While it may not be the most unique in terms of design or style, it bridges two products that are beginning to heat up into one concise, effective package.

Atlas carries the weight of exercise knowedge on its shoulders

The Premise. You’ve watched what you’ve eaten, been walking the dog regularly, and re-repurposed that dusty, laundry rack back into a treadmill, but your weight loss has hit a plateau and you’re ready for the next level. Fitness charts, daily journals, progress analyses and beach body, here you come! On second thought, you’ll just buy a piece of equipment to handle all that stuff for you… except for the actual exercise part.

The Product. Atlas is a wrist-worn fitness tracker that can track time, heart-rate, reps, and even evaluate your form. It achieves this through 3-D tracking and a bank of (potentially, by the time of release) over 100 exercises. It can differentiate between exercises like squats and deadlifts, double curls from alternating curls, learn new exercises, and even discount exercises that aren’t done with proper form… so don’t try to cheat. It does not require dedicated software, is compatible with Fitocracy, MapMyFitness and other fitness programs, and allows you to create your own apps using its open API. Atlas is waterproof down to one meter, employs standard USB charging, has enough battery life for seven long workouts, a 30x15mm display screen, offers replacement bands, and is even left/right hand compatible.

The Amiigo was another Indiegogo fitness tracker that claimed tracking of specific activities.

The Pitch. Atlas’ developers worked with professional trainers, fitness gurus, and their local fitness community to keep in touch with customer needs, and develop criteria of proper exercise form. The campaign page shows off the “exercise fingerprints” it has devised, which are snapshots of the Atlas’ graphic analyses. The page also includes a FAQ section that addresses everything from international shipping to metal allergies. The well-produced video consists of the company’s CEO walking through a gym, delivering the essentials of the written pitch.

The Perks. The Atlas will run $160 ($130 for early backers), including a free six-month trial of fitness software. Perks become much more complicated, including a $900 six-pack for trainers, a $1,500 option that entitles you to preload a custom exercise to be included with every shipment, and a “developer model,” Atlas.

The Potential. Other wireless activity trackers can be had for as little as 60 bucks, on up to about $180, but none with the capacities or versatility of the Atlas. And with technology sophisticated enough to differentiate between swimming strokes, track exercises as vague and obscure as rope-climbs and battle-rope work, and help you anticipate and overcome plateaus, the Atlas may be a bit toward the pricier side, but may be the exercise tracker that workout enthusiasts have been looking for.