By no
The folks at BodyMedia introduced me to a new product they’re working on in conjunction with Sprint. It’s called BodyMedia Fit and is a wrist-band that records your vitals, calorie loss and sleeping habits as long as you’re wearing it. At first glance it looks to be a tool for workout buffs to track their workouts and stay in shape, but it’s tailored toward anyone who wants to take on a more active lifestyle and lose a few pounds.
BodyMedia encourages people to wear this “watch” 24 hours a day – whether you’re going for a run or washing the dishes. At the end of each day, BodyMedia will give you a rank to let you know how active you were. A lazy day would net you the moniker of “slouch”, while being a busy-body would get you something a bit more desirable.
The unit communicates with the user’s phone via Bluetooth and will sync all of the information you need to it. From there, the phone will sync to the BodyMedia website where you can also track your day-to-day performance. (You can also update your account without a phone by using a USB cable.) We’re told BodyMedia will be bringing a new 3G version sometime down the line that’ll work on Sprint’s network to sync your data without needing to use Bluetooth.
One of the more interesting aspects of BodyMedia Fit is its sleep monitoring feature. Through some exact science that I wasn’t previously aware of, the firm claims that your quality of sleep can affect your weight loss endeavour. The website itself also has a food log that you can use to keep track of what you eat.
With Sprint, they’ll be introducing the service via Sprint ID, the carrier’s customization initiative that allows users to apply different themes and apps depending on what type of person they are or what they need. I asked if it’d be a part of its own ID pack or a bigger “fitness” pack from Sprint but wasn’t able to get a clear answer. Regardless, it looks cool and I’m sure a lot of people will be excited to try this.
This is only for those who are serious about losing weight and want to track every bit of their calorie loss whether they’re inside of a gym or not. I note this because the cheapest armband package will cost you about $200 before taxes. Steep, right? The technology they use to make all of this possible is advanced stuff, though, so I can understand why the cost of admission is so high. Check out more details at BodyMedia’s website today.
It would be nice if this was for android in general as opposed to carrier specific. Are there any plans for other carriers?
It’s not carrier specific unless you want the unit where you can sync data over Sprint’s 3G network. You can use this on any Android phone with bluetooth
They have one for android/iphones already. Its called a bodybugg SP. I have it right now. Its also made by bodymedia.
Interesting, is the bodybugg SP any cheaper? maybe it’d help my fat ass loose some lbs
Looks like they aren’t waterproof! I would love to use one while swimming!
I’m not sure how well battery life would be for your phone if you are required to have bluetooth on 24/7…
Very interesting, and I guess it’s on par with high end calories burn watches that are on sales. Though I don’t think I’d pay $200 for it, I’d think about it if it was $150.
You can already do this on just about any android and any carrier with sports tracker and the zephyr body harness. And you can post your tracks, including gps map, online to compare with your friends.
My fiance has been using one of these for a couple of months now. They’ve partnered with Jenny Craig as well for a “total weight loss solution”, but it would work equally well without Jenny. It does a pretty amazing job of tracking sleep, workouts, steps taken throughout the day, and just general activity. You get a really nice set of graphs of daily activity and if you track your food intake with their website you get a really good picture of why (or why not) your body is losing weight. You can set goals and see exactly if you’re making them or not.
I expected it to be a bunch of BS, but it’s a pretty amazing little gizmo.
What is it called again?
I have the older (black, not chrome) GoWearFit from BodyMedia.
The monitoring is amazing. (when you can get it to sync – a 1 / 10 chance of sync and their help was less than) I also have the watch / medallion that is an additional $70.
The Body Bugg is also produced by BodyMedia.
What they don’t tell you is that after you spend $200 on the devices (GoWearFit or BodyBugg), you have to pay for their monthly service ($10-20 depending) if you wish to be able to use them. Without the web service, you can’t ‘clear’ the device – it fills up the internal storage and refuses to log or do anything until the data logs are removed. I believe it comes with a ‘free’ 2 or 3 month subscription for their web service.