Garmin Vivofit was probably late coming to the activity band market but that is o.k. because there was a lot of stuff the others did not take care of. For this reason we think the Garmin Vivofit will be the #1 selling activity band in the market for 2014.
Vivofit Offers Multiple Colors and bands that are Interchangeable so you can buy spare bands if you want different colors.
One Year Battery Life
Most fitness trackers use small, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Unfortunately, these have to be re-charged about every 3 to 7 days, which is kind of a pain. Vivofit will use two small coin cell lithiums that are user changeable to offer one full year with no recharging needed – now that is convenient.
What a lot of people buying these activity bands with the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries don’t realize is that the batteries are only going to last a couple of years and then they will need to be changed, but you can’t do that yourself. So, in essence, all the activity bands with rechargeable batteries become throw aways after just a couple years and unfortunately you are outside the warranty period, so your choices are very limited. No so, with Vivofit because you can change the lithium coin cell batteries yourself.
Heart Rate Offered
Garmin Vivofit is only the second activity band to offer real-time heart rate on the face of the band, Polar Loop was the first and only other to do so up until now. This is key because exercising with no heart rate is like racing a car with no tachometer – bad idea. Heart rate guidance is the key to successful exercise.
Vivofit comes in a heart rate version with a Garmin chest strap and USB data stick for downloading.
No Cutting Or Fitting
Garmin Vivofit is adjustable, so there is no cutting or fitting required and therefore it is immediately usable right out of the box. I’ve cut and fit quite a few Polar Loop bands and you have to be careful. With no battery to charge you can open the package, put it on and go, other than downloading the Garmin app to either your Smartphone, PC or both.
Customized Daily Goals
Vívofit learns your current activity level, then assigns an attainable daily goal. As you meet your milestones, vívofit will adjust your goal for the next day, gradually nudging you toward a healthier lifestyle.
On the surface Garmin Vivofit looks to be the most complete, adaptable and fully featured activity tracker ever made. These activity bands with heart rate are a useful alternative for being held accountable for daily activity goals and for serious exercise thanks to the heart rate.
SUre would be nice if we could get this graph to slope down. It would save our nation billions in healthcare costs.
The activity bands aren’t going to substitute for a more advanced heart rate monitor, or for a GPS watch, for more serious outdoor athletes but they do pose a more attractive option for the other 98% of people that now do nothing, especially the 37% of our entire US population, that is obese, that is over 111 million people and climbing daily. Sad, but true.
–Rusty Squire, copyright 2014, rsquire@heartratewatchcompany.com
