 I even briefly considered not getting an S7 and waiting for the next Note instead (Note5 wasn't for my liking) but decided against it for some reason. But more about that in the next post tomorrow.
So, I've got a free Gear Fit2 with my Note 7 preorder. After trying it a little bit, I've decided I don't like it much and now I wonder who might want it (maybe my wife will). And now some photos and pros and contras.
Device feels very sleek, I could totally wear it if software were more usable. There is even some security, you can set a pin code that you need to enter after you take it off.
S Health app is not too bad overall (I like its approach to tracking exercise, for one) and syncs quickly but it does a poor job with sleep tracking which is a deal breaker to me. Doesn't estimate how much energy you spend during the day. S Health is not the only app that interacts with Gear, for some things you need to use Samsung Gear app, installing apps to the device is done with Galaxy Apps. There might be more of them. Not sure whether it's good or bad to have several apps for not so many features but probably good. There's some additional integration with my Note 7 (battery status and connection info on notification screen), but nothing too special.
HR monitor looks similar to fitbit and even better as it's almost completely flat. Though the whole device is significantly bigger.
Unlike fitbit, HR monitoring is not continuous, it takes measuring only every 10 minutes or so. Hence, it can measure average or maximum/minimum but can't measure how much time you spend in a particular heart rate zone. Such data is not too useful for calorie counting as well.
"Smart" features, notifications, custom apps, color AMOLED display, dedicated GPS and standalone WiFi connection are very cool but I don't know any good use for all that. Installing Spotify on it sounds like a good idea but Spotify is not available in the region I'm currently in and Galaxy Apps doesn't do it like Play Store (uses location instead of billing address) so while I totally can install and update Spotify app on my phone, I can't do it with Gear.
Wrist band is just shitty, it's too easy to unclick it and loose the device. It also straps in counter-intuitive direction (from bottom to top), I wonder if you can switch its halves.
Good news is, at least you can replace the band completely and it's popular enough for many of them to be available on the market.
As I said, it was good to try it for change but it's probably not the device I'll use and I don't know who might want it. If i don't find anyone maybe I'll just sell it on ebay while it's still almost new.
It's comfortable and there almost no way to lose it between good buckle and additional security band (not shown that it has an additional claw inside to fix it in place).
I mentioned that Talkband B3's band, while looking the same, is marginally better. But not much better.
Obviously, the first thing you should do is to let the manufacturer know about this fault. Especially if you already lose some device, go write an angry tweet or post and contact the manufacturer. Repeat often enough and maybe they'll stop doing it.
Before than happens, you can also secure the band with an additional security band. They are sold separately, search amazon or ebay for one for your particular wearable or something close (it should look kinda like the first picture, although that particular one was built-in). Do not think that Fitbit is absolutely better, by the way, Fitbit Alta and Fitbit Flex are so popular and crappy that security bands for them are in fact the easiest to find. It should cost you couple bucks at most which is a good investment if it helps you not to lose a gadget that costs several hundred bucks, don't you think so?
A possible way to secure those crappy wrist bands, using an elastic band from usb cable.
Or a rubber band for money/plastic bags. The trick is to not make it too tight, so you still can unclick the pin yet tight to enough to require more efforts for unclicking and tight enough to provide more tension if it does unclick.
You can also try to use duct tape, pieces of wire, glue, threads or ropes. Let me know in the comments if anything works out for you.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have way too many fitness trackers for someone who is not a fitness person. How did this start?
Well, Huawei TalkBand B2 was my first wearable device ever and I quite liked it. This week I got a new TalkBand B3 to replace the lost one and it's slightly but better than B2, it's probably the only one I'll never get rid off because it's mostly a headset for me, not a fitness device or a watch. I actually never even considered getting a dedicated fitness device.
Then last year I found a Fitbit Charge HR on the beach (whoever lost it on Ta Yai, khop khun krap). And, to my surprise I liked how it works. you see, unlike most of fitness trackers, it's really useful even for occasional tracking: it measures your heart rate continuously so you get a complete data about how intense that quick stair-climbing was (it also counts floors using altimeter), it estimates calories you spend both passively and during exercise which is very useful for everyone (even if you don't count what you eat, with which it also can help, but more on that later), and it auto-detect most of exercise (at least long walks and running, I don't think it can do aerobics, but, again, more on that later). FitBit announced Charge 2 as a replacement for Charge and Charge HR so if you want a new one, better get that. I don't know if's worth an upgrade, I'm not planning such at this moment.
And, very recently, I got a free Samsung Gear Fit 2 with my preordered Note 7 (more on that in another post next week) which can do a lot more non-fitness stuff while also can do a lot of fitness things (it can detect aerobics to some extent, by the way).
Obviously, wearing all three of them is not an option so I needed to make a decision. This post is an attempt to highlight factors I considered. It's not a full review of all three devices (which would be just too long).
Unfortunately, you can't switch back and forth between different devices. They require proprietary app to be useful and integrations with third-party services are limited. There's no way to synchronize your data between three apps so if you switch you will at least loose your historical data.
Let's start with logistics. TalkBand is mostly a headset for me, everything else about it is secondary. So it has to stay on my non-dominant hand and wearing anything alongside it is next to impossible (makes taking the headset out very inconvenient, since it has two symmetric extraction buttons and you have to press both). That leaves the dominant hand for anything else, if anything. No way I'm wearing two devices there and touchscreen interaction is limited (I can only tap and scroll so much with my left) which suggests I should keep Fitbit if I'm also keeping TalkBand. If I want a single device, Gear has bigger and nicer display and more stuff there to use (you can even install custom apps and themes). Now let's highlight pros and contras of every device.
Firstly, Talkband. I already said that there's no equivalent for its headset part. Besides that and barely passable fitness tracking it can show some notifications (from any apps but within limited screen surface). Display is small, low-res, and monochrome but still quite nice (high-contrast PMOLED). It's rated IP57. If you don't talk much, battery is good for almost a week. App is very simple, basically it only shows you steps and sleep data and has very few settings. Simple, but not bad. Sync is very fast. It can do smart silent alarm (which might be not exactly 100% reliable and several non-smart alarms for notifications and stuff). Charges with standard microUSB cable, no idea why others don't do that.
Secondly, Charge HR. It's very good for fitness tracking. If I were a pro, I wouldn't consider anything else (except maybe something even more professional and specialized). Display is very small and interactivity is very limited, no "smart" features. Splash protected but not rated. It's good at auto-detecting exercises, at calculating calories, app allows you to track what you eat an drink (including calorie budget and food list from which you can add stuff relatively quickly), heart rate zones (continuous monitoring allows you to know exact time you spend in each zone, to a seconds), active hours, sleep schedule, logging weight (could be automatic with Fitbit Aria smart scales), add integrations with very many services and it's probably the best fitness app so far. Sync takes ridiculously long though. No smart alarm and only one non-smart one per day. Battery easily lasts a week. Requires proprietary cable for charging (which can be bought off aliexpress for about $3 if you loose it).
And, lastly, Gear Fit 2. Some say it's the best fitness device from Samsung. If so, they have very large room for improvement. It doesn't do continuous HR monitoring so heart rate data is mostly good for averages, you won't know exact time you