Introducing Garmin’s new fitness tracker: the Vivosmart. The Vivosmart is a build up from Garmin’s previous activity tracker the Vivofit. It has various features that differentiate it from the Vivofit.
First I will go through the features it has that are similar to most other fitness bands on the market.
Being a Fitness Trainer, I have seen these basic functions of an activity band to be helpful to my clients so I am a proponent for (most) tools that essentially help people improve their health. Some basic features of the Vivosmart are:
– Pedometer (Step counter) and distance travelled (i.e. Miles per day)
– Goal setting for number of steps based on
previous few days activity]
– Calories burned – with a summary at the end of each day
– Sleep tracking- manually select to turn to sleep mode
– Alarm functions – Vibration alarm to avoid disturbing someone else
– Inactivity monitor – number of minutes you have been inactive for
– Inactivity Alarm – Vibration after 1 hour reminding you to move around. Walking around for 2 minutes will reset the timer
– Date & Time – am/pm
– Sync with smartphone App (Garmin Connect) for daily reports, earning extra badges for motivation, joining challenges to virtually compete with others
Those features are of a basic nature for most wearable activity trackers. The Vivosmart has many additional features that take it to the next level.
Touch Screen Display
Unlike some wearable activity monitors that require Bluetooth syncing to gather stats, the Vivosmart band displays the real-time data using OLED light. You can easily move from function to function by swiping left to right.
Text, Email and other Notifications
Compatible with Android and iOS, the device will gently vibrate to notify you of text messages, emails, calls, and calendar reminders. You can choose to Yes you can read the contents of your messages on the band itself.
Find My Phone
Garmin is best known for its GPS systems. This activity tracker will guide you to the location of your phone. It will display a distance bar that indicates your proxiimity to your phone.
Music Control
This feature is especially useful while at the gym, running, or cycling. You can swipe to get to the music function and navigate through your playlist by tapping on play, next, back. You can also control the volume.
Heart Rate Monitor
Enabling the ‘activity mode’ allows you to specifically track heart rate for an activity. The Vivosmart displays heart rate and is compatible with various heart rate monitors (i.e. chest straps).
Cycling Speed & Sensor
This is a great feature that separates this fitness tracker from others. While most trackers can’t sense distance when cycling, the Vivosmart is able to pair with any cycling sensor providing live information on the band on current speed as well as heart rate. It will appear in the activity log as well under the separate category of “cycling.”
Waterproof
Despite being lit up by OLED technology it is still waterproof up to 50m so it can be worn in the shower and while in the swimming pool
The Garmin Vívosmart Wireless Activity & Sleep Tracker has many features that can be useful to the fitness enthusiast as well as one who is looking to improve their health and fitness.
