I just received the fitness-coach-wearable “moov” in the mail. Moov is a device made by an innovative US startup that crowdfunded itself on their own website instead of using kickstarter. Kudos!
The device promised to be way smarter than any other passive-fitness-wearable (like the Jawbone UP or the Fitbit Flex which I actually used myself) so did it deliver?
First thing I noticed is how small the thing is. I was expecting a pretty large disc to reside on your wrist or ankle, but it’s much smaller than that. It seems to be the size of a larger coin. The straps are also nice – soft and comfortable to the touch. I chose the translucent white version and I really like how it looks. The straps can actually be a little tight, but they feel good for short periods of time and this device (at least at the moment) is not meant to be worn all the time. And this is actually something I really liked – most fitness trackers are uncomfortable and you have to wear them all the time. Moov is something you use when you really want to move, not when you move from the couch to the fridge for six hamburgers and it counts those 5 steps towards your daily goal ;)
The packaging was also nice – simple but elegant. It didn’t match Apple’s packaging (and it didn’t have that special “smell”) but the price her is much, much lower and for that price the packaging is one of the best I’ve seen. I really liked the nice, silver-lined letter on the box and how light plays off of it.
So how does it work?
I went for a “brisk walk” this morning and then did some running intervals and I was positively surprised. It did track the impact my foot had against the ground and notified me when it was too high. It measured my cadence, steps and motivated me to go faster, lean forward, land softer and more. It really seemed like a real fitness coach, but one that knew a lot more about me than a stranger that just ran with me a few times. So far I really love it and I intend to use it regularly. Unfortunately it doesn’t allow you to export workouts or combine itself with other services like Endomondo (which I use a lot) or Runkeeper. Let’s hope they bring the functionality over. Other than that I simply love it – innovative features, nice design and execution. The companion app for runners has pretty good UX and information architecture, even if it is a bit ugly (high contrast between black and yellow and some not-so-fortunate design choices).
My score so far is a strong 9/10! get yours at www.moov.cc