Garmin Vivosmart

[Maturelady]

My lovely husband bought me a Garmin Vivosmart yesterday and after MUCH faffing around trying to get it to synch with my phone we found out it is not compatable with my phone. Anybody got any advice on which one of these wristband devices are the best and compatable with a "Windows" mobile? I was very disappointed as I liked what it did.

[AdamB Graduate]

I don't know how much the vivosmart does so can't compare it to the fitbit range, but fitbit have an app in the Windows store to interface with their bands.

There's a range of fitbit bands - I have a fitbit flex which is one of the more basic ones (counts steps, gives you an alarm and tells you when you've reached your daily goal) on the band, but the phone ap then gives you a lot more info. There is also the Fitbit Charge which does more and the Fibit Charge HR (measures heart rate in addition to everything else the Charge does). I've never used the windows ap but the images in the windows store look fairly similar to what i see on my Android phone.

Your phone will still need to have bluetooth to sync though (most do).

[MarkyD Graduate]

Hello, I tested a Garmin VivoSmart band for a couple of weeks in late February, and posted a review to this forum, here:

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

I loved the VivoSmart, and gave it a 5-star review. In all my time of wearing it, I did not once connect it to my phone (or PC). I know that the gadget can upload data to the Garmin website via a smart phone (Android or Apple) but you can also upload the data through your PC. So I don't think that you are too compromised if it won't connect to your phone. I enjoyed running with the tracker and wearing it day-to-day. The simple display gave me all of the feedback that I wanted.

Assuming that you really _must_ have an activity tracker with heart-rate support via a strap, and small display and connectivity to a Windows Phone, I'd suggest a Fitbit Charge HR. This is specifically supported by a Windows Phone app:

fitbit.com/content/assets/o...

Enjoy whichever tracker you end up using

[MarkyD Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Sorry, I forgot... if you want the 'Top of the Range' activity tracker from FitBit, there is always the Surge:

healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

[Maturelady Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Thanks very much. I thought it HAD to be synched to a phone.

[Peter_B Graduate]

If you want one that is definitely compatible with a Windows phone a Microsoft Band would likely be the way to go microsoftstore.com/store/ms...

I've never used one (or any other fitness band) so can't comment on its features or usability though.

[MarkyD Graduate in reply to Peter_B]

My processor (from their website):

Processor: ARM Cortex M4 MCU