Last year when i was on the look out for a reliable hip tracker, I chanced upon the Fitbit line of trackers and Withings Pulse. Those were excellent and reliable. I’m still on my first Fitbit One which i purchase in November 2012. I did chance upon the activity trackers from Geopalz; the ibitz line of trackers for children and adult. Priced in the same range as the Fitbit Zip, which set the bar pretty high, does the ibitz Unity activity tracker offer more? Being a firm supporter of hip-worn activity trackers, i gave the ibitz adult tracker two weeks of my time.

ACCURACY

Putting the ibitz Unity activity tracker through a series of tests i figured would closely simulate activities of daily living.  I would walk, jog and run on the treadmill for 5 minutes at each speed; most people i know of would engage in either of these activities in a day. Actual steps were recorded with a pace counter. An additional test for step accuracy was devised for wrist trackers where I would carried a laptop and walked for 5 minutes at 5km/hr.

The ibitz Unity tracker performed up to mark. The bonus is that the ibitz Unity is also waterproof and can be clipped on the shoes in near horizontal position with good accuracy. The stainless steel clip is almost death grip like; I have no fear of it dropping off. Matter of fact, I actually wear it on my track shoes most of the time since my waist is filled with the Fitbit One and Withings Pulse.

HOW’S IT LOOK?

It’s made of plastic with some metal parts and comes in seven colours. The back has multiple screws. It is also at the back of the unit where you can have the battery changed should it go flat. ibitz Unity ships with an extra battery. There’s no screen so you will not be able to see your real time tracked stats. The only way to see your activity for the day is through syncing with your iOS devices. During syncing there’s a green or red LED within the plastic casing that lights up. That’s about it.

ACCESSIBILITY OF DATA

ibitz Unity activity tracker ONLY syncs with iOS platform. There is supposedly an Android app that’s in the works.

• iPhone 5C
• iPhone 5S
• iPhone 5
• iPhone 4S
• iPad 3
• iPad 4
• iPad Mini
• iPod touch (5th Gen) using iOS 7.0 or greater

Syncing is via Bluetooth 4.0. There’s no web interface so all the tracked stats are accessible from your iOS devices only.

FUNCTIONS

ibitz Unity tracks a number of stats. The most unique feature is allowing multiple trackers to sync with one iOS device. Other than that, it’s pretty much the standard with recent activity trackers in the market.

• Steps count
• Vigorous minutes
• Time and level of activity
• Calories burnt
• Weight and BMI (Based on personal profile)
• Walk Timer

Everything is accessible from the app dashboard. You have a choice of step count represented by the two foot steps, the distance represented by the long winding road, the activity level represented by the running person, the calories burnt represented by the flame and finally the weight represented by the weighing scale. Scrolling to the right or left brings up more tracked stats. Unfortunately i haven’t scored any vigorous minutes for the day.

Sharing is big in ibitz. You’re able to share almost all accounts of tracked stats. Hopefully your friends cheer you on and motivate you to go further.

BMI is calculated based on your personal profile. I’m clearly green and supposedly healthy according to population norms.

I did find the activity dashboard interesting. It showed my clearly when i’m fairly active in the morning and day and almost 72% sedentary. Presentation is simple and intuitive.

ANYTHING ELSE?

The ibitz Unity tracker allows multiple trackers to be synced to a single iOS device. I personally clip a unit unto the shoes of my parents (not tech saavy) and monitor their activity level for the week that way.

There’s an additional walk timer where you can start the timer on the app and track the step count for a desired duration; perhaps to track the activity level of a walk to the supermarket and so on.

IN A NUTSHELL

The lack of a screen to show current activity level is a bummer. Even though the ibitz Unity allows multiple trackers to sync with one iOS device, the lack of support for Android or Window platform coupled with the price would put this tracker low on my list. For the individual who’s keen to start some form of fitness tracking, there’s plenty of options in the market if you do your homework.

Pros:

• Accurate step count
• Calories tracking
• Water Proof
• Long battery life (about 6 months)
• Allows multiple ibitz Unity trackers to sync with one iOS device.
• Small

Cons:

• Tracked stats not available without iOS devices.
• Lack of screen for immediate feedback.
• No weekly summary/ health tips via emails.
• No support for Android platform.

Listed price: $49.99.

You might be interested in:

• Fitbit One review
• Fitbit Zip review
• Withings Pulse review
• Misfit Shine review
• Runtastic Orbit review