You’ve tried the Fibits, the Fuelbands, the Misfits and even the Jawbone Ups. Some hits and misses but nothing hits all the sweets spots, yet. Fret not. The people behind the very successful running app, Runtastic, has thrown down their gauntlet with the release of the Orbit activity tracker.
According to CEO and Co-Founder of Runtastic Florian Gschwandtner, the Runtastic Orbit combines the best of the best features with a touch of versatility in terms of where you want to wear the Orbit; you get two wristband (black and blue) and a waist clip. Good move! The Orbit syncs seamlessly with the Runtastic Me app.
The full range of Runtastic Orbit colours.
Here’s a list of some of the features of the Runtastic Orbit:
• Step count and distance
• Set Goals (Displays current progress towards goals)
• Calories Burnt
• Active Minutes
• Mood tracking (Tracks happy moods with a double-press of navigation button)
• Orbit Connect for Runtastic Apps (Runtastic Orbit becomes second screen)
• Sleep Tracker (Manual activation)
• Ambient Lighting Sensor (Measures ambient lighting every 3 minutes)
• Time
• Alarm via vibration
• Idle Notification via vibration
• Waterproof 100m / 300ft
• Long-lasting, Rechargeable Battery (5-7 days before recharging)
The Runtastic Me app does not require purchase of the Orbit to be used. Like Fitbit and Withings that offers basic activity tracking on smartphones, Runtastic utilises the accelerometer within the smartphone to track your daily activities. Pairing the Orbit with the app allows more information to be tracked ad displayed. The app is available on App Store and Google play store
Screen capture of Runtastic Me app.
The Runtastic Orbit also becomes a second screen for the Runtastic apps in Orbit mode. This can come in really handy when you’re running with the Runtastic app and a quick press of the Orbit will reveal information like your heart rate (if you’re wearing a heart rate transmitter) pacing, distance and so on. Currently, the Orbit Connect is only supported by the Runtastic app.
A blue and black wrist band with a black clip, wear your Orbit anywhere you like.
The other notable feature is the inclusion of an ambient lighting sensor that measures ambient light every 3 minutes. Perhaps to check if the room is dark enough for a restful sleep or if you’re getting enough natural sun for the day. It would be awesome if the possibility of UV exposure could be explored in future updates.
The Runtastic Orbit ships from 11th August 2014. Amazon is taking pre-orders with delivery slated in September. You can get the Runtastic Orbit here for 119.99 euro.
Read GadFit’s Runtastic Orbit review.