Here's how to do activity tracking on the cheap
When we are being flooded with activity trackers, it’s easy to forget about something like the Misfit Shine. A small, sleek, tracker, it started life on crowd-funding site Indiegogo and raised its $100,000 goal in just over a day. More than a year later, it’s starring in Apple ads.
Aiming to build on the success of the Shine, Misfit has announced the Flash. It’s a plastic version of the activity tracker that offers all of the same features as the Shine, including a fully waterproof design, six month battery life and the ability to track multiple activities including sleep tracking and all for half the price of the original.
One of the main reasons the Shine is so appealing is that the all-metal disc is one of the most elegant ways to monitor your data. While plastic is rarely ever as attractive as metal, the Flash proves it can be done.
The small disc is going to be available in a series of different colours depending on how much or little you want to show it off as well. It’s thicker than the original and in black still maintains its discreet, minimalist look. It replaces the sleeker, anodised finish on the Shine with a plastic that is not too far off the feel of the sportband. It doesn’t feel as cheap as I initially feared. The same versatile wearing options still apply plus Misfit is adding another alternative so you can keep it on your keys if you don’t fancy having it around the wrist or on a necklace.
It's still based around the same simplistic dotted LED display, which can switch between giving you an indication of progress and telling the time in the same slightly unconventional way. Those white lights are now replaced with a series of brighter red ones, which is definitely going to make it easier to read the display. Misfit has been working on making the transition between the two modes quicker, although it’s not something I really noticed in my short time with it.
One of the biggest changes is the way you interact with the Flash. Gentle taps make way for a surface you can now press like a button. It’s not as fiddly as the Shine and is a more responsive way to quickly monitor progress. It also makes it easier to tag activities simply by pressing the button before and after a session.
There’s further good news with the battery life. It uses the same watch battery as the Shine and you no longer need to prise it open with that small metal tool to replace it when it has run out of power after six months. All it takes is a dig with a fingernail in the small gap on the disc and you should be able to get inside.
Misfit Shine (left) next to the new Misfit Flash (right)
From personal experience, I remain unconvinced about the main sport band most will probably opt to wear. The Shine fell out numerous times and even ended up being run over by a car. Thankfully, Misfit is addressing this with the Flash, securing the tracker by pushing it from the bottom of the band as opposed to squeezing it in from the top where the lip should prevent it from falling through. It feels more secure than the Shine, but until it’s been more thoroughly tested I remain unconvinced.
From a software point of view, we were told not to expect anything drastically new from the Misfit app. You will still be able to set goals, view progress and irritate friends with updates through Facebook. That means it’s likely to lack the sort of data analysis to help make improvements, which is something the Jawbone UP 24 and the Fitbit trackers do such a great job of. Misfit has confirmed there that an upcoming update will add support for yoga and dance, although I’m hoping recording other activities other than walking or running will not just simply be tagged under intense running sessions.
First Impressions
For £50, the Misfit Flash gives you plenty. While it is disappointing it loses the more attractive metal design, it still offers a comprehensive set of features more expensive alternatives lack. Elements like long battery life, the ability to wear it all the time and a discreet design are the basics activity trackers should always have covered first. Disappointingly, there’s so many that fail to deliver on all of those fronts.
Launching in November, it arrives just in time for Christmas and should be a dedicated tracker to consider especially when it does pretty much what the Shine can do for much less.
MORE: Best Fitness Trackers to buy 2014