{"id":26598,"date":"2014-04-10T07:15:15","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T11:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=26598"},"modified":"2021-05-17T09:47:24","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T13:47:24","slug":"garmin-vivofit-fitness-tracker-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/tech\/garmin-vivofit-fitness-tracker-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Garmin Vivofit: A New Fitness Tracker and Personal Coach at Your Wrist"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Garmin
Photo: Garmin.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When that \u201cI think I can\u201d voice begins to fade, who steps in to save the day? Maybe it\u2019s a trainer or a running buddy \u2014 or, that brand new gadget on your wrist.<\/p>\n

V\u00edvofit, Garmin\u2019s first foray into the quantified self arena<\/a>, covers basic metrics like steps taken and metabolic activity (i.e. calories burned), but it also acts as a personal coach, prodding you to get up and move more throughout the day. But the most notable edge over the competition is its one-year battery life and the option to connect a heart rate monitor<\/a> for a 360-degree view of your activity throughout the day.<\/p>\n

The Garmin Vivofit: All the Data Without the Charge<\/b><\/h3>\n

In addition to steps and calories, users can expect V\u00edvofit to track common metrics including sleep quality<\/a> and total distance covered each day (calculated using an accelerometer, estimated stride length, and physical attributes such as height). Users can view this data from the display on the device at their wrist by toggling through one of seven preset data screens. V\u00edvofit also syncs with Garmin Connect<\/a>, Garmin’s flagship software that aggregates data from their fitness tracker as well as other Garmin devices all onto one screen. Users can sync data from their mobile device (using Bluetooth technology) or through their computer.<\/p>\n

And while none of this may sound too different from other fitness trackers out there, V\u00edvofit does have some key distinguishing features. Whereas most trackers require charging every five to seven days (typically through USB), the replacable V\u00edvofit batteries  \u2014 in the form of two coin-shaped cells \u2014 can last up to one year or more. <\/p>\n

V\u00edvofit also boasts the ability to connect a heart rate monitor \u2014 something few trackers on the market currently offer. (Atlas<\/a> features heart rate capabilities but leaders like the Jawbone UP and Fitbit Flex haven\u2019t added it yet). Users can opt to purchase a heart rate monitor as a package alongside the device or connect another heart rate monitor that they may already own (V\u00edvofit can connect with any ANT+ heart rate strap). This can especially come in handy during workouts to gauge intensity levels and more accurately track recovery times.<\/p>\n

\"Garmin
Photo: Garmin.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Personal Motivator at Your Wrist<\/b> <\/b><\/h3>\n

Tech features aside, the V\u00edvofit also brings an element of coaching to the game by encouraging users to get up and get moving. Whereas most trackers prompt users to set generic goals (like 10,000 steps per day) right out of the gate, V\u00edvofit gets up close and personal with your data to keep you progressing forward. Once the V\u00edvofit learns your normal activity level, it sets bigger goals to encourage you to move more. So, if you barely hit 5,000 steps on your first day with the device, it might set a goal of 5,200 for the next day. But, if you knock 5,000 steps out of the park, your goal for the next day may get bumped up to 5,500 or higher. <\/p>\n

V\u00edvofit also includes a \u201cmove bar\u201d \u2014 similar to the Nike+ FuelBand\u2019s<\/a> new \u201chours won\u201d feature \u2014 designed to keep you from getting too cozy in that desk chair all day. After one hour of inactivity, a red bar appears across the top of the screen indicating it\u2019s time to get moving. A few minutes of activity effectively clears the red indicator, but the amount of movement required depends on the amount of time spent sitting still. So, the longer you sit, the more you\u2019ll have to move! <\/p>\n

For all its benefits, the $129 band ($169 with the optional heart rate strap) does have a few limitations. Unlike many Garmin devices that are equipped with GPS capabilities allowing for more accurate distance tracking, V\u00edvofit leaves distance calculations up to estimations. The device also doesn’t come with a backlight, making it difficult to see the screen at night or in dark rooms. Both of these factors likely play into the battery life, sacrificing features to deliver a year or more of use before running low.<\/p>\n

Charging Forward With Fitness<\/b><\/h3>\n

With V\u00edvofit, Garmin has pushed the envelope on battery life expectations and added an optional heart rate monitor to give users access to more data. Unfortunately, just having the data doesn\u2019t guarantee you\u2019re going to get any fitter. But that\u2019s where goal setting comes into play. The personalized coaching pushes users to incrementally improve their health and fitness \u2014 no matter their starting point. While it lacks GPS capability, the one-year battery life makes V\u00edvofit a reasonable competitor to the ever-growing market of fitness trackers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ditch the charging cables and meet the Garmin Vivofit, a new fitness tracker with a one-year battery life that coaches you to a higher level of activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":26606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,10,16],"tags":[287,289,341,362,167,283],"class_list":["post-26598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear-gadgets","category-tech","category-tracking","tag-apps","tag-exercise","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2walking","tag-technology","tag-tracking"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}