About 10 days ago I was given a sleek case (resembling the iPod packaging in white and transparent plastic). Intrigued, I opened it to discover a very futuristic wrist watch with an adjustable strap. It was when I realized the display wasn’t working that it hit me this wasn’t perhaps a watch.

Looking at the contents of the box, I realized this was the Yogg Fitness tracker, a wearable device  and I had to charge it first before I could see anything. This is where I hit my first road block. In an age where USB charging is leading the fray, a clamp type charger is plain inconvenient and a bit scary, especially when you are warned of a possible short circuit if you clamp it wrongly to the device. After fumbling a bit I managed to charge the device and wear it. The device shows the time, steps taken, distance travelled and calories burnt, besides tracking your sleep time on the display itself, not requiring one to access an App to view these details.

Since I don’t have a proper sleep pattern (I am co-sleeping with my 5 month old) I did not use this aspect of the fitness band.

Once you download the Yogg App from Play Store and login with your details, you are set to use the device. I primarily used it to track my morning walks/ jog. The ease of use was apparent, when I didn’t need my mobile phone to keep the App open to check my steps / distance covered. I could see these details on the device’s display panel itself.

But this is where the good news ends. Beyond steps, distance and calories the App doesn’t do anything else. For serious walkers like me (or any individual who has fitness goals), the App doesn’t guide us on setting the right goals and following through. For instance, I am borderline obese and I walk at least 5 km every morning to help lose weight and stay fit. The app doesn’t suggest what speed I should walk at for maximum benefit. I had to choose the number of steps and the distance to cover every day. In contrast, one of the Apps I was using in the past, asked me for my fitness goals and then informed me how many calories I needed to burn to safely achieve my target weight in a certain time frame. Further, if I was falling short of steps, the App would suggest I reduce my food intake by certain calories or do some aerobic workout for 10-15 minutes to up the heart rate so that by end of the day I could still meet my target.

This brings me to the second concern. The App doesn’t let you input any other form of work out besides walking or running. This can be a problem for several people who may attend gyms, do free hand training or yoga. Currently the App allows you to input your goals (steps, distance, calories and sleep time) and once any of these is met, an vibratory alarm goes off.

On battery life, the best of fitness trackers have a battery life of 7-10 days. Yogg needs to be re-charged once in five days for at least 45 minutes to attain full charge. Since the functionality is quite simple, I was expecting the charge would hold longer (the same rationale that smart phones lose battery faster than regular mobile phones who just make or receive calls/ SMS.) But no such luck.

Considering the wearable device is priced at Rs 1,999- Rs 1500, expecting it to have the functionality of a high end tracker is perhaps unreasonable. Maybe the company needs to figure out ways to better monetize user options around the App. For instance, the free App can have functionalities limited to the current set, whereas if one pays a certain amount of money extra, the App will reveal other aspects tracked by the device, such as speed, heart rate while factoring in weather parameters like wind, which can provide significant resistance for any outdoor activity. These can alter human effort and one may end up burning more calories.

In its current form, I’ll recommended this device for the elderly who need to keep themselves fit by walking. It’s simple tracking mechanism and uncluttered screen will be handy for them. If the company can consider incorporating aspects such as insulin monitoring, heart beat rate monitoring etc in the device, it may make for an excellent senior citizen health tracker.

Pros –

• Blends very well with your wardrobe with its watch type design
• Simple interface on App to track data that is available on the device display as well as App
• Attractive price of Rs 1999
• Option to turn on/off the device sync with the App

Cons

• Charging is worrisome. The clamp type charger does not work in the era of regular USB charging
• The device is exposed to sweat and this puts it at risk of wearing out faster
• Alarm rings when you meet any one of your targets. This can be misleading at times. You may assume one target is met, whereas in reality any target could be met – steps, distance or calories burnt
• Battery life is 4 days and charging it takes much longer than what you expect it would

If you are interested in buying the band, we recommend this excellent deal on now at Snapdeal

Let us know your feedback. As always comments, suggestions and questions are welcome.