Garmin has been known for making GPS devices so it’s not that surprising that they’d also go into the health and fitness market with the Vivofit smartband. We’ve been using one for about a week along with other smartbands to see how it fares against the earlier ones.
Before the Vivofit, we’ve used the Jawbone UP, UP24, LG G Watch and Sony Smartband. Each one has their own inherent advantages. The Garmin Vivofit fits somewhere in between.
The smartband tracks basic information such as number of steps, activities and sleep pattern. It is worn on the hands and comes with 2 strap sizes (one for male and another for female). You can unhook the primary module from the strap and inter-change them anytime you want (as they also come in about a dozen color options).
The Vivofit connects to your Android or iOS smartphone via Bluetooth and logs the activities with the Garmin Connect app. The package also comes with a Bluetooth receiver so you can also plug it to your laptop or PC and sync the band to the Garmin software and plot your activity and performance.
The digital display shows the number of steps taken during the day (24 hours) and updates your smartphone with the same info once in a while.
The band is also weather-proof an water-resistant so I am able to take the Vivofit while swimming (it doesn’t track my laps in the pool though).
The Garmin Vivofit is available in retail and sports stores (R.O.X., Runnr, Toby’s, Chris Sports, Anson’s, Automatic Center) with a suggested retail price of Php8,450. You can also get replacement bands (in various colors and sizes) for Php1,950.