Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I received my unit a few days ago and so far I'm quite happy with it. I agree with some of the comments from other reviewers on a number of my "con" points (below), but I haven't experienced any problems such as static sensitivity. From my experience, the hardware is rock solid. (Updating: it's worth reading the FULL thread on this review, since it addresses some of the other reviewer comments. My device continues to work perfectly and battery life has been awesome. I have NOT had the resetting issue that some folks have, but I live in SoCal where static zapping isn't as prevalent. Several of my concerns have been addressed by Pivotal Living, but others still exist. They seem to have a quality issue, which they say they're addressing. Your mileage may vary.) Cons: - The lack of instructions - or even recommendation to go to their website to download them - is disappointing. I get that this is supposed to be a super-easy startup, but I was frustrated to find out that on my first night's sleep, it didn't track me. It was only then that I went and found the FAQ and "getting started" page on their website that says you have to double-click the button to put it into your sleep cycle. And I STILL cannot find out what some of the screen icons mean! I figured it out after a day, but seriously, they should have something on their website that says such-and-such means this, and so on. There's not a single page that describes what those icons and modes are. There's no excuse for poor documentation on a website. It should take a competent writer about an hour to fix that. To the company: Honestly, I would bet 90% of the negative reviews here are due to this issue. If you spent 2-3 days with a couple staff people to beef up the website, then I suspect many of these negative reviews wouldn't have been written. The box needs a big, red, clear "GO TO OUR WEBSITE" card in it, and the website needs to have the very basic stuff explained. Do that and you have set your customers up for success. Without it, like right now, people just get frustrated and write negative reviews. Do yourselves a favor and address the lack of clear and simple instructions. Update (+3d): Pivotal updated their web site with new information that is helpful. I still think more is needed, but it's better. Update (+20d): A one-page insert in the package seems needed. Good customer service is terribly important, folks. - The sync process is fraught with error. They want you to think it's "normal" to have to attempt a sync a few times, but that's not true. It's just poor engineering. The process is to push the device button and wake it up (which turns on bluetooth broadcasting), and then attempt a sync. In my experience, I have to give it a good 10-15 pulls before it syncs. Usually I wait until it says the device is "off-line and can't connect", and then it works perfectly on the next pull. I suspect it's not a hardware issue, but an app issue. If they fix this annoying aspect in the future, then this concern goes away completely. Right now, it's annoying. Update (+9d): It got better, but then the post-Christmas rush slammed their servers again. Update (+20d): Now it's been syncing without fail every day. This issue has been resolved, as far as I'm concerned. - The app is pretty, but VERY hard to read. Someone with good UI background needs to help them out. Picking light-grey text on a white background simply isn't very smart. I still have good eyes (fortunately!), but even I have a hard time reading some of the text on the screen. It's very frustrating to try to tilt your phone around to see what the heck is there. My 14 year old, with the perfect vision of a teenager, agrees: there are many aspects of the app that are hard to read, and it's just a poor choice of color schemes to have in the app. The vast majority of the folks using this device will either be moving around quite a bit (walking, jogging while reading), or be older, so the UI should have bold, deep colors and clear, larger text. Update (+20d): I still don't like the readability of the UI. :) Is there a cleaner version coming? It seems slower now too. - After a week or so, I am noticing scratches on the display, like other reviewers. I'm probably easier on my device than most people, but still it seems to pick up scratches and brushes pretty easily. Probably due to the low-cost materials. I suppose it's good they'll offer a new device after a year. :) Update (+20d): Scratches do occur, and the display looks more beat up than I'd expect for a month-old device. I hope they fix this next time around. Pros: - You CANNOT beat the price point and value-for-buck with this device. I still am not sure how they make any money with this. $12/year, renewed annually, with the option of a new device each year. Just crazy. It either says something about the cost to build this hardware and the huge margins the competitors have, or there is some potential income stream they have yet to disclose. Everyone I show it to is interested in it, but when I mention the price, their interest level doubles or triples. They all want it, even if it has some issues, because the price point is so low. If you've ever wanted to try a fitness or sleep tracker but were put off by the price of most devices, then this is the perfect unit to start with. - The OLED screen is clear and readable, and suffices for the purpose. It's iffy in bright sunlight (hard to read), but maybe just cup your hand around it. Update (+20d): Still good in normal light, still very hard to see in sunlight. - The companion app is nice (but see caveats above), and I like the sleep tracking aspect especially. It seems consistently on-par with other sleep tracking devices I've used, and it's helpful to see everything on one screen. Good summary screen, nice to have some gamification, etc. Just get a better UI guy, k? Update (+20d): Sleep tracking is in increments of 20 minutes. So if you sleep for 7 hours 50 minutes, it records 7h:40m on app. Sleep tracking seems pretty decent, but I'm wondering about the accuracy of tracking. It does seem to count the times I wake up correctly. The graph can get slow as more and more data is added. Hopefully they'll address this before I get three months of sleep data in there... - Packaging (except lack of initial instructions) are nice, simple and effective. Shipping was fast and easy. - The battery life is pretty good. I'm getting to my fifth day and the battery symbol barely registers a drop. The custom charging cable is a bit worrisome (a potential for getting lost), but I suspect they're saving some bucks on hardware by skipping a micro-USB connection point. If the battery continues to be as good as it is now, I'm fine with this custom-connector approach. Update (+9d): After more than a week, I'm still 4/5 bars on the battery from the initial charge. Really awesome battery life so far. Update (+20d): My initial charge lasted more than 15 days! Only pressed the button ~10 times a day, so maybe that helps, but either way, I'm impressed with the battery life. - Comfort is very good. It's so light that I almost don't notice it, and I'm a guy who has never worn a wristwatch, and usually doesn't like things on my wrist. That's a big statement about how inconspicuous this is. Cool, loose, not sweaty, not bulky, etc. No issues with scratching or coming off, or digging into the skin. Update (+20d): Still the same here. As a non-watch wearer, it's a little strange to have on my wrist, but most of time I'm not feeling it. Which is good. :) Wish list: - I wish the sleep mode showed the time as well. Right now it just shows the moon symbol, and if you unexpectedly click on the button too much, it registers you as "waking up" and messes up your sleep tracking data for the night. I have gotten into the habit of checking the time on the display, and at night, it would be nice to be able to just press the button and see the moon symbol, plus the time, rather than trying to read the digital clock on the other side of our bedroom. Firmware upgrade? - Step tracking would be nice to display with a bar graph as well as a number. - I know this device isn't intended to be an input source, but it would be much easier to track hydration by swiping on the screen or something, rather than going to the app. Just a minor annoyance, but I realize it would probably drive up the cost to add touch sensitivity. How about maybe a specific signal from the gyros to indicate drinking my "custom-set" amount? You know, like shake three times in a row, within five seconds, to have it add an automatic 16oz hydration event or something like that. Update (+20d): I gave up on tracking hydration from the app; just too inconvenient. It would be nice to have some button push, or shaking sequence that would track my waters. I just don't want to open up the app every time I drink - there are far too many free apps that track that better. I really think this should be entered on the device. - Could you include date on initial device screen? I'd love to be able to customize the time and/or date format too. I usually view time in 24-hour format, and the device shows only it in 12-hour format. Didn't try yet: - Vibration wake mode. I have a great internal body clock, so I rarely need an alarm. I'll try it soon and update my review. Update (+20d): Still haven't tried the vibration stuff yet. Just not high on my to-do list. - Vibration when inactive. Maybe I'm just always moving my arm or something, but it has yet to go off. I'll update on Sunday when I'm a couch potato watching football. :) Summary: Absolutely brilliant price point and cost. You simply cannot beat the price. I've used a couple of fitness trackers, from cheesy to expensive, and this one pretty much meets all my needs, and just for $12. Amazing. The biggest areas of concern are in understanding how to use the dang thing (better instructions on website) and the readability of the app. Beyond that, everything else is just a petty concern. It truly is a wonderful fitness tracker. Update (+20d): A long thread follows this, but there are some jewels in it that make it worth reading. I maintain my four star review at this point, because the $12 device has exceeded my expectations, and does what it promised. It may not be perfect, and clearly there are some quality issues at the plant, but Pivotal Living has been good about letting folks know they are working on it. They've also extended the original warranty period, which is nice. I still say this is worth a try, folks.