A free pedometer app that does little to impress.
I spend the majority of my mornings sitting in front of the computer and writing. With the recent studies about the negative impacts a sedentary lifestyle can have on one’s health, I decided that I need to move around more. I never thought to explore the world of apps because it didn’t seem so appealing to carry my iPhone in my pocket all day, so I rushed off to the store to buy a Fitbit One for $99. I wish I would have waited because pedometer apps are filling up the App Store this month, and they are a lot more affordable.
Moves is one of the newest apps to arrive and it’s completely free to download. Not only is it able to track walking, but it can also track cycling and running thanks to its GPS capabilities. Since users won’t need to carry around an extra device all day long, it’s enticing and worth exploring.
In order to see just how accurate Moves truly is, I decided to compare it to my Fitbit One. I kept each one in a different pocket, and began my experiment at noon when I am the most active. It was a little cumbersome to carry the iPhone in my pocket all day, but I eventually learned to ignore it.
One of the most obvious downfalls is that it does consume a lot of battery power. The developers recognize this and recommend charging the iPhone nightly. I started with 100 percent battery life, and ended up with around 46 percent by the time I went to sleep. Of course, I did use my iPhone for other things like playing Temple Run 2 and sending out emails. However, I only have to charge my Fitbit One once a week so it was a little disappointing.
The other issue that I took into account is the accuracy of the readings. By the end of the day, there was a major discrepancy between the two. Moves said that I only walked 986 steps, but Fitbit was showing a total of 2192 steps. With this many steps difference, it’s hard to trust the accuracy of this app.
While Moves wasn’t comparable to Fitbit’s battery life or accuracy, it does have a couple features that make it stand out like an automatic diary storyline that shows maps of when, where and how much users move as well as the ability to automatically track walking, cycling and running without stopping the app. Those on a tight budget may wish to give it a try, but be warned that the battery life will suffer and its lack of accuracy means it may not be the most reliable pedometer. Download at your own risk.
Posted in: Health & Fitness, iPhone Apps and Games, Reviews
Tagged with: fitbit one, free, iPhone fitness, moves, pedometer, protogeo, steps
Review disclosure: note that the product reviewed on this page may have been provided to us by the developer for the purposes of this review. Note that if the developer provides the product or not, this does not impact the review or score.
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