In a world where fitness is becoming very mainstream, Nike fitness bands are no longer the only option on the market; so many options are now available, offering different unique selling points. Misfit shine is not shy of many features itself and the design some may like and some may not like, its all a matter of preference. All we care about here is whether it will help you in achieving those fitness goals you have set yourself.
The Misfit shine was a crowd-funding success story, its a miniature and light fitness tracker that is made from aerospace grade aluminium material making it very durable and the way its designed, its built so you can wear it anywhere from inserting it in dedicated pockets to using it on your wrist with the strap that comes with it. As a fitness tracker it is very well design and weighing in at just 9 grams it is no bother at all when wearing it for prolonged periods of time, in fact sometimes you can almost forget that its on the wrist. The Misfit shine is completely waterproof to 50 metres so it can be worn at all times even when swimming or if you happen to go for walks and it starts to pour down with rain – more design features is better represented in the video above.
First thing you notice with the circular display is it looks blank and plain but it comes to life when you double tap its face; it then displays some LED lights around the edge. Unlike other fitness trackers, the display is quite unusual in the way it shows goals achieved, in fact the Misfit shine also shows the time but in a very unconventional way which will take some getting used to.
To understand how it works, you will need to keep in mind that each LED light is an interval of five minutes when telling the time on it and the hour hands is a solid light so its better to understand; when using it to track your goals, it would be read as 5 per cent completion at each interval. Just like many other trackers, The Misfit Shine is also smartphone app ready; it connects your iOS device and Android via Bluetooth 4.0 LE which in turn keeps the power consumption low; you can download the misfit app free from the app store.
What makes it a little different from other trackers is that it runs on a standard cell watch battery with a battery life of at least 4 months, so no need to charge it every night or even after week. The accompanying shine app is very simple to use with a clean user interface, you can use the Shine app to access these features:
- My Shine: Create a goal and set Shine to track your running, cycling, swimming and more
- Activity Meter: Check your activity progress and see stats like steps, calories and distance
- Intensity Graph: See your activity level over time and watch yourself improve
- Sleep Tracking: See sleep quality and duration, and set sleep goals
- Shine with Friends: Personalize your profile, add friends and compare your daily activity
You are probably asking by now whether or not it supports sleep monitoring, and the answer is yes, however just like Fitbit Flex for example, you have to always remember to active or put your tracker into sleep mode so it can monitor your sleeping pattern or how well you have slept.
Garming Vivofit fitness tracker was one of the few exceptions that does that function automatically for you by setting a time you think you will fall asleep. Updates are performed when you load the app unlike Fitbit flex which automatically syncs throughout the day and also supports third party apps such as that on the HTC One M8’s Sense UI. Having said that, all data syncs very swiftly and analysed ready for your viewing.
Overall, the Misfit Shine looks great, can be a little awkward at times trying to use it to tell the time but with time you will get used to how it works. It is very accurate when compared to other trackers I have tried and synching is no problem at all. It is waterproof and will record your efforts when performing other sporting activities such as running or swimming. The app that accompanies the Shine is also straight forward and displays all the vital information needed to stay fit. Some sort of auto sleep mode is still an issue for me and hope the next iteration will support some sort of auto sleep mode functionality.
Misfit shine is a fitness tracker that has earned its place amongst the best trackers on the market. No need to charge every night, it can be used for other sporting activities and can be used in a fashionable way with accessories available.
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