As a running geek, I love gadgets and tech, especially when they help me gather and analyze data related to fitness. The Ssmart Dynamo 2+ from Oregon Scientific is a great new activity tracker that’s helping me up my game.
Although I use a Garmin Forerunner 220 when I’m running, it’s not really an everyday use activity tracker, so I have a Fitbit Zip for my everyday tracking. While the Zip has been great for basic daily activity tracking, I’ve had to supplement it with a sleep tracking app to also track my sleep. Enter the Ssmart Dynamo 2+ with everything I wanted and then some.
I don’t usually wear a watch so one nice thing about the Dynamo is that the device actually comes out of the wristband and can be tossed in your pocket. However, I tend to lose things from my pocket, so I’ve only been using it as an on wrist device. The design of the wrist band and the device is very clean and unobtrusive to the point that I hardly notice it’s there except for when it is notifying me.
So what all does the Dynamo track? The Dynamo keeps track of you Active Minutes, Steps, Distance, Calories, and Sleep. You can also set goals for each one of these metrics and the Dynamo will prod you or congratulate you throughout the day, based on how poorly or well you are doing. My Fitbit Zip does these things as well minus the sleep tracking but without the reminders which are nice.
The Ssmart Fit app is really where the magic happens. When you first sync your device, the app gives you a nice walk through of all the device’s features and how to use them. Having the app walk me through all the features was a nice touch versus having to read a manual.
The Ssmart Fit app also gives you a great, quick iconic view of how you’re doing as well as a more detailed view by the numbers. You can also see a chart for each metric across the day.
And now for the bonus feature I didn’t even know that I wanted – notifications. Because the Dynamo 2+ syncs with your smart device for the app to collect and report data, it also receives notifications from most, if not all, of your apps–text messages, phone calls, Fallout Shelter, you name it–and displays them on the device. It’s been really nice just quickly glancing at my wrist and deciding whether I need to bother picking up my phone. I haven’t really been keen on picking up a smart watch and this has definitely quenched any thirst I had for one.
The one downside I’ve found compared to my Fitbit Zip is that the Ssmart needs to be plugged in to charge versus having an onboard standard battery. I would expect that from a more fully featured device like this, but it does take some getting used to.
With so many devices on the market that do it all, I’ve been looking to upgrade.The most comparable devices in the Fitbit line are the Fitbit Charge and the Fitbit Charge HR. But they both cost more than the Ssmart Dynamo 2+ and while the Charge HR has one up on the Dynamo due to continuous heart rate monitoring, the Dynamo 2+ has smart device notifications which pushes it way ahead of the Charge HR in my mind. So if, like me, you want all the features of a Charge plus some of the functionality of an Apple Watch but without breaking the bank, check out the Ssmart Dynamo 2+!
Note: I received a device for review purposes but all thoughts and opinions above are my own.
