I came across the ever so cool PulseOn watches at a trade show event earlier this year. A surprising factoid is that these watches are designed and developed in of all places, Finland. The company is a spin-off from Nokia and was founded by five people who wanted to change the paradigm of how heart rate monitoring is done.
PulseOn is a mishmash of sensor technology, algorithms and mobile technology. The mobile app turns the accurate heart rate data into meaningful feedback on the effect of training on your body, making it personalized to you.
What I initially liked about the watch is the design. So many of the heart monitors and sensor watches on the market might be functional but they’re also geeky, so much so that I’ve never been compelled to wear one on a regular basis.
Their watch measures your heart rate accurately and reliably without the need for a chest belt, so you can be freer as you work out and train. Their sophisticated algorithms extract and analyze heart rate in a wide range of conditions, so whether you’re running, weight training or simply taking a walk, it turns that heart rate data into something measurable — and meaningful. In other words, you don’t need to be a doctor to understand and make sense of that data.
It measures your heart rate, training intensity, training effect, elapsed time, distance, time and tracked speed.
I love the fact that’s relatively small compared to some of the other options out there. There are different modes you can set it on. For example, when the watch is in Sports mode, you can track during your training event what is the effect of the session on your fitness in real-time as it accumulates. In addition, your PulseOn shows you other informative details of your on-going workout. After your training event, you can check your heart rate at any time on your wrist device and also wear it as a watch.
PulseOn essentially comes in white and black, or what they refer to as beautiful Cloud or dramatic Coal. Another nifty thing they do is allow you to change the strap, so you can personalize your PulseOn in either the energetic Acid and modern Midnight options. Apparently they’re going to be coming out with more colors (YES PLEASE) depending on the season. Bring on purple and olive green!
The straps also come in two different sizes, for smaller and larger wrists with both sizes included in a single PulseOn device package, which is important to note for women who have smaller wrists, which is most definitely the case for me.
I also love the variation and find the size and color flexibility to be huge benefits, in addition to the simple UI. The UI and mobile app combined, made it easy for me to track my own data, either right away or weekly if I’m too busy to keep regular tabs on my progress. You can learn more and order from their website at http://pulseon.com/.
Two thumbs up!
NOTE: PulseOn sent us products to test out and review upon our request since we are very interested in this area, however all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.