Runtastic Orbit synced to a smartphone

Field Test | Runtastic Orbit: Activity and Sleep Tracker

At first look, the Runtastic Orbit may sound like a glorified pedometer. Yes it does tracks steps, distance covered but it also displays time, tracks sleep, calories burned and syncs with Runtastic Apps to convert data into easily readable graphs. It’s an interesting wearable device for fitness enthusiast. I tried the Runtastic Orbit for at least a month to see if it does help me be more aware of my fitness goals and daily activity.

What's in the box
What’s in the box

The Runtastic Orbit

In the box, the Runtastic Orbit comes with two wristbands (blue and black), a black clip, USB charger with contact interface and manuals. The actual Orbit is a small 2-inch electronic device with a small OLED screen atop a silver button which cycles the mode. There’s also a small protruding dot on top which is a light sensor. It’s pretty big for a wristband really and I decided to wear it on the wrist opposite my watch. The band feels securely locked and doesn’t have a problem on getting loose. The Orbit is also waterproof so people can take it on swims or rainy runs.

At first, I liked the reserved black color of the wristband but after a while I felt the blue was more stylish. Other wristband colors are available but sold separately. The Orbit device slips into these wristbands and clip securely with appropriate slots for the button, screen and light sensor.

The main orbit tracking device
The main orbit tracking device

Use and Function

The Runtastic Orbit is a 24-hour wearable tracking device with only a single button interface to rotate around its modes. There’s the time, steps counter, distance, active minutes and calories burned. A long press will activate the sleep mode and another long press to deactivate. The Sleep Mode utilizes the light sensor which is an interesting concept and also slight movements while in the sleep mode. There’s the sleep efficiency graph which compares deep vs light sleep. On how accurate this is I’m not too sure as one has to initiate the mode to track it.

Much of the data are collected in this little device but its the syncing with the Runtastic Me app which translates all this data into a much understandable charts. Battery life of the device is excellent from 5–7 days.

Two wristbands, a clip and USB charger
Two wristbands, a clip and USB charger

 

Running with the Runtastic Orbit
Running with the Runtastic Orbit

The Runtastic Me app and summary on the next page…

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.