In the ever-crowded arena of physical activity tracking devices and apps, Apple recently released
Moves and to my surprise is pretty efficient app both interface, usability, and battery consumption wise. (
Moves FAQ on iTUNES)
Simply put, enable the Location feature and this turns on the GPS to locate where you are and thus if you move quickly via car, the GPS will kick in and record it as "transport" time. As I'm typing this blog piece, I believe the accelerometer is detecting my steps b/c the green icon pulses whenever I take a step. The user guide says that whenever the GPS detects very little variations in your location, it cycles down (but I can't be sure of that). Overall battery life is about the same if you have "Location" services enabled already on your device.
Although there is no game function yet, MOVES seems to be the most fluid and intuitive of the other tracking apps I've used and if they open up the API to allow game and app developers - we could really see some nicely integrated games and activities. Of course with some simple tweaking adding simple gamification features like leaderboards, achievememts and challenges, we could see a real competitor to RunKeeper, MapMyRun, and all the other fitness apps.
Stay Active and Be Well! [Via
MakeUseOf,
Moves website]
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