Misfit Shine: a coin-sized wearable activity tracker

I really like what I see on the crowd sourcing platform Indiegogo at the moment. The offers there are quiet different from what you find on the rivaling platform Kickstarter. The latest campaign to catch my attention is the Misfit Shine, a wearable activity tracker that is tiny enough to carry it with you regardless of what you are wearing. The device comes in a couple of different flavors, from a clasp that you can attach to underwear, bathing suits or shoes over sports and leather bands to a necklace to carry it around your neck.

The device is made out of metal which means that you can wear it anywhere, even in water, to track your activity. The device records the activity when you are wearing it and communicates with your smartphone automatically when you bring it close to the device. What's interesting is that you do not need to pair the device using Bluetooth or physical connectors. All that is needed for that is to place the shine on the phone that has the application running to transfer the data to it.

The company does not reveal how the transfer works, my guess would be NFC as wireless communication would mean you could sync the device at a greater distance as well.

The Misfit Shine not only tracks the steps you take on any given day but also your cycling and swimming addition as it can distinguish between those activities. The device can display how active you have been so far on any given date. For that, you simply tap on the device to display the activity so far. The device displays a small circle of lights that becomes active when you do that that indicates your daily progress. A full circle means you reached your daily goal, while half a circle means you are just half-way through.

While not mentioned explicitly, I'd imagine that you can configure what you consider a full day of activity in the smartphone app as requirements differ between users of the device. A professional athlete for instance may want to set the daily activity to a higher level than someone who just wants to keep track of the daily activity.

Specs

• Made out of metal, therefore fully waterproof
• Weight: under 10g
• Size: 27.5mm in diameter, 3.3mm edge
• Battery: lasts about six months. It is not clear if the battery recharges automatically. Someone suggested that it uses kinetic energy to charge but that has not been confirmed so far.
• Compatibility: Works on iOS 5+ devices currently, Android 4.0+ devices expected to be supported on launch

Perks

The device is fully funded already, currently at more than $520,000 Dollars which is more than five times the initial funding goal of $100,000 Dollars. If you decided to fund the device, make sure you read the descriptions of each perk to make sure you understand it correctly. Especially the first perk, the $49 necklace can be tricky as you only get the necklace for that price but not the shine itself.

Free shipping for the US, all others have to pay shipping fees. Make sure you read the conditions underneath each perk listed on the page.

• $79 will get you a shine, a clasp and a sports wristband.
• $99 gets you the same, but instead of the sports wristband you get a leather band.
• $119 the neck pack, you get a shine, a clasp and the necklace
• $129 gets you a black shine instead of a metallic looking one

Here is the demo video of the Shine:

A couple of questions remain unanswered. This includes how and if the battery can be recharged, how the transmission between the shine and the smartphone works, how the app looks like and if it provides you with configuration options in regards to your activity per day, and when the Android app will be available. The shine is expected to be delivered in March 2013.

The device has a lot going for it, especially the cable-less syncing, the fact that you can wear it anywhere and that it is waterproof speak for it.

Advertisement