Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer with Health Management Software
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Customer Reviews of Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer with Health Management Software
Customer Review: How to Walk 10,000 Steps a Day....
Summary: 5 Stars
I cannot say enough good things about this particular Omron pedometer!! It has been unbelievably motivating! Plus, I have dropped mine at LEAST 100 times (guess I'm klutzy LOL) and it still works GREAT. It is unbelievably ACCURATE even after dropping it so many times. I believe in this product so much that I have given at LEAST 20 of them to various friends.
In response to some of the negative reviews: I have used this pedometer DAILY at all times for almost 8 months. If your pedometer is not accurate, you must have received the rare dud and need to simply exchange yours. The clip is GREAT; however there is one pair of pants with rather thin material that I own where it tends to fall off. I just use the secondary clip with those pants. Every other outfit presents absolutely NO PROBLEM with the pedometer. Others have mentioned less expensive pedometers. Usually if you drop those, they are history, plus do not offer the capability to download daily step data, which I absolutely love.
Likewise, I wear this pedometer every waking minute of every day and I get in at LEAST 10,000 steps (and usually much more) each and every day. The battery lasts for 6 MONTHS so I don't understand the review from the user who stated that he needed to replace his every 3 weeks. My friends and I have NOT found this to be the case.
This pedometer has done more than anything else to bring about a lasting LIFESTYLE CHANGE for me.
There have been so many reviews written about this product that this review will probably get lost in the shuffle, but I figure that if my review helps even ONE person - then it will have been worthwhile.
I was a TOTAL "couch potato" for YEARS. Truly. I was lucky if I got in even 2000 -3000 steps a day because I frequently work from home plus I love old movies and reading....you know, really ACTIVE pastimes! LOL Yet I was also a person who FOR YEARS tried to work up to 10,000 steps and would try it for a few days and then fizzle out. I failed so many times, it isn't funny. That said, I have now walked 10,000 steps daily for almost 7 months...which is nothing short of MIRACULOUS for ME. So how did I do it?
I turned this into a "game" and this game can be done with either another person or by yourself:
1. The first 2 weeks I tried to walk an AVERAGE of 5,000 steps daily or 35,000 steps each week. (Or if you can't start out at 5,000 steps - then choose fewer steps. The thing is to START.) Each week that I adhered to an average of 5,000 steps, I rewarded myself with something. (If you are doing this with another person, you can have a sort of "contest" with the loser having to give the prize.)
2. For weeks 3 and 4, I tried to AVERAGE 7,500 steps daily or 52,500 steps each week.
3. For weeks 5,6,7,8, I tried to AVERAGE 10,000 steps daily or 70,000 steps each week.
4. After that, I wanted CONSISTENCY in my life and so I aimed for AT LEAST 10,000 steps EACH AND EVERY DAY. Each week I rewarded myself so that now, it is "reward" enough that I reach these goals.
5. When I first started walking 10,000 steps a day, it wasn't easy and so I would break it down so that I tried to get in at least about 4,000 - 5,000 steps in by noon.
6. It gets REALLY hot in Arizona and often I ended up just walking in my house or in my yard! You DON'T have to walk at a scheduled time or outside at the park or on a treadmill. I have a treadmill and a gym and it really IS kinda boring to me. I would MUCH rather walk in the house or at the park, but it is strictly up to you. LOL And now, I always take the trash out the long way to the trash cans and always try to park really far from the store because I know that I will be getting in more steps.
7. I also had a sheet of paper that I kept on the refrigerator that had my number of steps next to the date at first.
8. One of the BEST tips for getting steps in: When I am on the phone paying bills or talking to ANYONE - I WALK. I am AMAZED at how many steps I can get in! Also, I used to get rather angry WAITING on the phone for customer service, but now I am walking anyway - so I feel as though I am killing 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak! LOL
9. There is an online web site that I found that is tailored strictly to this Pedometer and it is called walkingspree. com. I believe that it has a one-time fee of about $30 and you download your steps with the cable straight on to your page. I can honestly tell you that it has been the best $30 I have ever spent and I have paid for memberships for several of my friends. I have NO affiliation with this site, but I'm suggesting it because it has helped me so much. One thing that I love is that each day that you reach 10,000 steps, the calendar square turns red. If you don't reach 10,000 the square stays blue - so at a glance you can tell how faithful you have been with stepping.
I know that may of you are going to be making New Year's Resolutions to walk more. FINALLY...THIS YEAR I will be making LOTS of resolutions as usual, but at least 10,000 steps won't be on the list...because I feel as though this is something that has become one of the best habits of my life. I wish everyone the very BEST of luck with this program.
Customer Review: Has a lot of nice features
Summary: 2 Stars
The HJ-720ITC is a nice pedometer. It's compact, yet not too small and not too big. I like that it has a clock on it. As a matter of fact, this has now replaced my cell phone as my "pocket watch". I bought the HJ-720ITC because you can connect it to your PC and download your data and keep track of your daily steps, etc. You can also create charts and print out this data, or create PDF's for archiving.
The holster is a bit of a problem. It doesn't stay in place on my belt. I believe the clip is way too small (or I'm just too fat). However, it has a lanyard that you can connect to it and clip that somewhere just in case the pedometer comes out of the holster or the holster comes off your belt. Also, there is no reset button for the steps or calories burned. There is a reset pin button on the back of the unit, but that just resets the time, it does not reset the data (steps, calories). I find that disturbing because as I am testing this unit out, I was seeing that the steps are very inaccurate. I found that it was very inaccurate because I placed the pedometer in my pants pocket. The instructions state that this is okay and you could even place it in your shirt pocket. After experimenting with it in the pocket, I found the reading to be totally unacceptable, so I put the holster back on my belt and tried it that way. The reading was more acceptable now, but that totally eliminates the use of placing it in my pocket. So... since the readings are WAY OFF because I had it in my pocket (I was getting readings of upwards of 22 steps when I had in fact walked and counted 15 steps), there is no way to reset these total steps for the day. The pedometer has a built in reset at midnight; the pedometer will go back to zero, but in the meantime, I have to go with incorrect data.
** Ok, this pedometer resets every day at midnight. So...I manually set the clock to 11:59p and waited until 12:00a so the data can reset. The steps went to 0 and the data (for the day) was reset, however, the pedometer is now on day 2 of recording the steps and calories burned. When I took the pedometer out of the holster and attached the USB cable, the thing registered 7 steps. 7 steps from removing it from the holster and connecting the cable?! That's insane and it totally screws up my total steps for the day and the data on the PC software that was keeping track. It would have been nice if there was a reset button and a button to start and stop the counting - like the feature on a stop watch.
I weigh 320+ lbs right now. I'm trying to lose weight. I joined 24 Hour Fitness. I've been going every night for the last 3 weeks and got a personal trainer. I dropped about 13 lbs since then. I'm also doing my Weight Watcher points, and changed my way of eating. This pedometer only goes up to 300lbs. I find the weight limitation offensive and discriminating. I would think that the people at Omron would consider that obese people would like to buy this product. 24 Hour Fitness has a body fat counting device made by Omron. That device allows input of over 300lbs, so why not this pedometer? Thankfully I only have 20 or so pounds to go until I reach the MAXIMUM setting for this pedometer. In the meantime, the reading for calories burned will be inaccurate. I feel bad for people that weigh more than me.
Pro:
Compact size
Easy to use and setup
Nice software and PC interface
Looks really nice
Con:
Maximum weight to enter in pedometer is 300lbs.
No way to reset steps taken. Just taking the pedometer off the clip and plugging in the USB cable registered 7 steps!!!
The holster is very flimsy and will come off your belt. It's also too small for the belt.
The black plastic housing is easily scratched from the plastic holster.
My advice would be to buy a pedometer that is less expensive. While I was waiting for the HJ-720ITC to arrive, I opened a inexpensive pedometer I bought at a discount store that I was going to give to a co-worker as a preset and that thing worked great. For $4.99 it was no frills; it only had 2 buttons - one for stride and one to reset the distance. That pedometer did not disappoint me like the HJ-720ITC.
Customer Review: Excellent Fitness Motivation
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm sure with close to 1000 reviews for this product that few people if any will see this review, but I just wanted to weigh in with my 3.5 years and counting experience of using this device every day.
I've owned two of these, lost one and missed it so much I shopped around a bit and opted to purchase the same model again. While it is rated the #1 Pedometer by Money Magazine, the reasons I've liked it are as follows:
1. Using a pedometer of any variety has been a great motivator for me to consistently push towards my walking goals and reach them. Using the aerobic step count feature, it has more than once been incentive to keep my pace up in the aerobic zone and walk at a fast pace for a bit longer to reach my goals each day. Given that you must be in the aerobic zone for a minimum of 10 minutes, it also provides incentive to keep moving at a good clip for at least 10 minute intervals or else the steps will only register as regular steps. When I first set a 10K steps per day goal several years ago it was still "unusual" for me to walk that much in a day and I am sure I would have cut a few corners for thinking I'd walked more aerobic steps than I had. At those times if I didn't have this pedometer along to double check I may not have changed my lifestyle as much as I have. Over time though, I've gotten so used to my various routes, and how my body feels that I've learned to know fairly accurately how many steps I've accumulated at a given steps/min rate even without verifying against my pedometer, but that took thousands of miles and double checking against this handy little device to learn this degree of self-awareness -- in the meantime it just did its thing and faithfully gave me that extra little incentive to keep up the pace and distance I was shooting for until it became a way of life for me.
2. Although seldom used, I will say the software that comes with this particular model is much appreciated. It has been great for checking progress over time and planning for future goals. One thing about the software though... Having lost one of these and then buying the same model again, I assumed I could just sync it with my computer and continue monitoring my steps over time. Anyone else finding themselves in this same predicament may want to know that this is not the case and you'll either want to create a new "profile" in the software to track your new progress going forward, or be willing to accept that if you use the same profile name, it will permanently overwrite all your old history which can be a real bummer!! Can you guess which one I did? :)
If you're looking at a couple different pedometer models and trying to decide which to buy, here are some of my thoughts:
1. Strongly consider going with a model that is able to accurately count your steps whether you're carrying it in your shirt or hip pocket. Unless you're a lot more organized than me, you might lose the typical belt clip after a few hundred miles, but if you buy a good pedometer, that shouldn't be a problem.
2. Decide if you want to set goals and keep track of progress over time? If so, then are you a disciplined person who would actually write down that progress EVERY day or are you more like me and would appreciate being able to go as many as... 42 days!... between remembering to hook this thing up to your computer at least once to get absolutely accurate daily statistics on your running, biking, and/or walking progress?
A few ways this device could be improved upon:
1. It would be nice if a pedometer that did all that this pedometer does could also monitor and track heart rate information and upload that to a computer.
2. Would also be nice if it was even moderately waterproof -- a friend had this same model go bad while jogging in the rain.
Customer Review: Best Physical Fitness Device I've Ever Purchased
Summary: 5 Stars
This is actually the 2nd Omron HJ-720ITC pedometer that I've purchased or received. I liked the first one I got back in October so much that I purchased this one as a gift for my wife.
In August of last year, I decided it was time to lose weight so I started watching what I ate and started to exercise. I run on the Elliptical Trainer pretty much every morning and then I walk during my lunch breaks at work. I've dropped 45 pounds and I've pretty much hit my target weight as of the end of November.
So how's this the best fitness device? Well, the Omron pedometer let me set goals on my computer and then upload my walking routine regularly (I upload nearly daily; although it saves over a month of data so daily isn't required). I set my goals high enough that to meet them I have to make a concerted effort to exercise, it wasn't just going to happen with normal daily activity. I've missed an occassional day since then, but I've found that it really bothers me when I perform the upload and see the missed day.
Since reaching my original goal weight, I've found myself less motivated when I've been tired, but knowing that if I don't get my steps in, I'll pull down my average on the computer keeps me motivated.
The device is very well built, sturdy, and with basic water resistance (i.e. rubber seals over the USB interface). The holster works extremely well. I've never had it slip out of the holster accidentally. I have had the holster slip off my belt a time or two from sitting and bumping it. I would have liked the holster to be a little longer as it doesn't quite cover my belt which is why it has slipped off when pressed against. However, it also has a clip that I snap onto either my pocket or belt that has never failed. So even when the holster has been knocked off my belt, the pedometer never falls to the ground since it is held by the clip and string.
It collects the number of steps, number of aerobic steps (defined as more than 60 steps per minute for more than 10 minutes at a time), amount of aerobic walking time, number of calories burned, distance traveled, and amount of fat burned. The first five are viewable on the LCD and the fat burned I think is calculated by the upload software. It keeps 7 days viewable on the LCD, and keeps a total of 42 days available for upload. All stats are then shown in software indefinitely. The software shows a daily walking report compared against your goals. It also has Weekly Steps both totals and daily average across the week, Monthly Steps again, totals for the month and daily average for the month, Yearly Steps both as a total and daily average for the year, and then Total Steps since purchasing the pedometer and daily average (I'm at 1,645,311 steps, 1,096,970 aerobic steps, 7,792 minutes of aerobic walking, 94,769 calories, 934 miles, and 6,035 grams of fat burned since I started using it on October 29, 2007).
I've found the pedometer to be incredibly accurate in counting steps. I'm not sure what technology is used, but it works. It is also the quietest pedometer I've ever used.
I highly recommend this pedometer and state unequivically, it is the best physical fitness device I've ever purchased.
Bill Olsen
Customer Review: A pre-review to provide a little more info to others
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been looking at this pedometer for months, reading all the reviews, and agonizing over whether or not to buy it. (A trip to the emergency room last week convinced me that I've GOT to stop putting off walking and get myself in better shape.) That the software tracks both steps and blood pressure is an attractive feature, but I've already got an expensive blood pressure monitor that's not one of the ones that you can download the data from.
Before buying, I first emailed Omron to ask if it's possible to manually enter the blood pressure data, then (because I was having a fit to go on and order it), called them directly to ask. The person I spoke to on the phone said there's no way to manually enter data but that she'd put in a request to add that feature. She was very nice. I went on and ordered two, one for myself and one for my sister, so I could benefit from Omron's instant rebate special that was expiring that day.
THEN...I got a very nice phone call from a guy from Omron, I think his name was John but I'm not sure, who said YES, you CAN manually enter blood pressure data. You can't manually enter pedometer data, but there's a data entry screen for blood pressure and pulse. He took the time to tell me exactly how to get to the screen and said I didn't even have to have the product to download the software and install it. I was thrilled!
Okay, here's what you do: Go to software.omronhealthcare.com. You will see three products that all have the health management software. He said it doesn't matter which one you download because they're all the same, but I discovered that all of them don't have the latest version of the software listed. Check all three and get the one that's the most current because, if you don't, you'll have to uninstall/reinstall the earlier version later.
Once you download the software and unzip it--and THIS IS IMPORTANT--be sure to disable any virus program and deactivate any firewalls BEFORE double-clicking the setup.exe file to install it. As soon as it's finished installing, re-enable the firewalls and virus program immediately.
The program icon should be on your desktop, so you can play around with it while you're waiting for your nifty new pedometer to arrive. In the Weekly Blood Pressure/Pulse graph, to the right, you'll see a yellow View/Enter Data button. It's very small, so keep looking for it if you don't see it right away. It's there. Click on that, enter your data, then save and close. The data you entered will be shaded pink. So I guess, in the future, if you get another blood pressure monitor that you can download the data from, you'll be able to differentiate it from your manually entered data.
I have not attempted yet to export a .CSV file to be sure the manually entered data also exports, but I'll bet it does. Why wouldn't it?
Anyway, I am very pleased and very excited about finally ordering my Omron pedometer. And less than 24 hours after ordering, I got the email that it's shipped. YAY!