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: Not bad.
Summary: 4 Stars
What I like the most about this pedometer is that I can just keep it in my pocket. Not only that I can keep it in my pocket, but that it keeps an accurate count while it's in my pocket. The automatic reset at midnight is handy, so I don't need to worry about forgetting to reset the pedometer and inflating my counts for the next day. The other features are nice, but incidental.
Aerobic steps: I haven't figured out exactly what constitute an aerobic step, but it seems to be fairly accurate, counting the steps when I'm out for a walk as opposed to when I'm just walking around.
Calories burned: It's a nice gesture. But it's probably inaccurate. There are so many other factors when calculating the number of calories burned.
Distance: It's a nice estimate of how far you've gone in a day. But since it calculates distance based on your average stride length, if you're going out on a walk, your stride will probably have elongated, and whatever distance the pedometer give you will probably be on the conservative side.
Software: I suppose it's nice having the software track everything for you, but there's a certain satisfaction from filling in your own chart, which is quite easy since the pedometer itself will display your counts for up to a week. That being said, the software is easy to use and decently designed.
Overall: It's a very good pedometer. I would recommend it if you like a lot of frills to play with. But I bought the pedometer at a discount. I don't think I would have gotten it otherwise. The HJ-112 is cheaper and can also be placed in your pocket. It doesn't have all the other features, but I don't find those critical to a pedometer.
Customer Review: The Best Pedometer I've Used
Summary: 5 Stars
After trying several pedometers, this is my favorite. I started with cheaper coil-spring mechanism models, but they were rarely accurate, and I never liked having to place them on my belt. Even small ones seemed to get in the way. Then I had two Omron HJ-112s, the first of which failed when I wore it into the swimming pool (you know you're a pedometer addict when you wear it in your swimsuit just to get a few extra steps!), and the second one I lost. I bought the HJ-720ITC as an upgrade so that I could record my data to the computer. I love being able to track my steps, aerobic and non-aerobic, and I wear it when I run as well. I don't know how accurate it is while running, but it's certainly not too far off the right count.
One thing I found with the HJ-112 is that the little plastic clip that attaches to your clothing breaks pretty easily. I imagine the same is true for the HJ-720. The clip attaches to the end of the lanyard as an extra safety precaution to make sure the pedometer doesn't fall off, but now I just leave the case and clip at home. I put it the pedometer in my pocket (it fits nicely in the little fifth pocket in all my jeans) where it remains snug, and so far no drops.
One other very slight drawback is the software. It works fine (I'm running Vista), but it only downloads data for the pedometer and Omron's blood pressure meter. It would be nice if it downloaded data from an Omron heart rate monitor as well. That would make it more workout friendly, but it's really designed as health management software, not fitness management software.
I'm really happy with this new pedometer, and I just have to remember not to take it swimming!
Customer Review: I love that it works in your pocket!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've probably owned 10 pedometers over the last 5 years. The belt clip always breaks after 4-5 months and that's extremely frustrating! What a waste of money!! So when I saw that this one had the ability to function from inside your pocket, I was all over it! I opted for the one with the computer software, which I haven't really been using regularly (but it's a nice feature). I also LOVE how it automatically resets itself at midnight. No more having to keep a pad of paper on my nightstand to write the steps down at the end of the day. If I forget to track it, it's automatically stored for 7 days. I LOVE that!
Based on other pedometers, and knowing how far I walk each day, the step count seems to be accurate. But the mileage is way off. I've driven my walking route and one "lap" around the neighborhood is 1.5 miles. It comes up as approx. .90 miles on the pedometer. So, I know that's not accurate but maybe it just means recalculating my stride - I just haven't done that yet.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with it. I've had it now for almost a month and haven't gone a day without using it. The mileage accuracy isn't all that significant to me though because having the pedometer in general helps to keep me more active. I'm more aware of parking further away, getting up from my desk at work more often, being more active at home, etc...and that's really all that matters. And FINALLY, one where the belt clip won't break because I'm using it in my pocket! LOVE IT! (BTW, I've seen other reviews where people are complaining about it falling out of their pockets. But if you use the safety clip, you won't have that problem. It works really well!)
Customer Review: Good fitness aid
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far the best pedometer I have ever owned. It works reliably, can be worn on the belt or carried in a pocket, and has a heavy-duty leash with strong clip. It stores at least a month of data, although you can only review the most recent 7 days on the device. The pedometer has a mini-USB port for connecting to a PC, and proprietary software is included with this model. The software is adequate for data download and basic data display, but it won't do real analysis such as process description charting. For that you have to export the data file to a format (*.csv) that can be used by an external program. Examining the CSV file shows that there are over 100 data fields for each day! 48 fields are hour-by-hour breakdowns of total steps and "aerobic" steps. (Omron defines aerobic steps as those occurring during a period of continuous activity at 30 steps per minute or greater.) Another 48 fields have to do with capabilities of the pedometer that I have not explored yet. The rest are date, and daily totals. That level of detail allows a number of analysis possibilities whether you are using a spreadsheet such as OpenOffice.org Calc or Microsoft Excel, or professional statistical analysis software.
Some time ago I did use another pedometer with "data storage and analysis" features. That one required manual entry of daily data into a website, had only very simple charting ability, and had no option to export data. I lost interest very quickly. Since I have had this Omron product I have dropped 30 pounds, in large part because I can regularly examine the data and look for areas for improvement in my performance. (Yes, I am a data geek.)
Customer Review: So far so good.
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using pedometers since 2001. This is probably the 4th different type I've used. I've only had it for this week, but my first impression is that its an excellent piece of hardware.
I've only used it in its holster clipped to my belt, so haven't tested its claims to work in your pocket.
Set up is very easy. Buttons are pretty intuitive for daily use. Uploading the pedometer's data to the included software is very simple.
My only qualms so far are with the clip and the software.
The clip slips off my belt fairly easily. You really need to use the tether to ensure it doesn't windup falling off during the day (and into the commode.)
The software does what it does well. You can have multiple (up to 28) people setup to be monitored. It keeps track of which user the pedometer was last uplaoded to and gives a warning if you try to upload to a different user. It WILL let you do the upload, but at least it gives you fair warning.
The downside of the software is the following. It is named a "Health Management Software" and tracks this Pedometer and Omron's USB equiped blood pressure monitors. It does not let you manually enter blood pressure/pulse readings. It does not let you track weight or any other parameter important to your health. It does export its data, but has no import capability. The data is kept in a password protected .mdb file, so I couldn't use Access to make manual entries.
Tweak the software and this gets 5+ stars.
Use this in parallel with "SparkPeople" and you have a 'killer' weight management system.