Does Band have inactivity alerts like Vivofit 2?

[nohra]

One of the neat things about the Garmin Vivofit 2 is that it can vibrate with a reminder to get up off your rear and walk a little if you have had no activity for an hour. The Band and the Vivofit are obviously not exactly in the same category of devices since the Band can do so much more, but does it have this feature? Is there anything in the notifications to trigger a reminder if you are inactive for a period of time?

 

[Brian Farkas]

Unfortunately not currently. Does seem like it should be able to be implemented by buzzing if inactive for certain amount of time. You can vote for it here:
Notify Me if I've been sitting for more than a configurable duration of time ? Microsoft Health and Microsoft Band

 

[nohra]

Unfortunately not currently. Does seem like it should be able to be implemented by buzzing if inactive for certain amount of time. You can vote for it here:
Notify Me if I've been sitting for more than a configurable duration of time ? Microsoft Health and Microsoft Band

Thanks for the response. Yeah, that is too bad and seems logical. Hopefully it will become a feature. It's got my vote.

 

[anthonyng]

I spend so much time at my computer for work that it's really easy to forget I haven't been moving around. And it shouldn't be when you remember, it should be at regular intervals.

I guess the challenge would be to also know what is enough activity to reset the timer.

 

[DroidUser42]

I guess the challenge would be to also know what is enough activity to reset the timer.

I think the real challenge would be to come up with something hard to fool. Otherwise I'd just shake my arm a bit and the Band would be happy.

 

[anthonyng]

I think the real challenge would be to come up with something hard to fool. Otherwise I'd just shake my arm a bit and the Band would be happy.

That's mindset, it means you don't want to use the feature then.

 

[DroidUser42]

That's mindset, it means you don't want to use the feature then.

But by the same token, if I really wanted to get fit, I wouldn't need a Band. I'd just do it.

But life can be a strange thing. At a higher level, I do want the feature. But if I'm head-down coding, it may not want the interruption. So I fool it. But if I do it once, then I'm more likely to do it again. And a bad habit is born.

 

[anthonyng]

But by the same token, if I really wanted to get fit, I wouldn't need a Band. I'd just do it.

But life can be a strange thing. At a higher level, I do want the feature. But if I'm head-down coding, it may not want the interruption. So I fool it. But if I do it once, then I'm more likely to do it again. And a bad habit is born.

Yea but it's not quite the same comparable. With the, "hey get up and move" it's a reminder to do something small. Like any other reminders/alarms we have in our calendars and what not. We need reminders because we are so busy and can get so tunnel visioned we forget. A lot of the get up and move is even just a little stand up, stretch, sit back down, if that's all the time you can afford. It's to help reset the positioning of your body.

With working out, that's not something you do whenever. You have to decide a schedule you want to do and make the time to be able to fit that schedule and routine consistently and you have a specific type of goal in mind that will take time to achieve. You can't go work 3 times one week and then don't go again until 2 weeks later. My schedule currently only really allows for a 545am workout! I'm not a morning person but If I'm serious about my fitness, that's the best time I have to do it and so I suck it up and drag myself to the gym then.

The band shouldn't be the thing that makes you do something, nor any other device or a person. You get fit cause you want to. I've been working out before I got the band. I decided to get the band because I was interested in collecting stats about my work outs. Not because I needed something to make me keep working out.

Now I have stats, but now what? I'm not sure yet hehe, I was going to start a topic later about what others are doing with all the stats being collected.

 

[DroidUser42]

The band shouldn't be the thing that makes you do something, nor any other device or a person. You get fit cause you want to. I've been working out before I got the band. I decided to get the band because I was interested in collecting stats about my work outs. Not because I needed something to make me keep working out.

Great. That describes your situation. But not everyone has the same motivational needs.

Mine is more of a battle between my long-term self and my short-term self. Or, between my desires and my laziness. Trust me, if I had no desire to get fit I wouldn't have bought it. So, yes, I do need a nudge.

I'm not saying it should be foolproof. But it shouldn't be too easy to fool either - to discourage me from cheating.

 

[driedl]

I had the Vivosmart for a while and the move reminder is the feature I miss most in moving to the Band (there are lots of reasons I prefer the band, but the move reminder was great). If you sat for an hour or didn't move around enough, it would vibrate and tell you to "MOVE!" It then required about 100 continuous steps before it would reset the "move" indicator. If you ignored it and sat for another hour, it would give you a more insistent reminder. If you ignored it the second time, it would give up (possibly accepting that you must have died). It's very easy for me to park in front of my computer at work and lose track of how long I've been sitting still. This reminder was great at getting me off my **** (most days, at least).
As I understand it, the Apple watch has a similar feature but tells you at the top of the hour every hour if you've been sitting too much in the previous hour. That doesn't strike me as nearly as smart as the Vivosmart which bases its reminder solely on how long you've been sitting.

 

[EugB]

Just don't cheat. Be aware of your own integrity.

 

[gadgetrants]

That's funny, I read DroidUser42's comment about arm-shaking as mostly tongue-in-cheek. I think from a psychological point of view, most people live in the middle ground between I-know-what's-good-for-me and short-term-gratification. My goal (ahem, excuse me while I climb on my soapbox!) is to work at maintaining a balance between the two timescales. But more on that lifestyle/strategy once Anthony launches the "What do you do with the data/insights?" thread!

In the meantime, I'll continue the tongue-in-cheek by noting that one day my daughter called me downstairs to show me that she could "jog" for hours in Wii Fit by simply, gently, flicking the Wiimote back and forth in her hand. :wink: Life is filled with temptations, loopholes, and shortcuts.

​-Matt

 

[anthonyng]

But more on that lifestyle/strategy once Anthony launches the "What do you do with the data/insights?" thread!

Done! http://forums.windowscentral.com/microsoft-band/353506-i-have-all-datas-now-what.html

In the meantime, I'll continue the tongue-in-cheek by noting that one day my daughter called me downstairs to show me that she could "jog" for hours in Wii Fit by simply, gently, flicking the Wiimote back and forth in her hand. :wink: Life is filled with temptations, loopholes, and shortcuts.

I was watching my daughter with the Wii one day "playing tennis". Instead of actually playing it, she set up two computer teams to watch them play instead. Grrrrrrr

 

[anthonyng]

If you sat for an hour or didn't move around enough, it would vibrate and tell you to "MOVE!" It then required about 100 continuous steps before it would reset the "move" indicator. If you ignored it and sat for another hour, it would give you a more insistent reminder. If you ignored it the second time, it would give up (possibly accepting that you must have died)

This really sounds like a great feature for me and easy to implement in the band.... not sure I like the 100 continuous steps limit but with the band you won't be limited to just steps. Be sure to vote in the uservoice thread if you haven't already Notify Me if I've been sitting for more than a configurable duration of time ? Microsoft Health and Microsoft Band

 

[DroidUser42]

That's funny, I read DroidUser42's comment about arm-shaking as mostly tongue-in-cheek.

Only somewhat. If I can dismiss it with 5 wrist flicks, that's too easy. 100 steps seems a bit much. But I would like something where it's easier to move then to fool it. I'm not likely to flick my wrist 20+ times unless I'm really under a deadline. I'd settle for stretch exercises.

I suppose another concern is "get up and move" ends up being a trip to the snack machine. I mean, were else are you going to go to? There's the water fountain and the bathroom. What else is left? The break room? Where the soda and snack machines are?