Talking Pedometer
Now you can leave your reading glasses at home when you jog in the morning since talking pedometers are available now.
The problem with LCD’s is that when the sun is too high, the figures or the images on the LCD are difficult to read. The visibility of the characters is compromised when read out doors.
This is a problem or at least an inconvenience to more mature users of electronic gadgets or to people with poor eyesight. That is why talking pedometers would be beneficial or appropriate for them to use.
Talking pedometers have voice announcements of the information it has registered. This is a convenience since you don’t have to look at your pedometer every time and again just to check the number of steps you have made.
The most popular of these talking pedometers are:
Voice Zone Talking Pedometer – This pedometer announces the number of steps you have taken, the number of calories you have burned, the distance you have traveled and it keeps track of the time you have jogged or walked.
It has an automated voice prompt that will inform the user the whenever he has taken 1,000 steps, burned 500 calories, walked half a mile, and when you have been walking for 10 minutes.
This model counts actual steps and ignores false steps which may cause under counting if the user is walking slow or taking subtle steps.
Oregon Scientific Talking Pedometer with FM Radio – This pedometer is a fusion of pedometers and portable radios or Walkmans.
Just like every pedometer, this model counts the person’s steps taken everyday. It also measures the number of calories the user have burned and the distance traveled by walking.
It has a seven day memory for recording the number of steps and number of calories a person has burned in a week, a useful feature for people conscious of their health and their work out stats. It can count up to 99,999 steps before it rolls over back to zero and it has a 24 hour clock with alarm.
Since it has an FM radio feature, there is also a jock for ear phones. The stats of your work out are announced through the ear phones.
This is a great companion for people who get bored when jogging or walking. It counts the steps of the person and at the same time, provides entertainment by the use of the FM Radio.
These talking pedometers impressive since it provides voice prompts and voice announcements of the user’s statistics. But there is a downside to this type of model. Imagine having this kind of pedometer, especially the Voice Zone talking pedometer (without headphones) and you’re in a meeting. This kind of pedometer could cause distractions and may be irritating especially if you’re doing a presentation and you’re moving a lot.
Therefore, this type of pedometer is inadvisable to professionals who don’t like being disturbed during presentations and meetings. At least, professionals shouldn’t wear talking pedomeneters during meetings and presentations. This is recommended to more mature users though.
Also, there hasn’t been any good review for these kinds of pedometers pertaining to its accuracy when it comes to step counting. Although it is convenient for people with poor eyesight, the accuracy may be compromised especially if the user really wants to keep a healthy lifestyle. We’ll be on the look out for more accurate Talking Pedometers in the market.
Regarding battery consumption though, you could expect that talking pedometers would consume batteries quicker that regular pedometers. We weren’t able to gather information pertaining to these models’ battery lifespan but since it has added features, battery life should be shorter compared to normal step counters.