Zebronics ZEB-FIT100 Smart Fitness Band Review

We are toiling towards overflowing calendars and tiring schedules don’t spare us much time for any physical activity. Simultaneously, machines are consuming a large share of our labour. Lately, health concerns due to declining state of environment, our unhealthy “fast” food habits and long due consideration to studies relating depression and low physical activity, have made us anxious, if not necessarily aware. Even if we have time, we lack the stimulus for exercise and fitness. Fitness accessories, like the one we have for review today – Zebronics ZEB-FIT100 Smart Fitness Band – have gained popularity as they help one steal time to focus on fitness, by merely reminding them to walk.

Economical and elaborate fitness

We Indians obsess over numbers, and this is what the Zebronics ZEB-FIT100 Smart Fitness Band takes advantage of. It is a slick accessory which you can hook up with any of your Android and iOS devices and record basic information like your footsteps, distance traversed, calories burnt, and much more, to help you set your fitness goals each day. Priced at Rs. 1,414, the pocket-friendly fitness band is available in black, blue, gray and orange colours. The bracelet strap is made of high-quality silicon and feels durable. It is splash resistant, but not advised to swim with.

Light-weight, but not insignificant

OLED Display

Weighing just 25.8grams, the device will not add any bulk to your wrist. It comes with a 1.24cm OLED display, and a button on the side; the bottom has a 3-pin charging point. USB charging clip is supplied in the package. Initially, one must download the Zeb-Fit App from Google Play/iOS App Store to be able to connect their phone to the ZEB-FIT100 fitness band for synching.

Single Button, Multiple Features

Zeb-fit fitness tracking app

The button on the side lets you cycles between screens that display time, footsteps tread, distance walked in kilometers, calories burnt (all calculated on the basis of footsteps) and a “Find My Phone” option. The OLED screen also notifies in events of alarms and calls, displays notifications as well as Caller ID, with the help of tender vibrations. If you’re not a fan of having your wrist buzzed up every ten seconds you can turn notifications off or choose apps selectively.

The button can also serve as shutter for camera, but restricted to the camera option in Zeb-Fit app, which renders poor quality & low-res pictures.  While the information displayed on the band is limited, the app offers detailed stats about your activities on daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis.

Monitor for a healthy sleep

The built-in sleep monitor lets you track your sleep activity, classifying them into Deep sleep, Light sleep and Awake hours, based on any movement during wee hours. Furthermore, the built-in Sedentary reminder prompts you to walk in regular intervals, which can be set using the app. The wrist sense feature deploys gyroscope to wake the screen with a twist of the wrist. The anti-theft option vibrates the band when the Bluetooth connection is lost. 

Sleep monitor for maximizing deep sleep

Not everything that lurches is a footstep

Although very elaborate, there’s a basic hitch in the way devices like these process and presents information. Everything is computed on the basis of the pedometer, basically attributed to jerks or vibrations which the pedometer may account to footsteps. Besides walking, these could also arise from bumps while driving, air-guitaring or even brushing your teeth. Owing to the lack of a GPS or heart rate monitor, this device fails to differentiate between walking and other forms of physical activity like running or cycling. Now, that is a problem even fitness bands from Fitbit exhibit and not specific to the brand.

Verdict

Zebronics’ ZEB-FIT100 smart fitness band has plenty of features which can help you sow seeds of your physical and mental transformation. Fortunately, it comes at an attractive price. In one single charge, the Lithium-polymer battery can easily last more than 72 hours. For courageous souls, it can also be a sassy smart watch.