There are a plethora of wristbands and pedometers on the market that aim to give you more control over your workouts, but none of them say that they will make exercise more fun. The ERI wristband from Digi-Care on the other hand promises just that, and looks like it may hold up to it’s promise. The wristband, which is a low cost (end price $99) tracker that tracks motion, distance, and time, all without GPS. While currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign (where you can pick up an early bird model for $39), the device is already finalized, and according to experts, is fully functional.
The Digi-Care ERI Wristband
The Digi-Care ERI Wristband features magnetic tracking with an OLED screen and compatible app. The wristband tracks your distance using a unique magnetic distance sensing, motion sensing, temperature sensor, and pressure sensor, allowing you to take it running, hiking, swimming, or anywhere else you go. The smart design features a durable silicone wristband that doubles as waterproof and easy to clean. The battery, which is a Polymer Lithium, lasts for up to two weeks, which is again impressive, especially considering what the ERI wristband does. Features include:
- Distance tracking
- Activity tracking
- NFC Interaction
- Clock
- Notifications via Bluetooth
- Speed Tracking
- and more.
Introducing Competitive Fun
The ERI wristband introduces a new competitive feature to your sport that awards points for when you reach certain goals. You can race, compete, and earn points and ‘prizes’ in any activity, which should technically give you more motivation to do so. Because it measures your time and your speed, you can directly compare your results with friends, strangers, or whomever else you want. The app also tells you where you’re going, points out your route, and gives you an overall rating based on your activity.
Design
One thing that stands out about the Digi-care ERI wristband is that it’s not designed to be cool or even to stand out and scream “hey I’m wearing tech”. Instead, it comes in brightly colored pink, blue, black, green, and (lots of other colors), and mostly just lays flat against your wrist to look like a rather casual bracelet. It’s actually a refreshing design change that focuses on slim, lightweight style rather than attempting to create a statement. Finally, the app and the hardware are set to be open source, so developers can make their own apps for it, and tinkerers can do whatever they want with it. At just 6 mm thick, it’s also incredibly thin for a smart device. Not bad for a $99 wristband.
The best part about the Digi-Care ERI wristband is that it’s very new. In a world where much of the wearable technology is made up of different companies trying to recreate other people’s ideas, a new idea is quite interesting. While not groundbreaking, you can get your own DigiCare ERI wristband as an alternative to a GPS tracker, and quite possibly a much more fun option. According to DigiCare, anyone who works with the open source SDK can also add cool features like motion control, identity authentication (through NFC), and even the ability to hold credit cards as an e-wallet.
