Review: LG Lifeband Touch

$199, lg.com/au

LG tries to find itself a niche in the wearables department

The last thing the world needs right now is another smart fitness band, and LG’s valiant attempt to carve out a niche for itself in this increasingly crammed and competitive market is a bit of a mixed bag.

For a fitness band to get noticed in this day and age it needs to be something special. Good looks and ease of use with a little innovation mixed in tends to be a good start. Sadly that’s not the Lifeband Touch.

Part pedometer, part smartwatch, the Lifeband works well when dealing with incoming phonecalls and controlling your music. Its built-in vibration alerts are surprisingly effective at motivating you to reach your step targets, and unlike many of its competitors it’s compatible with both iOS and Android devices, although not the Samsung Galaxy S5, which seems like quite an oversight.

Its touch-sensitive OLED display will alert you to steps taken, calories burned and distance travelled, along with a basic digital clock. Sadly, if you want to use any of these functions outside you’ll struggle to see anything at all. Sunlight is not the Lifeband Touch’s friend.

The Lifeband is a strange beast, and some in the office liked its look more than others. It would have been nice if it had been a little slimmer, but we assume LG is saving that for the inevitable Lifeband Touch 2. love Effective phone call and music control. Alerts provide motivation hate Poor visibility in sunlight. Too bulky T3 says A decent attempt at creating a smartwatch/ pedometer hybrid. We’ll wait for the next one, though