Why Nokia’s new fitness watch will up your game
Nokia’ s game-changing fitness watch is easy to use ... and easy on the eye
It’sb eena g reath olidayb ut it’s n early t ime t o g et b ack on the bike. This coming week is often the time of year when we decide to slim down and tone up. I’ve found technology useful for keeping track of my exercise and fitness. Some fitness bands and watches scream ‘Look at me! I’m fitter t han y ou!’ H owever, t here i s a more subtle approach to the fitness watch and it has a familiar name o n t he s trap – N okia.
To use Nokia Steel HR watch, I just d ownloaded t he N okia H ealth Mate app – free and available for iOS a nd A ndroid – a nd p aired i t t o my s martphone.
You s pecify v itals s uch a s g ender and current weight for the initial set-up, and create a Nokia health account to track your activity and health data. You can also specify which notifications you want d isplayed o n t he w atch.
The Steel HR is available in 36mm o r 4 0mm. B oth c ircular d ials are sleek and discrete, and more like a stylish conventional watch than a high-tech gadget. There is also a choice of a silicone, woven or leather strap. To get accurate readings from a tracker with heart monitoring you must wear the w atch q uite t ight t o y our s kin. The s ilicone s trap I t ested was comfortable and yet had a l ittle g ive i n i t.
This watch is a refreshing change from many of the big, bulky macho gadgets that I call nerdware.
As well as manual hands for minutes and hours it has a very discreet circular display at the top of the watch face. This small screen clearly d isplays d ata s uch a s s teps taken and heart-monitor details. It is where the smartphone notifications are displayed and also shows additional data such as b attery l evel. On t he l ower h alf o f t he w atch’s face a miniature hand discreetly but clearly displays the p ercentage reached of your daily activity g oal. Using this watch is straightforward. It tracks your steps and automatically records running and swimming in the Health Mate app. The heart-rate monitor is perhaps the feature people will use most. The beats per minute are shown on the dial, while d ata isr ecorded for display on t he a pp. The few negatives are that, with no GPS, this watch may not suit cyclists or hikers. Also, the Steel HR could benefit from more notification options. However, the overwhelming positive of this watch is that you are likely to get three weeks’ use before needing a charge – outstanding in the era of charge-daily smart watches. While this watch has a limited number of fitness functions, it does t hem w ell. T he b attery l ife i s notable a nd s o i s t he l ovely d esign, making the Nokia Steel HR easy to u se a nd e asy t o w ear.