Post by ECM on Apr 20, 2012 13:47:02 GMT -5
NOTE: Cool green backlighting effect not included.
ADDENDUM:
After working fine for a few days, the Band can no longer connect to Nike, thus rendering most of the 'features' utterly useless.
Apparently there are also *massive* issues all over the 'Net with hardware failing, the problem I'm experiencing, etc.
So, yeah, DO NOT BUY.
I got one of these for my birthday, and it's kinda-sorta cool but, really, for the price and what you get, it's a total rip-off:
*The band *looks* cool, and the LCD screen is super slick: The band looks opaquely black, but the LCD shines 'through' it and makes it look like some sort of neat-o sci-fi gadget. The clasp, however, is poorly-engineered, and if you have large joints (I have small, doll-like, joints[footnote:1]This sounds bad, but if you lift weights, it's actally great since it makes the items surrounding your joins look that much bigger...and no, I'm not going there.[/footnote], so this isn't really a problem for me), you'll be forced to use the spacers which hold with just enough force to keep a narcoleptic baby from being able to pull it off in under 5 seconds, read: you'll lose it because it's so light you won't even notice it's gone until the baby has swallowed it.
*It measures three stats and also double as a watch: "Fuel" which is some lame-brained, idiotic, Nike invention that makes it 'cool' and 'hip' and 'lame', and that everyone will basically completely ignore (you're supposed to compare your Fuel units used with other users to see whose the best at racking up an arbitrary number with little basis in reality); "Steps"...duh...it's a pedometer; "Calories"...duh...; and "Time" which is a...watch.
*The whole "Fuel" gimmick (and I mean this in the pejorative sense), is the real focus here, since you can unlock "Achievements" (no, really) and the like as you exercise. Since I don't give a fuck about PS360 achievements, I'm actually borderline hostile to the idea of Nike's implementation. (If there was, perhaps, even a thin layer of game plastered over this--say something as basic as Nintendo's Find Mii novelty--I'd actually probably care...but there isn't.)
*I am a bit obsessive about fitness, etc., so I do check the calorie count and steps relentlessly but, of course, the equation they use to calculate cals burned *only* takes into account your weight so, at best, this is a very ballpark figure.
*I pray to God that firmware updates add something like a stopwatch or something (which will be difficult since there's *one* button on the thing) so the price becomes more tolerable (honestly, to justify this price, it should be performing various forms of sexual gratification and getting me drinks).
That said, if you can get some poor sucker to gift you one, great, you'll probably wear it and you'll probably check it compulsively like I do. Plus, it does look pretty cool.
If you're buying, though, it's probably not even worth $20 at this point, since it's little more than a pedometer that looks super sweet. (And, really, that's probably enough for the average clown buying one of these things.)
