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China Technology

Xiaomi's Mi Band 2 Fitness Tracker Featuring OLED Display Launched at $23 (cnet.com) 72

Posted by msmash from the cheap,-shiny,-functional-gadgets dept.
Chinese technology conglomerate Xiaomi has unveiled the Mi Band 2, the second iteration of its fitness tracking band. The tracker features an OLED display -- which is touted as resistant to scratches and fingerprints, and helps the wearer track time, notifications, heart rate, calories burned, and number of steps taken among other things. The company says that Mi Band 2 can function for 20 days on a single charge. It is priced at $23. It is currently only available to purchase in China, but the company says it will be launching the wearable in other regions as well. To recall, Xiaomi has already begun selling some of its products in the United States.

Venture Capitalist Bryce Roberts said: "$23. If you're thinking of doing a consumer hardware startup let that sink in a bit."
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Xiaomi's Mi Band 2 Fitness Tracker Featuring OLED Display Launched at $23 More

Xiaomi's Mi Band 2 Fitness Tracker Featuring OLED Display Launched at $23

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  • I only do fitness once a month so the 20 day battery is not nearly long enough!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Perhaps you should try being nicer to your spouse.

  • The device itself is compelling - but the one thing FitBit & others have going for them is the software design and interface. They way Xaomi could really succeed is to be able to interface with already good software, such as Google Fit or PlexFit and open their APIs to their device so that devs can tinker with the raw data rather than having to rely on whatever they choose to reveal.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by bill_mcgonigle ( 4333 ) *

      I'm willing to forgive an awful lot if I can start and stop the thing, see current, and get to the data. Really, anything important I'm going to calculate post-hoc on a spreadsheet.

      Before I'd spend $23 or $230 I'm going to need to see some calibration testing, though. Fitbit is in a bit of a shitstorm now because they've admitted that their HR's aren't all that accurate (14% off, IIRC). They've released a statement that they're not to be used as scientific instruments.

      I want a new HR tracker for interval

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        I have a Mi band pulse. Useless for any training as you have to tell it to measure rather then it just constantly measuring. But the real killer is that you need to hold your arm still to get a decent reading.

      • Re:Software (Score:4, Insightful)

        by just another AC ( 2679463 ) on Friday June 03, 2016 @02:47PM (#52244855)

        less annoying than winding up in the ER because I exceeded my max HR by 25 bpm.

        So you are one of those fabled sorts that really can give 110% ... hats off to you sir.

        I personally say that my max HR is the maximum value that I can get on that scale. If I exceed it, then it was not my max (or I have somehow gained a heart condition - but then you usually exceed your max voluntary heart rate by 100 or more)

      • I don't get why accuracy is such an afterthought in these devices.

        Accuracy is an afterthought because the company is selling a lifestyle product, not a scientific measurement instrument.

        After all, their advertisements don't feature people intelligently tracking health metrics as a small component of an overall health strategy. Instead, the ads show people engaging in athletic activities as a lifestyle choice. These are people who Just Do It.

  • poor marketing and confusion management (Score:5, Interesting)

    by supernova87a ( 532540 ) <kepler1@NoSpaM.hotmail.com> on Friday June 03, 2016 @12:11PM (#52243509)
    Yes, thank you Xiaomi for helping me understand that there are reasonably priced pulse sensors and wearable sleep monitoring bands out there (and these even alert you when your phone is ringing). For that I am grateful I don't have to spend $100 on a silly Fitbit or even more for an Apple Watch.

    But the thing that Xiaomi needs badly is someone to manage the brand understanding and confusing proliferation of Xiaomi band models that they're offering.

    If you try to buy one of these things, I challenge you not to be bewildered by:
    -- Mi Band
    -- Mi Band Pulse
    -- Mi Band Original
    -- Mi Band 1S

    This is made worse by the slew of websites that sell these things with poorly explained feature differences between all of them, have pretty different pricing of similar looking bands to the point that you're not sure which one you're getting. You have to admit, Apple does some things much better...
    • It seems like all of the new wave of Chinese Mobile|Hardware companies suffer from this though. Take a run through AliExpress - almost every portable device has 4+ versions. Maybe it makes more sense if you can natively speak the language.
    • LOL. Take a 2013 [everymac.com], 2014 [everymac.com], 2015 [everymac.com], and 2015 (again) [everymac.com] Macbook Pro and put them side by side. See if you can tell them apart without looking up the serial number. A few years back, my cousin almost ended up paying Sandy Bridge prices for a Core 2 Duo MBP (new at his school store) because Apple makes it so hard to figure out what exactly you're buying.

      They've been better about labeling their iPhones, but that seems predicated more on compelling people to upgrade because their phone's number is one lower than th

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by balbeir ( 557475 )
        How did this suddenly become Apple's issue ? Did you just earn 50 cents ?

      • They've been better about labeling their iPhones

        They are? I can tell the difference between an iPhone 3, 4, 5, and 6. I cannot tell the difference between 4/4S, 5/5S, or 6/6S.

        Is there anything in settings? Nope. Can Siri help me? Nope. You need to look up a cryptic model number. [macworld.co.uk]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      I'm pretty happy with my fitbit. True, it was a bit pricey, but after over a year of wearing it constantly it's actually met my expectations and helped me make measurable improvements in my health. Amortized over the course of a year the price is acceptable; if it runs for another year as well then I'm quite satisfied.

      Of course whether it benefits you depends on whether you actually do anything with the information you collect. If you don't then of course it's silly. It's a bit like people who buy an F-1

  • Fitness (Score:3)

    by Garybaldy ( 1233166 ) on Friday June 03, 2016 @12:18PM (#52243595)

    Fitness trackers do one thing really well.

    Taking advantage of the fact that most people are unaware that for the basics they are no better than your phone.

  • Where's the data sent? (Score:3)

    by QuietLagoon ( 813062 ) on Friday June 03, 2016 @12:31PM (#52243719)
    Overtly or covertly where is the data collected being sent?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by linuxguy ( 98493 )
      "Overtly or covertly where is the data collected being sent?" I know right? It is a problem unique to this device. Everything else is OK. If you want to be safe, a tinfoil hat is best to keep the mind control waves at bay.
    • To Xiaomi's servers in Beijing. I have a Xiaomi pocket router and it sends my connection stats to their office as well. Once a week on Friday I get a little graphic showing me how much I used and which devices were used most. It has scolded me before for spending too much time online ("What's the matter, don't you have a job?")
  • That something might be the cost of making other fitness monitoring devices likely made in China. Of course, the executives and advertisers for US branded products are likely making much more money than their peers in China. I wonder what the profit is on Apple's $10,000 watch.
  • I have several of their $16 headsets. As far as I am concerned, they are absolutely the best headsets you can buy under $100. And I have tried too many. A $23 fitness tracking band / watch? I'll have to give it a shot when it come here.

  • A fitness watch that does something useful - I'll call it bare basics -- for $23? That is disturbingly exciting. Hmm.... $300 Apple Watch, $23 generic. Even if they had to double the price before coming to the USA. If it had the basic features that people actually use companies like Apple could be in for a serious run for their money.

    Now as others have mentioned apparently the software interface for these things leaves room for improvement (and maybe this is what Apple spends the $300 on). But if the

  • If you are looking for this device to measure heart rate, you'd likely be disappointed.
    It can't measure your HR while you are exercising.
    What it can (at least in case of 1S) is measure it once, when you apply pressure as instructed... and even then I was getting rather wildly fluctuating results.

  • They should just be more honest and give these sorts of things away for free, considering that they're collecting all your 'fitness' data and monetizing it, using it to target ads at you, giving it to governments to add to your profile, etc. At least that way you're getting 'paid' something for all that you're having taken from you.
  • Was that you could never really be sure whether you were ordering a knock-off.

  • We have three Fitbit trackers in my household. I received one, a Charge, as a gift a little over a year ago, and it died. Not, "it doesn't stay charged," but "DIED." I won't charge, it won't sync. It can't be updated. It can't be found. I'm out of warranty, so I was offered a coupon by Fitbit support, but I would still be spending over $80 for something which, if you read the forums, is going to die another, eventually frustrating death. The Fitbit Charge should last about a week on a single charge, so it c

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