MOOV Now

A powerful fitness tool that blends style with simplicity.

Overview

MOOV Now is like having your own personal fitness coach around your wrist (or ankle). Whether you walk, run, cycle, swim, cardio box, or circuit train, the MOOV coach will guide you through your workout. MOOV’s unique Omni Motion sensors analyze your movement in real-time 3D. The virtual coach checks your form, speed, and other metrics throughout your workout and lets you know how to fix any issues, much like a real-life coach would do.

While MOOV Now is a powerful fitness tool, it doesn’t multitask. You can’t check emails, screen your calls, listen to music, or even tell time with it. In fact, there is no display. Looking at the device itself will tell you nothing — other than whether your battery is charged. To get the full functionality, you need to pair up MOOV Now with the MOOV app on your smartphone. You don’t have to keep the phone with you for general activity tracking during the day, but you do need it to follow along with the app’s coached workouts, which means having to figure out where on your body to strap your phone when you run or cycle.

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Design

The MOOV blends style with simplicity. The sensor slips inside a black silicon strap covered in holes. The clasp consists of two round pins, which you insert into holes in the strap. Though the multitude of holes allows for a perfect fit, the pins slip as easily out of the holes as they slip into them, so the band might drop off your wrist during particularly intense workouts. A second, longer strap lets you place MOOV Now around your ankle, which may be more comfortable for running and cycling. 

Comfort and wearability

The silicon strap is lightweight enough that you won’t notice it while you exercise or sleep. However, the sensor sticks up enough that if you accidentally roll over on your wrist during the night, it will remind you of its presence. And if you don’t place the sensor firmly inside the pouch, it can slip out, and you’ll have to hunt for it in your bed the next morning. Because the battery needs no recharging, you can wear the watch all day and night without fear of draining it.

Fashion

MOOV Now is designed strictly for fitness. Its look is perfect for the gym or track, but too casual to wear out to dinner or to work (unless your workplace is particularly laid-back). The strap comes in black only, but the sensor is available in four colors — red, blue, white, and black — which peek through the holes in the top.

Apps 

MOOV Now works with the MOOV app, which guides you through workouts and tracks your activities throughout the day, and records your sleep at night. 

Social Sharing

You can share your accomplishments with friends and family via MOOV Now’s leaderboard. Find friends through your phone’s contacts or your Facebook friend list, and then follow or invite anyone you’d like to compete with. 

Battery Life

MOOV Now runs on a coin watch battery, which has a life of approximately 6 months. Once the battery drains (which is indicated by the flashing red light on the sensor), you simply replace it.

Fitness Tracking

MOOV Now includes several different coached activities: walking, circuit training, cycling, running, cardio boxing, and swimming (MOOV is waterproof down to 3 meters). Depending on which workout variation you choose, your virtual coach will push you to increase your running efficiency, improve your pace, or correct your form. Throughout the workout, the coach urges you to work to your maximum capacity and encourages you to keep going with phrases like, “You’re doing great,” “Keep it up,” or “You can do it.” It will also let you know if you’re pounding the pavement too hard, your pace isn’t keeping up, or you’re slouching. However, one downside of having a computer-based trainer is that the monotone voice and stock phrases get redundant after a while. 

As your speed and endurance improve, you can level up, gradually increasing the intensity and duration of your workouts. After each workout, the app breaks down your performance and lets you see how you’re progressing through graphs and charts.

The MOOV app also tracks your general activity during the day. Because it measures activity in minutes, rather than steps (as many fitness trackers do), it’s easier to see how close you’ve come to achieving the government’s recommended 150 weekly minutes of fitness — or whatever your personal goals might be. 

MOOV Now also keeps track of your sleep time. The app will let you know not only how long you slept but also how much of that time was light versus deeper restorative sleep. But, although it purports to distinguish between these different sleep cycles, it’s not particularly sensitive. You may find that it exaggerates the number of hours you were actually asleep. 

Software Ease-of-Use

The MOOV app is easy to download to your smartphone, and fairly straightforward to use. It’s broken down into four categories: Activities (you choose which activity you’d like to do – such as walk, run, or swim), History (your past workouts), My Progress (your achievements, weekly activity, average sleep, and workout progress), and Leaderboard (friends and family you follow or who follow you).

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