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Motorola MOTOACTV
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Motorola
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Critics
11 reviews80
AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE
Users
10 reviews79
AVERAGE USER SCORE
View All Critic & User Reviews
Motorola MOTOACTV
- Critic Reviews (11)
- User Reviews (10)
- 80AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE11 ReviewsGigaOM80I bought a MotoActv for running (but wear it all dEven better, I’m tracking health-related measurements when I’m not running. These functions, combined with the fact that I can wear this device anywhere, make it worth every penny of my purchase price so far.PC Mag70Motorola MotoActvMotorola's MotoActv cleverly correlates and displays data from your workouts, such as the map of your route and your pace during each song on your playlist. Among hybrid music player-fitness tracking devices, though, it's on the pricier side.CNET70Motorola MotoActv GPS Fitness Tracker and Music PlMotorola's incredibly capable MotoActv fitness device can tackle just about any fitness task ... Yet, if you're looking for a simple tool to measure daily activity and provide holistic advice on how to shed some pounds, this training tool isn't for you.Wired80Motorola MotoACTV reviewA very smart looking device with an innovative system for attaching it to your wrist, arm, belt or bike handlebars. The interface is slick, it's easy to use ... There are other devices that will do a similar job, but not many that do it with such ease and panache.Laptop Magazine80Motorola MotoACTV ReviewA personal trainer on your wrist, the MotoACTV tracks and analyzes your workouts--and provides motivation, too.Pocket-Lint90Motorola MotoACTV reviewIt is sophisticated, it looks good and it's easy to use. It does just about everything you could ask of it, as well as being compatible with a range of other sensors and devices to make it a sophisticated sports system.SlashGear80Motorola MOTOACTV reviewThis device will be found helpful, or interesting at least, to both exercise enthusiasts and those who want to casually watch how many calories they’re potentially burning throughout their regular day.T380Motorola MOTOACTV reviewSlightly on the expensive side with a £250 price tag the MOTOACTV is a perfect tool for the exercise enthusiast with its watch, performance tracker and MP3 abilities helping justify the cost supplying three great bits of kit in one.phoneArena70Motorola MOTOACTV ReviewIt’s the dream companion device for any fitness buff ... the MOTOACTV isn’t for everyone, even more when it’s priced up there at $249 for the 8GB version – and that’s what ultimately will hold most people back from picking it up.About100Motorola Motoactv Golf Edition GPS ReviewThe MotoACTV is one device that can actually inspire a golfer to do more than walk the course. I know it did for me.Fit Technica80Motorola MOTOACTV reviewAnd this is only the first version of the MOTOACTV. If it weren’t for the dodgy battery life I’d be recommending the Motorola MOTOACTV hands down. The likes of Garmin and Polar need to pay close attention to what Motorola has in store.
- 79AVERAGE USER SCORE10 ReviewsCar100April 12, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!It's the most amazing smartwatch ever. Even before all the new smart gadgets appeared. It would be great if they could release a 2.0 motoactv. I definitely buy it.Engadget Reader10July 15, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!So I have bought two of these, one for my wife and the other for myself. Both after about 6 months of use had consistent difficulty finding a GPS signal and would randomly switch what sport it was tracking mid run. This lead to useless data on the run and a lot of frustration. In addition adding the music you wanted to add to it in the amounts you want to add is near impossible if your not an iTunes user and it does not support audiobooks even in they are in the correct format. I would not recommend this to anyone to buy since we both don't even use them anymore since they don't do anything that we originally bought them for.Engadget Reader90October 2, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I am a Motorola fan and Android user, but with alot of experience on Apple products as well. I was looking for a way to keep better tabs on my workouts including pace and heart rate as well as the GPS data for outdoor activities. I am overall very satisfied with the following: Pairing with bluetooth devices, pairing with my heart rate monitor, and the app that allows me to monitor my workouts on my Motorola phone.The initial set up was a bit frustrating, largely driven by the store's (Verizon) lack of knowledge of the product and accessories. It took a few days to get the wrist strap, headphone jack waterproofing grommet and heart monitor. I am certain that if Apple came up with this product, this would have been smoother, but I have now been up and running for several weeks. I use the product 3-5 days a week for working out and 4-5 days a week as an mp3 player on my commute.Battery life is good and the product has mostly worked well.In general, I do not use the product as a watch daily, but when I have, people seem to like the style quite a bit.In short, Moto seems to have resolved many of the initial bugs that early adopters suffered through, and the device now works as billed and seems better than other similar devices. With the new iPod Nano going back to the older long style, it appears that Motorola will have less competition in this space, and I only hope they continue with the upgrades.Engadget Reader90August 6, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I've been using this since March or April. I used it for the second half of training for my second marathon and a bunch of other races. But, since the marathon training are pretty long and can incorporate a lot of different weather, I thought my experience would relevant and helpful to someone interested in this device.First of all, I've been really very happy with it and can easily recommend it to almost any runner. Though, I can't speak for any of it's "indoors" capabilities. All I wanted to achieve with this device was no longer needing to carry two separate devices. I just wanted to listen to music and track my runs with one. Motoactv does it very well. The music management has worked without issue. Run tracking has worked without issue. Motorola has been very timely with all updates. And while I haven't had any issues with mine, those that did, that I saw on the Motoactv forums, seemed to be addressed pretty quickly by Motorola support.For me, it hit another level when I added Bluetooth headphones. The device is not totally waterproof, so the exposed headphone port made me nervous. With the wireless headphones, that was no longer a concern for me and removed that small bit of anxiety.Mileage tracking has been pretty accurate. I haven't noticed any major differences compared to anything else. I know some people in the Motoactv forums have noticed some differences, but I have not.The notifications and phone connection weren't as useful as I thought that they would be. But I also realized that I really don't want to be bothered with texts and phone calls during runs.Basically, if you're a runner looking for a device to combine music and run tracking, this solidly fits the bill.Engadget Reader90August 4, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The onlything its missing is being 100% waterproof.Engadget Reader60July 30, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!After reading some reviews and seeing the score for the Motoactv I had really high hopes for the device. While I would say I wasn't entirely disappointed there was some things that left me uneasy after using it for the last 10 days. I'll start with the good and then move into the bad.The GoodThere is a lot of options going on with this device. It can be used for running, cycling, walking or elliptical machine and you can even tell it when you're outdoors or indoors for the workout. Add on top of that Ant+ and bluetooth support, a music player and a GPS with maps it's pretty powerful.Ant+ was a breeze to set up just told the Motoactv I had a new Ant+ sensor and it was paired quickly. The device scans for every configured sensor at the start of the workout so it's a very set-it and forget-it use. Once you have the sensors added you can really go nuts here and configure the primary screen for a lot of different combinations. Sadly you can only choose 4 but with total time and distance always being there you have some flexibility in what you want. I'd list all the options but there are a lot for each of the pre-loaded activities.As stated above you can really take this with you anywhere and with the watch strap it doubles as an actual watch and pedometer like the FitBit. While it doesn't record the steps back to the Motoactv portal it's fun to keep an eye on it.The Motoactv has built-in wifi so syncing back to the Motoactv website is as easy as getting back into range of your wifi. Not having to worry about a usb cable is really nice.GPS plus Maps is REALLY cool. I used this entirely while riding my bike and when I was on a longer ride being able to swipe to the right and see a map of where I was, was both informative and cool. You don't get a lot of zoom range on it but it's a good way of checking where you are when you're out on a longer activity. There is also the option to pre-plan a route and load it onto the Motoactv so you can stay on track while out.Speaking of GPS the thing locks fast, inside of 15 seconds.The integrated music player is nice and means you have one less device to carry around if you're tight on space. There isn't a ton of control over the player but the key features are there like play, pause, volume up/down, shuffle and repeat. You can also pre-program your music to your workouts so if you have that one song that really pumps you up there is the ability to set that song to kick in at a specific point in your workout.The Motoactv portal is both good and bad (more on that below) but it accomplishes what it sets out to do. You can view your workouts, plan workouts, challenge friends and set some goals. You can also predefine laps (for you criterion racers or track stars) and identify your target heart rates. There is also a journal feature so you can take some notes on your workout for future reference. Here is a screenshot from a recent workout I did: http://cl.ly/image/1A3p3P0P3418The So-SoThe battery life would have me a little worried if you're planning on doing some long activities. When I used the Motoactv with music, two Ant+ devices and workout tracking it went down 30% after one hour. If you're going to do any type of long activity I'd suggest skipping music on the Motoactv as when I did a 2 hour ride with no music and two Ant+ devices I was down the same 30%.The BadAs stated in durability the rubber flaps on the Motoactv are a little disconcerting. The USB one is on a swivel hinge and feels like it will eventually snap off leaving the USB port complete exposed which is an issue with sweat or light rain. The headphone jack cover is just a snap-on rubber cover with no hinge. The first time I took it off I lost it (luckily I found it) so there is again concern over moisture.The weight was a little on the high side for me for the Motoactv to be used as a watch. If I was running I might find the first few runs a little odd. For use as a watch, no way. I was wearing it for 3 hours and never got used to the weight or the bulk of the band. If you wear larger faced watches it might not bother you but if you never wear any watches it may take some time.There is an elevation bug in the software but I haven't had an issue with yet but just thought I'd need to point it o ut.Portal Issue #1 - Now for the bad of the Motoactv portal. One of the awesome features of the Motoactv is that you can listen to music and the software will line up the songs with your workout, and not to mention that it can play music period. Well guess what, if you use it to listen to music don't plan on viewing your workout from the website. There is an ongoing thread over on the device forums (check it out here https://forums.motorola.com/posts/be90f9f4e0 )about this issue and after one week there is still nothing from the Motorola support team. This is a big problem since I mentioned that one of the selling features of the Motoactv is the music. It's an issue to me when there is a bug like this that isn't being fixed and even more so when Motorola is showing lack of initiative to give any type of feedback on the issue. Portal Issue #2 - The other problem with the site is that uses CSV to export the workouts and if you use any other services like Strava or RunKeeper you'll need to find a way to convert it over. Portal Issue #3 - My other gripe with the portal is I just think it's too busy. There is a lot for you to use just like any other fitness site but the way Motorola handles it is not very user friendly. It'd be nice if they toned it down a bit or streamlined it a bit more. I might be spoiled though since I rely primarily on Strava which has a very simple UI.Do I think this is a bad device you should avoid? Absolutely not. I think there is a lot going on for the Motoactv and it can fill a lot of your needs very easily. The portal issues aside the device does function as it's supposed to and hasn't let me down yet when I'm out on a ride.With the price drop now to $150 for the 8GB model there is no reason you shouldn't consider it. If you're just looking for a more easier way to record your runs or rides and don't care about endless list of features this might be overwhelming for you but then again it might get you to try and step up your tracking.Update 11/28:I'm dropping this a point and possibly going another down to 6. After a successful use through the summer I feel like my experience has been getting more and more frustrating. I've had to restart this 2-3 times a month before a ride just to get it to see my sensors. Over the last week it has now not recorded 4 of my rides. Based on what I'm seeing in forums and from my own personal experience I think it's safe say Motorola has abandoned this.Update 04/16:Dropping this another point because Motorola's site is becoming a pain to use with this. It's often very slow and the mapping feature is really limited. Additionally the device has been really off with distance measurements usually coming in 5 miles different from Strava or RunKeeper. I'd understand a 0.5 to 1 mile difference but 5 is a lot.Engadget Reader90March 30, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A fantastic GPS watch with a lot of features unique to this category of fitness watches. I had wanted a music player/watch-in-one for quite a while and was very disappointed with the accuracy of the Nike+ system and all the bike/run GPS apps on my iPhone. I was excited when Motorola announced the Motoactv, but also very skeptical as I have never found a GPS watch outside of Garmin with reliable accuracy. All my doubts have been allayed, the GPS is actually MORE accurate than my wife's Garmin. I have run qualified race routes and the watch is only a few hundredths of a mile off, even on half-marathon courses.The music player is the linchpin here, though. Being able to have music and accurate tracking in one device has made my running a lot more enjoyable. Any serious runner/cyclist knows the less crap you have to strap to your body the better.Tracking workouts is easy and gives you great information on your progress. The only issue I have with the watch is that some of the features are buried in settings pages and it's not always intuitive as to where to find them.Overall, I am extremely happy with the Motoactv. As a side note, this watch is not competing with FitBit or BodyBug or anything that tracks every activity all day long. While it does offer a pedometer, this watch is primarily designed for an endurance athlete looking to measure each workout and track progress.Engadget Reader80March 30, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!"Fitness Tracker / Music Player" meh. It's also, unofficially, the most powerful "smart watch" out there now. All the fitness functionality is cool, I guess. But I just use it as a super geeky, Android powered, computer watch. I think they are missing out on a whole other market. Maybe they could release another version that already has an app launcher, working market (Play), make it work as bluetooth headset for music too, not just phone calls. I could go on and on, but I won't.Engadget Reader90March 28, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90February 16, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Excellent watch. If you really use it, it will change your life
Key Specs
TYPE
Watch-style
TRACKING METRICS
Motion, Distance, Speed, Gps, Heart rate, Calories
DISPLAY
Yes
BATTERY LIFE
Up to 32520
MEDIA PLAYBACK CONTROLS
Yes
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