July 26, 2013
Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback! When I first received the Pulse I was excited to get to using it, however the first one I got had issues. After many emails with Withings they sent me a new one and things have been pretty good so far.Immediately you recognize how nice it is to use when you turn it on. The OLED screen is clear, bright, and very easy to read. Being able to swipe to view past history is a nice feature and a very easy way to see if your activity is on point or your fallen behind other days.The Pulse is small but the included belt clip is really secure, more so than the one I had for my FitBit. The clasp is metal but doesn't easily flex or bend when under pressure. I've taken this on three runs now and each time I never noticed it was there, nor did it every fall off. It's not going to fully replace a proper watch or HRM, but being able to track an activity without needing to switch devices is nice.The sleep tracking is great and it's something I try to use frequently. The watch strap is a little uncomfortable but over all it works just fine. My one complaint is the mesh felt over the display, I wish it wasn't there honestly. It makes it a little difficult to engage with the Pulse while it's in the slip and it obstructs the information. I kind of wish they made it a clear plastic or nothing even, this way it could double as a watch strap for running.The one feature I absolutely love is the built in HRM. It takes about 5 seconds, maybe a bit more, for the Pulse to register you resting heart rate. This is something that is actually nice to have at your fingertips (HA) to gauge how your fitness level is. A good resting heart rate is an easy sign of someone who is active. So it's been fun to see how low I can get my heart rate while sitting at my desk.How far Withings has come with their website and app is amazing. When I first got my scale it used a really really poorly designed site, but the newer (and in beta) HealthMate, http://healthmate.withings.com, site is really nice. The app is even nicer and it's great to use to quickly see all the information.Bluetooth sync for the most part works and without a hitch. My original issue with the Pulse was with syncing but I was given a pre-production model, according to reps, and since the newer one has come through there have been no issues. You just hold down the button for 3 seconds and a sync kicks off. I have not noticed any considerable battery drain either with Bluetooth always being on so don't worry about that.One thing I would like to see implemented in a future release is something to take advantage of how it can tell when you're running or not. Something like pace would be nice to look at.What the Pulse can't do that something like the FitBit offers is a friends feature. If this is something you value then you may not like the Pulse, but as someone who doesn't care about that I'm a-ok without it. However like FitBit, Withings also integrates with a ton of services so you can have it be your main hub to look at food (MyFitnessPal) and activity (Endomondo or RunKeeper).If you already own a FitBit, Up, or FuelBand and you're happy with them then there is no need for you to rush out and buy this. If you are unhappy with your activity device, or you've been wanting one, I think at $99 you can't go wrong with the Pulse. The design, feel, use, and features really are great and I think it's really going to give a nice challenge to FitBit.