The best smartwatch usually costs more than this one. Fastfox isn’t fooling when it says it costs $10 — but a smart watch? Make that a smart health sensor worn on the wrist. About the size of a quarter+, it’s a small oblong with a replaceable battery powering Bluetooth that fits inside a thin plastic wristband. Which is probably equal in size to that of the best smartwatch for kids. So yes it’s smart and yes you wear it on your wrist. Don’t like the black band? Choose from among the other colors like red or green, since Fastfox pops in and out of the center in a few seconds time. But you have to keep the band on all the time or it can’t read your stats. FYI – the battery has a fairly long life of about 4 months+ and is user-replaceable. Plus its standby mode kicks in when 20+ hours of inactivity occurs.
Smart Design
A plastic disk is included that fits over Fastfox and is more of an “accessory” than a necessity, since the band’s plastic and the sensor itself is IP67 waterproof. So it doesn’t care if you sweat or even go into the shower (the iPhone, no it doesn’t go along with that). There’s a set of colorful stickers that can go over the plastic disc for customizing Fastfox. Some will use it, some won’t. I didn’t. But since the sensor holds in the band through friction, I can see using the disc as an added safety measure when wearing it.
Smart Stats
Paired with my iPhone, Fastfox is primarily a data “tracker”: use it to record activity as I move about during the day and provide info on how far I’ve traveled, steps taken and calories burned. Or let it show me how I sleep: from what Fastfox says, I don’t do that so well. I can’t say that wearing the band was all that comfortable to start, but after a few hours it got forgotten — lots of holes in the band to catch the buckle help to keep it from sticking to the skin. I was told that it can be kept in a pocket if not worn and it will still work. But where’s the fun of that (“pocket band?”, don’t think so). Still some might prefer to put it in a pocket of their jammies rather than wearing it to bed.
Smart Light
Fastfox also does something that’s definitely more more “smart watch” than not — in that an LED in the strap can be made to illuminate whenever there’s an incoming call or text message. Both are useful things; turning a phone’s ringer off and letting Fastfox visually do the notifying is more quieting than using vibration — less intrusive too, especially when eating and helpful when the weather needs the phone kept from coming out. This and text signaling are fine features, provided that the phone’s in range. and obviously choosing this option relies on the app, as does pretty much everything else that Fastfox can do. But big thumbs down for it not working for iOS right now — Android users, they can hit the illumination while the iPhone can’t (at least for not until the updated app hits iTunes in early 2015). But both OS’ can join in on the social media option for sharing and comparing activity data through leaderboards
Smart Health
Fastfox is an easy slide into the whole “smart health” issue and certainly doesn’t empty the pocket, wallet or purse in any significant way. That makes the cost issue negligible. It doesn’t do a lot of things, but what it does can be useful for those looking to document what’s going on when awake (or asleep) or prove to themselves that they aren’t leading a sedentary life. Or finally get that it’s time to get up and start moving around already!
Also why not check out:
- 7 Things To Know About The Kairos Smartwatch Hybrid (list/video)
- 8 Things To Know About The Moment Smartwatch (list/video)
- Android Wear Adds Smart Watch Music and More
- Best Smartwatch for Kids
- Best Smartwatch for Women 2020
- Dart: Autofill and Customize Emails on the iWatch
- EMBRACE+ Smart Notification Bracelet for iPhone and Android
- Everything You Need to Know About The Apple Watch (list)
- Looxcie LX 2 Wearable Video Cam Review
- Montblanc’s eStrap Turns A Luxury Watch Into A Smartwatch
- Rumored Apple iWatch Could Feature UV Sensor
- Samsung Gear 2 Review
- Secret USB Flash Drive Watch
- Stay In Touch With A Loved One With The TapTap Wristband
- Telson TWC 1150 Camera / Phone / Watch
- The Geak Watch 2: A Smart Watch Fit for Bond
- The Klatz Is A Smartwatch And An iPhone Headset In One
One word.
Crap.
No wonder Chinese products have a bad reputation.
One word.
Crap.
pretty much sums it up.
Had mine for about what 3 weeks and the past two days the info would no sync and I guess the battery is dead ? Bluetooth wont pick it up at all . I mean 8 bucks is cool but If I gotta get a new battery every 3-4 weeks then its just a waste and false advertising considering it is stated to last 4-6 months maybe they meant weeks
I actually like it and tested it out and it mostly was keeping track of my steps , it would be off 10-15 steps but still pretty accurate.
Im very displeased it just flat out stopped working with false promises and yeah I sleep only 3 hours a day ….Come on
What I am doing is passing the comments re: battery power-loss and others on to the powers-that-be at the company: in the hope that they have some answers to give you. Stay tuned, as they say.
MR
I can live with crappy battery life (my watch was actually DOA by the time I got it) but now with a functional battery, it won’t sync to my smartphone. I tried 15 times over the past few days. Once it said it DID sync, but then claimed I hadn’t been walking for three days. So basically, it’s stopped working entirely. I know I only paid $16 for this thing, but wow. There’s been ZERO customer support, either. This thing doesn’t even have a website.
I have 3 of them. One wouldn’t sync after a day and the other two worked for about 2 weeks and now won’t sync either. Multiple attempts to contact their customer service have failed – no reply. Emailed Pozible, their sponsor and they just say contact FastFox – then they don’t respond to any further attempts to get support.
PIECE OF CRAP.
Mine stopped synching/working as well. Will they replace it? I am disapointed as well.
This is a HORRIBLE product! Basically, the old adage applies of “You get what you pay for”. I received my two bands about 3 weeks ago. They worked great for about a week, then one of the band started freezing up every two days & I have to unbind & rebind thus losing all my data. Now my band’s battery is dead. The other band’s battery died this past week. Now, this product was marketed with a battery life of 4-6 months. I was told that shipping may have used much of the battery life. This is an unacceptable execuse to me as shipping would not have used up 4-6 months of battery use within a week. Please DO NOT support this product. It is not worth it! Save your $8 bucks and buy yourself lunch!!!
Heather, good to know. What did the company say when you contacted them?
A cheap way for monitoring your health. I’m sorry that you guys aren’t enjoying your wristbands. My husband and I like ours and it works well. I am excited about the iPhone update coming soon!
And yes, I am a real person who bought 6 wristbands for me and my family.
You pay
What you get for. I got my crowd funded device last week, apparently I sleep two hours a night and only
Walk 2000 steps , it just doesn’t work, the reviewer gives it 90%, I
Say Bollocks
I bought this product and after 2 days it quit syncing and I can’t find a way to fix it.
Same here. Got it 2 days ago, just stopped syncing! Hope it starts working again…
Ed, keep us posted on what happens, please.