SportBrain "First Step" Personal Fitness Assistant (1-Unit)

by SportBrain

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004YNWV
• Item model number: N/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,576 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Medical studies have shown that daily exercise--even walking for just a half an hour--is beneficial for long-term health. If you've resolved to incorporate more exercise into your lifestyle but don't have the time for a regimented exercise program, the SportBrain Personal Fitness Assistant might be the solution for you.

This small, lightweight device clips to the waistline of your pants or skirt and measures the number of steps you take. You then connect the SportBrain to the SportPort (much like a PDA's synchronization cradle) to upload the day's activity data to the SportBrain Web site, which then provides a wide range of information.

Setting up the SportBrain was quick and easy. We connected to the SportBrain Web site and registered our device, which then provided us a personalized home page. We then clipped the SportBrain to our pants (near the hip, above the knee) and started walking. At the end of the day, we connected the SportPort to our telephone line, then snapped the SportBrain into the SportPort, which automatically dialed in to the SportBrain Web servers and uploaded our activity in a little over a minute.

We then logged onto our SportBrain home page to see our stats. The device monitors steps taken (whether you're walking or running) and translates that into distance covered (in miles) and calories burned. The site also offered a number of different graphs and snapshots of the most active sections of our day (which displayed the range of time, steps/mileage, and average speed). Additionally, you can set goals for yourself (the default is 10,000 steps) and work toward rewards (such as a SportBrain baseball cap).

The SportBrain won't fully replace a personal trainer (you'll still have to motivate yourself, though with some helpful prodding from the SportBrain Web site) and it's really geared toward the more casual exerciser (as opposed to a tri-athelete). But it's a fun and helpful gadget that can help keep you honest about your exercise routine.

Pros:

• Easy operation; no connection to PC (only to phone line)
• Free Web-based service
• Detailed charting of activity provided on Web site

Cons:

• Requires connection to the Internet
• Geared more to the casual exerciser

Amazon.com Product Description

Find the exercise hidden in your day and get rewarded for it. Introducing the Sportbrain Personal Fitness Assistant, the world's first wearable personal fitness assistant (PFA) that also combines the power of the Web. After clipping it to your belt or waistband, the SportBrain automatically records every step you take throughout your day, how far you go, calories burned, and more.

Connect to the SportBrain Web site (www.sportbrain.com), activate the free service, and upload your activity information using the included SportPort (which acts much like a handheld device's synchronization cradle). The SportPort connects via a telephone line, so no computer is needed for uploading.

You can then view your personal SportBrain pages to check your progress against goals you can set for yourself and win rewards for attaining those goals.

The SportBrain Personal Fitness Assistant comes comes with one SportBrain (which logs information for one person), a SportPort (which can be used with multiple SportBrains), and a telephone cord. The SportBrain is powered by a CR2032 battery (included), while the SportPort runs on 3 AAA batteries (also included).

It comes with a one-year limited warranty as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you are not satisfied for any reason.

Note that the SportBrain Personal Fitness Assistant is not waterproof.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sportbrain Rocks!, October 25, 2000

By 

"eeaves" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SportBrain "First Step" Personal Fitness Assistant (1-Unit) (Personal Computers)

I'm generally a slacker and not really one to jump into fitness fads (the plastic wrap is still on my tao-bo tapes), but I really like using my Sportbrain Personal Fitness Assistant. It's built to meet the needs of the mall-walker and the marathoner. It's a fun tool to help you monitor what you already doing and incents you to do more.

First off, the directions are very simple to follow and the Sportbrain only requires you to plug it in to your existing phone line. No worries about computer compatability! Next, you just clip the sportbrain to your belt or waistband and the little "brain" does all the rest.

I download my info every night when I get home and then access my personal page to see how I did for the day. The brain collects data on how many steps you take, how far you run/walk and what your pace was throughout the day. The information is nicely displayed and I also like the "competitive" information. Sportbrain collects info about all it's wearers and then shows you comparison graphs based on your gender and age group. I love knowing I walked twice as far as others in my group! Or, on my slacker days when I don't meet my goal the site shows precisely how little I walked that day.

The Sportbrain website also has lots of nifty tools, charts and graphs to help you monitor your fitness progress. I took my brain on vacation with me. It stored a week's worth of info before I came back and downloaded. I was amazed to find out I walked 9.7 miles in one day while siteseeing in Boston. I also like that the Sportbrain monitors your pace as well so you get to see spikes on your graphs for when you have to run to catch the bus.

The only downside to the Brain is remembering to wear it!

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for walkers and runners, November 3, 2000

By 

Laura Vandendries "laurakv" (Los Gatos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SportBrain "First Step" Personal Fitness Assistant (1-Unit) (Personal Computers)

What a great product!

I thought my SportBrain would be just a glorified pedometer, but it is really much more. Sure, it counts my steps, but the best part is viewing my personal page at the SportBrain website, where I can obtain interesting fitness information, and automatically determine if I am meeting my personal fitness goals.

Getting up and running was no problem at all. When you purchase a SportBrain, you get a SportBrain, which you attach to your waistband, and a SportPort, which you hook up to your telephone. I followed the simple directions (which don't involve any physical mucking about with your computer) and with two clicks of a phone jack my "brain" was activated. Then I attached the brain to my waistband, and started tracking my daily activity. At the end of the day, I simply plug the brain into the port, and my information is automatically uploaded to the SportBrain website.

At first I thought my SportBrain would only be useful for counting steps, but it has actually helped me in a few different areas. It incents me to take extra steps, so I find that I really don't mind parking further out in the parking lot, or running up the stairs to go back for something I've forgotten, because every step I take is counted and displayed on my personal web page.

And SportBrain is not just for walkers and runners. I participate in cardio-kickboxing, and form is a very important aspect of the total workout. Turning the body and getting that heel up off the floor is the key to a good upper-cut, elbow and cross. My brain counts every one of those moves, so wearing my brain and knowing it is counting steps has helped my form immensely.

When you take 10,000 steps in a single day (which is much easier than it may sound!), you get a Happy Heart icon on your personal web page. If I plug my SportBrain into the port and upload my daily performance information, only to find I am 50 steps short of 10,000, I've been known to walk up and down the stairs a few times just to see that Happy Heart icon. And that has to be beneficial in the long run!

I highly recommend this product.

78 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best physical fitness motivator on the market, December 8, 2000

By 

Harold Silver "Doc Silver" (Bridgeport, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SportBrain "First Step" Personal Fitness Assistant (1-Unit) (Personal Computers)

Every now and then you are lucky to come across an item or gadget that makes you appreciate the creativity of its designers. Such an item is Sportbrain.I was a three times a week "walker" and sort of haphazard about when I would go out, hit the pavement or the YMCA treadmill. Now that I am wearing the Brain I have logged in almost forty five days of consecutive 30 minute walks and thouroughly enjoy doing it. Why? For the first time I can actually see what progress I am making, how many steps, miles, calories burned, my activity compared to all in my age group. Let me back up for a moment. Sportbrain is a device that you wear on your waistband( I attach it to my belt buckle loop using the BrainChain tether)and it monitors my walking activity or heart beat if you have the chest strap.After my sportivity(a word coined my SportBrain)I place the Brain in a cradle(just plug it in)tied into my telephone line which effortlessly transmits the data to my very own Home Page on the web. There I can see graphs personalized for me as to calories burned per minute,comparisons of myself to all others in the country as to my activity level and energy burned.. Sportbrain should be called Smartbrain. Now what's the extra bonus? A company that is responsive to your queries, open to suggestions,and a staff that makes you feel you are taking part in this vast physical fitness program. The device works flawlessly and when you transmit your data a green light flashes for successful transmission and a red light when it doesn't.Intuitive? But of course. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist in my work so I come back to what I first said about creative minds behind Sportbrain..there's more innovation coming along in the future so The Brain will be au courant. Oh, I almost forgot. There are incentive rewards for your workouts by accumulating points you can "win" great prizes and Sportbrain keeps track of your points. So far I've "won" a great coffee mug and a "baseball" cap with the Sportbrain Logo. Get it you'll enjoy it and have some fun. Go ahead drop a few pounds.