There are many people who are involved in any kind of sport, such as jogging or walking, for whom it is very important to calculate the number of calories burned in a day, and someone simply cuts a large number of steps when they get to work. These people may be interested in how many steps and distance they covered. For them, special applications have already been created on the smartphone, which will help to obtain such data.
What is a pedometer and how does it work
A pedometer (aka Pedometer) is a program that calculates the number of steps taken using special algorithms using a special sensor – an accelerometer, which is found in all modern smartphones. With this application, the accelerometer reads the rhythmic vibrations and displays the result on the screen. In some cases, GPS navigation is also used for more accurate distance measurement.
There are dozens of such applications, some of them are free, while others are distributed on a paid basis. Some are simpler, have only basic features, while others offer a whole set of functions for analyzing and drawing up a daily routine. Nevertheless, all programs are similar to one another and have more or less the same capabilities, since it is difficult to come up with something special in this area.
From the point of view of convenience and control, all of them have a clear interface and many of them can be controlled by pressing a couple of buttons, pressing 'start' and then 'stop'. Many applications will run in the background and will not require intervention, and if you put the widget on the desktop, you can watch the steps taken without entering the application.
To test the pedometer in practice, you need to download and carefully study the most popular applications. You can find pedometers in the Play market or Samsung apps for Android, in the Apple Store for devices based on IOS.
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Pedometer – Step Counter & Calorie Counter
Application in the Play Store.
Step counting application has a simple and intuitive interface. When you first log in, it asks you to choose gender and weight for maintaining your profile. After that, you need to turn off the automatic optimization of the application so that it does not turn off in the background.
After the first setup, the app will start counting steps. At the same time, it will indicate the distance traveled, how many kilocalories have been burned, and will show the total time spent walking. By default, this data will be displayed in the notification shade and on the lock screen.
The application allows you to view reports by all criteria for the day, view the time of the highest activity, analyze data for a month. Additionally, you can monitor your body weight, enter data and monitor the dynamics of change, create goals and fulfill them.
The pedometer is flexible, allows you to adjust the sensitivity, change goals for the day, set up alerts, and allows you to sync data with Google Fit. The application can be paused or turned off completely when not needed, so as not to waste battery power. The program is free, but you can pay a one-time cost to disable ads.
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Pacer – Pedometer for Weight Loss
Application in the Play Store.
Multifunctional application for maintaining a fitness schedule and sports program in general. When you turn on the pedometer, you will need to indicate your gender, year of birth, height and weight. Further, the program will offer to purchase a premium tariff, which includes great functionality for running sports programs.
It is recommended to register an account in the application, then a whole sports social network will become available with the account, which allows you to share your results with others.
The main function of counting steps is available on the main screen, it will show the number of steps taken, percentage of the goal, the number of calories burned and the mileage traveled. Swiping to the right will create a calorie burn plan. And if to the left, you can configure the “GPS Exercise” function, which allows you to measure the distance traveled using GPS.
In addition, the application will create a personal virtual trainer who, based on the entered data and the desired goals, will create an individual training program.
- The Me tab allows you to keep track of your stats, archive your data and customize your social profile.
- “Charts” will allow you to view statistics for a week, month, six months and a year according to such criteria as: steps taken, calories, weight, distance, time of activity.
- The 'Feed' tab is a social network where users share their sports and other achievements. Users can subscribe, like and comment on posts.
- 'Explore' will allow you to participate in various activities and compete with others in 'number of steps', 'distance traveled' per month, week, day, etc. You can create a group and even a team to achieve goals together.
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Pedometer from ITO Technologies
Application in the Play Store.
A simple pedometer without unnecessary bells and whistles. When you start the application, the step statistics screen is immediately displayed. In order for the steps to start counting, you need to press 'start'. After that, steps, calories, distance traveled, walking time and average moving speed will be counted. You can immediately view statistics for the past day, week, month.
The application has a minimum of settings, but allows you to configure the basic functions for the pedometer. Many points are devoted to power consumption, where you can choose when the application is in sleep mode, how it will wake up, adjust the sensitivity of the pedometer. You can also choose the design of the application, share your results on social networks, and more.
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Samsung Health
Application in the Play Store.
This application is suitable for owners of Samsung phones, it is built into the system and perfectly integrated into the shell. In addition to the usual pedometer, the application allows using a special sensor to measure other data, such as: heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, stress level, level of ultraviolet radiation in the light.
Samsung Health allows you to keep track of your sports programs and data. It integrates perfectly with other Samsung products, such as bracelets. Which is what they use by advertising these products directly in the app. It is possible to customize a convenient widget on the desktop and lock screen. The accuracy of determining steps does not differ from third-party applications.
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Which pedometer app is better?
As for the performance of the main function of the pedometer – counting steps, all applications perform their function in the same way, with the standard sensitivity of the accelerometer. Running two or more pedometers at the same time will give the same result. The choice of an application depends on the additional features it offers. Someone needs a lightweight application without unnecessary functions, someone will prefer a sports social network.
In addition, all applications make the same mistakes. If the phone is shaken in place, they can recognize it as steps. Riding in transport – can also consider that a person is walking. Step counting may stop at any time if the phone is set to power saving mode. The number of calories burned and the distance traveled is also a figure that should be treated with skepticism, because if the steps are recognized incorrectly, then this figure will already be incorrect. But nevertheless, developers are constantly working to improve applications, and their accuracy is constantly improving.