Withings Go review: Tracking on a budget
French company Withings has been central to the activity tracking and health markets for some time. It might not be as well known as the likes of Fitbit, but it has produced some winning devices in the past.
Buy into the Withings platform and your options are plentiful: from activity trackers and smart scales to blood pressure monitors and smart cameras – there’s a whole network of devices.
The latest in the company’s portfolio is the Go activity tracker, designed to be fun, easy-to-use and affordable. At £50 it’s no surprise it’s basic, with a black-and-white E Ink display and a plasticky finish.
Does such simplicity stand in the way of it being a desirable entry-level tracker for walking, running, swimming and sleep tracking, or is it a worthy addition to the portfolio?
Withings Go review: Design
The circular pebble-shaped device can be worn pretty much any way you choose, whether that be on the wrist, placed in a pocket, or attached to your belt. It’s versatile and even water-resistant, which are among its biggest attributes.
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The always-on E Ink screen – which is the same technology as used in many Amazon Kindle e-readers – shows step progress first and foremost, but a hard push on the display briefly presents a clock face. When the user-defined step goal is reached, the virtual “walking man” displayed in the centre changes to a star and the progress lines around it reset.
While E Ink might not look as snazzy as full colour display options, it is visible in all conditions, its avoidance of reflective sunlight being one of its obvious benefits.
On the rear of the Go there is a small indent for accessing the battery, which should last for eight month stints at a time. That’s another of the Go’s best attributes, along with its waterproof rating of up to 50-metres.
The Withings Go doesn’t have a ground-breaking design by any means, nor does it look particularly great on the wrist. But it is easy to use, comfortable and it doesn’t need to be seen to be heard.
Withings Go review: Features
The Withings Go will track walking, running, swimming and sleep. Step tracking is its biggest focus, given this is what is seen on the E Ink display, but information for other activity can be found in the accompanying Health Mate app.
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In terms of walking and running, the Go will record steps taken, distance travelled, time and calories burned. When it comes to swimming, there are no specific swimming metrics recorded, it’s simply a case of calories burned and time.
Sleep tracking offers duration of sleep, time awake, time in light sleep and time in deep sleep. It will also record how many times you woke up and how many minutes it took you to fall asleep. If you can bear to wear the device in bed anyway.
The Go is all about basic activity tracking, which is reflected in its price. There are no fancy features like smart notifications, GPS tracking, elevation data or heart-rate monitoring.
Withings Go review: Performance
We found the Withings Go to slightly underestimate in terms of step tracking, which is what we have found from previous Withings devices. We tested it alongside the Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Alta on the Moon Walk, which is a walking marathon. In our experience, the Fitbit Charge HR has been accurate almost to the step – so it’s a good indicator to how other devices perform.
The Withings Go measured 46,977 steps for the duration of the walk after midnight, whereas the Fitbit Charge HR measured 47,922, and the Alta 49,255. It’s not a huge discrepancy across such a long distance – but a discrepancy nonetheless.
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Distance was more accurate on the Withings Go than the Fitbit devices – but still not accurate enough. The Go measured 23.45 miles for the 26.2 mile distance, while the Alta measured just 22.73 miles (we had to take the information from the hour before midnight too, which is why the screenshots above show different data).
Calories burned is a little harder to determine in accuracy terms, especially without heart-rate monitoring, elevation or body metrics data. The Go measured 3,569 calories burned, compared to the 3,252 from the Fitbit Charge HR, which has both heart-rate and elevation measuring capabilities. We wouldn’t take either as gospel, but the Go hasn’t done badly in terms of estimation given it lacks two fundamental data points.
As we’ve said in previous activity tracking reviews, we’re not a huge fan of sleep tracking because it’s not the most comfortable, nor particularly reliable. But the Withings Go has it as a feature if you want to use it. And it’s nicer than some trackers in that its E Ink display doesn’t wake you up in the middle of the night by shining in your face.
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We measured the Withings Go against the Withings Aura Sleep System and the results were quite different. Where the Aura measured 6 hours 41 minutes in bed, of which 6 hours and 7 minutes were asleep, the Go measured 7 hours 38 minutes in bed, of which 7 hours 21 minutes were asleep.
In this case, the Aura was the more accurate as we were reading for the extra time the Go suggested we were sleeping. The Aura also registered us waking up four times, compared to the Go registering two times, the former of which was correct. The Aura provides more detail, while the Go provides a rough estimate.
Withings Go review: App
The free-to-download Withings Health Mate app – used in conjunction with the Go and other Withings devices – offers a good, clean interface. However, it’s not quite as simple or effective as the Fitbit app.
Rather than having tabs at the bottom like Fitbit, the Health Mate app has a main home page with a menu in the top left, offering access to various sections, such as user profiles, leaderboard and a dashboard with movable widgets. This is also where settings are, should you want to change units or language, for example.
There are far fewer options to fiddle with for the Withings Go than there are with Fitbit. For example, it’s not possible to tell Health Mate which wrist the Go is on or detail measurements like stride length for more accurate readings. It is possible to tell the app you’ve forgotten your Go, however, which is something you can’t do on Fitbit.
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On the Health Mate app’s main page there’s a colour-coded block sat at the top, which Withings calls Timeline. A swipe left or right on this block will display various metrics, such as activity (orange), weight (pink) and nutrition (purple), as derived from the Go and any other Withings devices you may have connected, like the Body Cardio scales.
A tap on each specific metric will display more details, including a graph, and allows you to view your history. It’s also possible to change goals and targets when within a specific metric by tapping on the three option dots in the top right corner.
Verdict
The Withings Go is one of the cheapest activity trackers out there, sitting in line with the likes of the Misfit Flash. Although the Go’s E Ink display couldn’t be called pretty, it is functional for showing step progress and, therefore, might be the preferable choice.
The biggest problem the Go faces is that there isn’t a huge price difference between the budget and higher-end of the activity tracking market. So an extra £50 could get you a better looking tracker with a colour OLED display, even better app experience and smart notifications.
For those who want what’s essentially a glorified pedometer with a few extra features, the Go is a great choice. For those after a proper activity tracker, there are better options if you can afford to spend a little extra.
Nest launches its first outdoor camera
While speculation about the future of the Nest is at an all time high since its founder and former CEO Tony Fadell departed in June, the company is still adding new products to its line. Well not so much new. The Nest Cam Outdoor has the same guts as its indoor counterpart, but in a weatherproof case.
In addition to a new waterproof white housing, the Nest Cam Outdoor uses magnets and screw-on mounts (if needed) to attach to the outside of your home. The magnetic bond between the concave base and actual camera will allow you to point it in nearly any direction. It also has to be plugged into an outlet instead of using batteries like some other security cameras on the market. The company says plugging it in has its advantages.
Nest says the Nest Cam Outdoor is superior to other outdoor security cameras on the market because it’s always recording and uploading footage to the cloud. Battery-powered cameras tend to start capturing video only when they notice movement. The latency between a detected motion and recording could mean the difference between catching a thief and only seeing a few frames of a burglar’s foot as they leave your home.
The plug-in strategy means if the power goes out, the camera is immediately useless. There’s also the problem of no on-board storage in case the WiFi in your home dies. But if you have a strong network, power outages are rare in your area and you have an outlet outside your home, Nest Cam Outdoor has some impressive specs.
Well impressive because it’s the same as the indoor Nest Cam. It shoots in 1080p with a 130-degree view. Its night vision is lit by eight infrared LEDs and all that video streaming is encrypted. The camera is available for preorder for $199 and will ship in the fall.
In addition to a new camera, Nest also announced a redesigned app that launches at the end of the month. Soon users will be able share password-protected video streams privately with other people. Great for when you need someone to keep an eye on your home for a short period of time.
The updated app also introduces “Spaces.” The feature organizes a person’s suite of Nest products by the rooms they’re in. For example, if you have a Protect and Cam in the living room and a Cam in the upstairs bedrooms, that would could as two Spaces.
While it’s not pumping out new products, Nest is still working on refining what it already does well.
Source: Nest
Researcher uses mobile phone data to predict illiteracy
Many non-profit orgs send out teams to teach people how to read and write, but a lot of them have very limited resources, as well. One Norwegian researcher, however, might have found a way to pinpoint places that are most in need of the organizations’ help using people’s mobile data. Pål Sundsøy used info from a phone company’s survey of 76,000 mobile phone users in an unnamed developing country in Asia. That survey asked for each person’s phone number and whether they can read or write.
By taking a close look at the respondents’ mobile activities, he was able to discern patterns that could be used to predict illiteracy. For instance, Sundsøy found that they don’t send out a lot of text messages, if any, and tend to communicate with very few people. They also spend most of their time in poor regions, such as slums, which could mean that they don’t hold jobs in wealthier locations that would have required them to write and send out resumes.
Sundsøy said “deriving economic, social and mobility features for each mobile user” enabled him to “predict individual illiteracy status with 70 percent accuracy.” His method still requires more testing, but if it really is that spot-on, non-profit orgs could adopt it to make sure they allocate enough resources for areas where they’re most needed.
Source: MIT Technology Review
‘Pokémon Go’ is now available in the UK
Pokéfans in Britain, rejoice. Pokémon Go, the AR video game that lets you catch colourful critters with your smartphone, is now available in the UK version of the App Store and Google Play. That means you no longer have to fiddle about with APKs or store regions to start your own adventure.
The app is already a huge success — both in its official launch markets and beyond — as trainers young and old try to build out their personal collections. It’s a fun, if shallow (and slightly unreliable) game that encourages people to go outside and explore their surroundings. But be warned, as the app can lead you into a whole host of strange locations — and crafty crooks have figured out how to use the game as bait for muggings. Unlike the regions of Kanto and Hoenn, Great Britain can be a dangerous place — so stay safe and keep your wits about you.
Source: Pokemon Go (iOS), (Android)
Google Play update hits Pixel 2015 and Acer R11 Chromebooks
We’re hearing reports that the Pixel 2015 and Acer R11 Chromebooks have a Dev channel update that brings support for Android apps and the Google Play Store. The two devices will join the ASUS Chromebook Flip as part of the testing platform to get the stable channel of Chrome OS ready for the Play Store. When the program comes out of beta, many current and future Chromebooks will be able to install and run your favorite Android apps from Google Play with no trickery or difficulties.
To get Google Play up and running on your Pixel or R11, make sure you’re on the latest Dev channel build and look for “Play store” in your settings. See here for full details.
Read: These are the Chromebooks that will get Google Play support
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
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Pokémon Go already the biggest mobile game in U.S. history
Barely a week into its debut, Pokémon Go has clocked 21 million daily active users, edging past Candy Crush Saga’s 20 million users recorded in 2013. The data comes from online survey company SurveyMonkey, which pegs Pokémon Go as the biggest mobile game in U.S. history. The game already surpassed Tinder and Twitter when it comes to daily active users, and it isn’t even available globally yet, with Niantic pausing its international rollout to deal with the massive influx of players.
From SurveyMonkey:
Within three days of its release, Pokémon GO attracted more users than Twitter, and rose to the top of the App Store revenue charts, earning millions of dollars a day for its publisher, Niantic.
As of yesterday, Pokémon GO attracted just under 21 million daily active users in the United States, surpassing Candy Crush saga’s rumored peak US smartphone audience of 20 million and making it the biggest mobile game in US history.
If you’re playing Pokémon Go, be sure to check out our extensive coverage of the game.
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- Join our Pokémon Go forums!
- How to deal with GPS errors in-game
- Which team should you choose?
- How to play without killing your battery
- The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!
Researchers discover the hidden impact of solar panel shade
A group of environmental scientists and ecologists researching the impact of solar arrays on the environment have released a new study they believe will lead to smarter farming and land use around these alternative energy sources. According to the paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the microclimate around the bank of photovoltaic panels studied near Swindon in the UK changed by as much as 5 degrees Celsius, depending on the season. While this might seem like an obvious side effect of creating a big field of artificial shade, the researchers from Lancaster University and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology are concerned about the impact on the plants and soil underneath all those solar panels.
“With policies in dominant economies supporting solar energy,” Dr. Alona Armstrong, one of the paper’s authors, explained to Phys.org, “it is important that we understand the environmental impacts to ensure we get more than just low carbon energy from the land they occupy.” What the team found was that more than just creating shade, the panels were decreasing the species diversity and the biomass of the plants on the ground, which in turn was affecting how much carbon could be stored in the soil beneath the solar panels. If the soil around a solar array is storing less carbon than the array itself is meant to offset, the result is a less-than-optimal arrangement. In other words: to maximize the impact of a field of solar panels, a landowner should optimize the shady space beneath it.
While more work needs to be done to study these effects in other climates, Dr. Armstrong believes the research could inform practices like growing shade-loving crops in arid regions using runoff water collected from the panels themselves. Which is a much greener method than turning your solar array into a laser beam.
Scientists partially restore blind mice’s eyesight
A team of researchers in California gathered a few blind mice, not to see how they run, but to find a cure for their glaucoma-like condition. By the end of the experiment, the rodents regained part of their eyesight, making this the first time scientists restored “multiple key aspects of vision in mammals.” Glaucoma affects around 70 million people worldwide and currently has no cure. People afflicted with the illness have busted optic nerves — their retinal ganglion cells’ axons had been damaged or severed.
Ganglion cells, in a nutshell, process what we see and are responsible for transmitting images to the brain. You can then think of their axons, thin nerve cells that could be as long as six to eight inches, as wires connecting the eyes to the brain. The bad news is that those axons don’t regenerate in adult humans (and mice, apparently), so the team decided to find a way to grow them back.
They employed a couple of techniques to accomplish their goal. The first one is covering the mouse’s good eye and exposing its bad one to “high-contrast visual stimulation,” specifically of a constantly moving black-and-white grid. They also used chemicals to reactivate the mTOR pathway, molecular interactions that enhance growth, within the ganglion cells.
The techniques didn’t show much difference individually, but the scientists found that combining both of them led to the growth of a “substantial numbers of axons” after three weeks. When the mice were shown an image of an expanding circle (something they interpret as an approaching bird) with their good eye covered, they ran for shelter.
It’ll take a long time before we can restore people’s vision completely, though. The team said their subjects still failed tests that required “finer visual discrimination.” Some, for instance, stepped over a cliff the scientists made. They still need to find a way to regrow more axons in order to cure glaucoma in humans.
Source: Stanford
Underwater microscope offers a brand new look at sea life
Scientists have a hard time studying microscope sea life, and for good reason. Underwater scientific equipment can’t study things at that scale, and bringing samples up to the surface frequently deprives them of that all-important natural context. Enter UC San Diego: its researchers have crafted the Benthic Underwater Microscope, the first undersea microscope that can study “millimeter-scale” activity in its native habitat. It combines a water-friendly computer with an imaging system that revolves around both a high magnification lens and a flexible, tunable lens that can see shapes in 3D. Combined with an LED ring light and fluorescence imaging, the system shouldn’t be daunted by most water conditions or unusual specimens.
The technology is already paying dividends. Divers have already studied coral species fighting each other with chemicals, coral polyps hugging each other and algae invading in the midst of coral bleaching (when coral polyps eject as a result of hot ocean temperatures, leaving the coral vulnerable). And of course, there’s a ton of potential. Scientists already want to study particles above the coral to see how water flow keeps it alive, and it’s easy to see the microscope coming into play whenever lab studies just aren’t enough.
Source: UC San Diego, Nature
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Samsung’s $548 Million Settlement Appeal October 11
In March, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Samsung’s appeal of a lower court decision that ordered the Korean-based company to pay $548 million to Apple. The Supreme Court’s website was updated with its October 2016 term today, noting that the appeal hearing will take place on October 11, 2016. The hearing will be the first of the day.
Samsung plans to appeal what it believes are “excessive penalties” for allegedly “copying the patented designs of the iPhone.” Specifically, Samsung’s petition asks the court to hear two questions: the scope of a design patent and whether patent infringement damages should be based on profits for infringing components or total profits.
The Korean electronics maker has already paid Apple the $548 million settlement, but Samsung can get reimbursed should the Supreme Court reverse or modify the original judgment. Apple had urged the Supreme Court to deny the appeal as it felt Samsung was raising issues that did not “deserve review” in an effort to prolong proceedings.
Tags: Samsung, patent trials
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