Wii U Fit Pedometer

[pbj]

I couponed this thing down to $6 shipped, but it goes into stand by mode if you're idle for more than a few minutes which makes it borderline useless.

 

[Howard_Casto]

I've got like 15 bucks in amazon gift cards but they are sold out... I'm waiting for them to get some back in. 

It's supposed to be one of the best pedometers on the market, but honestly I don't care.... it's cheaper to get the meter than it is to buy Wii Fit U without the balance board.

[pbj]

You won't get past the initialization screens in Wii Fit U without the balance board.  Had to go dredge it out of the attic.

[ark_ader]

I never used a pedometer and remained motionless for a few minutes.  Maybe you need to jog on the spot a bit more. 

[Howard_Casto]

You won't get past the initialization screens in Wii Fit U without the balance board.  Had to go dredge it out of the attic.

No I've got the balance board... from the original wii fit.  I've been playing the "game" in trial mode since it came out.  What I meant was when the game gets it's official release in December, the stand-alone version of the game without a balance board is going to retail for 30 bucks without the meter, 60 with it, and I'm assuming around 100 with the board.  Or you can just buy the meter for 20 and get the game for free. 

[pbj]

Well, the meter isn't worth 10 cents unless I'm using it incorrectly, so you're getting a downloadable game that you can't loan or resell for $20.  Not free.

[marioxb]

99% sure the meter still tracks while it's idle. And how the hell did u get it for 6 bucks?

[pbj]

You're correct.  I actually left it on today.  For as much as I waddle around, you'd think I wouldn't weigh 450lbs.  Thus is life.

 

[pbj]

Stacked two free Toys R Us giftcards from gathr.com with a 20% off Toys R Us code.  Shipping was outrageous but can't complain at $6 out of pocket.

 

[Howard_Casto]

Well, the meter isn't worth 10 cents unless I'm using it incorrectly, so you're getting a downloadable game that you can't loan or resell for $20.  Not free.

Why would I want to resell or loan a fitness game?  Hell why would I want to resell any game?  I've got the games I played when I was six man... there isn't any resale value in games.

Yeah it's free.  It might not be in a physical box which would normally annoy me, but the fact that Wii Fit U is something that you should play daily means that having it on your HDD so that you can play it and keep the game you are playing in the drive is actually a plus in my book. 

[Howard_Casto]

I picked mine up today.  Had to go to Toys R Us to find one in stock.  Yup grown-assed man with no children in a toy store. 

The thing about the screen going off is definitely annoying, but apparently it still tracks your movement even if the screen is off.  (I tested it for you.  )

I will say that it is indeed more accurate.  I know with the cheap-o pedometers you can just tap the bottom or shake it around to add steps.  That doesn't work on this one.  It uses accelerometers to gauge how man feet you've traveled and translate that to steps. 

At the end of the day it's just a pedometer, nothing to get excited about, but the quality does seem pretty high.

[pbj]

Yeah, it's pretty alright.  Shame you can't use it without syncing to Wii Fit U, and I'm curious how many days it's going to let me go without resyncing, but so far so good.

I've taken readings before and after bumpy car rides and it's close enough to zero gain that you're not having to do mental gymnastics to figure your 'true distance'.  The time function is pretty funny and an accurate reading of when I'm glued to the desk.  Altimeter is a goofy feature, but why not.

[Howard_Casto]

I think it's 7 days or something like that.  Yeah I was annoyed by the fact that I walked out of the store and wanted to use it immediately and it gave me a "sync failed" error.

So probably a lot of steps that should be on there aren't. 

I'm wondering if I can hack the thing.  It's just IR communication, so it couldn't be that complicated.  I could point a camera at the thing and record it actually.

*Edit*

I *think* the reason the altimeter was included has something to do with the way calorie calculations are done.  I read an article once about how you burn more calories walking at higher elevations due to the thinner air.  Well that and I'm sure that's used to try and figure out when you are sitting down.