Tag: accessories

Fitness Tracker for Lazy People

laurenkortbeinLeave a comment

I am one of the least active people there is, so why would I need a fitness tracker? I don’t. 

Beautiful nails and a cool fitness tracker

I purchased the Fitbit Flex a few years ago, when it was new and there weren’t a ton of options on the market. It was a neat idea, but the app was very buggy on my BlackBerry. That meant I couldn’t check my steps until I got home and was able to connect the Fitbit to my laptop. But when Verizon sent me the Charge HR, I knew this time around would be much different. Not only is the Charge HR a million times better than the Flex, but the app is a super cool way to monitor a bunch of stats. My favorite thing about the Charge is that it’s also a watch, so you don’t need to wear both. When you turn your wrist up to look at the display, the clock automatically shows, which is the most useful feature on any gadget I’ve ever tested.

The app allows you to track not only your steps, but also calories burned, active minutes, flights climbed, water consumed and more. I drank a lot more water while using the Fitbit, because I really liked seeing the little human fill up with water every time I had a bottle. The Charge also automatically tracks your sleep, showing when you were restless, awake and fully asleep. Another handy feature is the Fitbit vibrates when you get an incoming call, and shows the caller ID on the display. My phone is always on silent, so if I ever get a call, I’m guaranteed to miss it. This helped me at least notice I had an incoming call, but whether or not I wanted to answer was up to me.

I definitely don’t need a fitness tracker. I barely take 7,000 steps a day, rarely have more than 5 “active minutes” and I don’t need to constantly know my heart rate. But I love the Charge HR! It’s fun to know these things, and the fact that it’s also a watch makes it that much better. I’m so glad Verizon let me test this out, because otherwise I never would have known how much I wanted one! Because if there was ever a fitness tracker for people who aren’t into fitness, this is it! And I’m sure it does a great job tracking people who actually exercise as well.

iPhone Apps and Accessories

laurenkortbeinLeave a comment

Most of the time, getting used to a new phone and a new mobile OS is a challenge. But seeing as how the high majority of people have an iPhone, it wasn’t so much “difficult” as it was just finding out everything the phone could do. As I said in my previous post, a big part of me switching to an iPhone was the availability of apps. Now I’m overwhelmed with choices, but two weeks in and I’m already picking favorites.

My favorite apps (so far):

  • Tweetbot: I was hesitant to buy this Twitter app since it was $5, but I definitely don’t regret it! Native Twitter is awful no matter what platform, so I was glad to have this as a replacement.
  • Afterlight/VSCOcam/Fragment: These 3 photo editing apps are the main reasons why I’ve been posting so much more to Instagram now.
  • Spotify: Student discount makes this $5/month. That’s a cup of coffee!
  • Pocket: I find a lot of cool articles to read, but don’t always want to read them at that exact time. This app allows me to save the links to read whenever.

Not only do I have what seems like an unlimited amount of apps, but I also have an unlimited amount of accessories!

My favorite accessories (so far):

  • Mophie case: As stated on Twitter, this isn’t so much an accessory as it is a necessity. Nevertheless, I have one in pink now, so that’s freaking awesome.
  • Casemate brilliance case: I love glitter and sparkle. This case doesn’t lack that!
  • Bose speakers: These tiny speakers are as good as the huge speakers we have in my living room, if not better. Also, I don’t actually own this, I just steal it from my roommate. (Don’t worry, I always give it back!)