For a long time, my daily pedometer has been the Omron HJ-112, but it’s been replaced by the new Omron HJ-720itc pedometer. I never thought that I would replace my trusty HJ-112, because I liked it so much. It was quiet, accurate and had a seven day memory. Best of all, I didn’t have to clip it to my belt. Since it uses an accelerometer to count my steps, it can slip in my pocket where no one but me knows it’s there.
In a way though, I haven’t got rid of my HJ-112. That’s because the HJ-720itc is really an HJ-112 with some added features. I was always puzzled by the top of my 112. There was a cover you could pry off (I never could resist tinkering) that was shaped like the end of a USB cable. There was nothing I could see beneath it, but at first I assumed that Omron’s engineers had planned for future upgrades.
Then, I learned that in Japan, Omron sold a pedometer that synced with your computer via a USB port. They had a website that was in Japanese, but with page translation software, I got the gist of it. Needless to say, I was jealous. I briefly contemplated learning Japanese and flying to Japan to get one of these pedometers, but I decided that this was unrealistic. So, I settled in for a wait, figuring that eventually, Omron would release the pedometer here.
Now, the wait is over! You can pick up the HJ720 at Amazon.com.
It’s very easy to use. You simply install the Omron Health Management Software on your computer. It says it works with XP/200, but I have installed it on Vista Home Premium without any problems. You then connect your pedometer with the included USB cable and click the download data button.
The pedometer automatically downloads the data to the Health Management software. There, you can look at your data by day, week, month, year, or all time. It lets you see what times of the day or week you are more or less active. It also shows you your aerobic steps in orange, so you can see the periods when you were most active.
I haven’t seen it in any of my local sporting goods stores, but as I mentioned, Amazon has the HJ720 in stock at a good price. I highly recommend it.
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