Home Hi-Tech Android World ,,,,, Alongside the smartwatch market, the one of fitness bracelets is increasingly flourishing, which provide the user with information on daily steps, calories burned and kilometers traveled, along with other info on sleep and notifications. From MPOW comes i3 mini, an economical smartband, which also serves to notify incoming calls and messages on smartphones.
The small cardboard box contains the smartband and a small manual. Nothing else. This is because the main body of the bracelet, which contains the sensors, incorporates a Full Size USB, which can be inserted into any PC to recharge the bracelet. The same body, after recharging, must be wedged inside the silicone strap, in order to be worn correctly. The appearance is similar to that of a Xiaomi Mi Band 2 smartband, with a similar coupling system. The construction materials are not of particular value, but the rest could not be otherwise for a smart low cost bracelet; on the wrist, however, it is comfortable and apparently it is quite minimal and sober.
The dimensions of the main body are really small, equal to 49x 19 x10mm, while the length of the bracelet, rather significant, is 25.2cm. Smart i3 mini houses a small 0.96 inch LED screen, without the possibility to change watchfaces, nor to modify the parameters in view. By touching the display, or by rotating the wrist, the smartband will show bluetooth connection status with the device, now , date, day of the week and battery level. This information is followed by those of a fitness nature: a few taps on the screen are enough to check steps taken, calories burned and distance traveled. We will return to the accuracy of these data later.
Bluetooth 4.0 technology allows easy pairing with most Android smartphones, with system version 4.4 or higher, making it also compatible with Apple devices, with iOS 8 or later on board. The 75mAh battery ensures quite good autonomy, even up to 4 days with moderate use, and recharges in just 45 minutes. It is equipped with IP67 certification, therefore absolutely protected against dust and suitable for immersion in water, up to one meter. All these features make smart i3 mini an excellent ally in everyday life, even if some reservations must necessarily be made to the accuracy of the data provided.
Not too precise ..
Unfortunately, one immediately realizes how inaccurate the bracelet is. There is no need to make comparisons with other more expensive or professional bands, because it only takes a few steps to realize how the bracelet tends to overestimate the paths. The difference between the steps actually performed and the one shown on the screen in some situations is tangible and at the end of the day you find yourself with a count that can reach 35% more steps than those actually taken.
Notifications
In any case, smart i3 mini has on its side an important weapon to convince users to buy, and to justify the sale price: notifications. The bracelet, in fact, is not limited only to showing an incoming call on the smartphone, but also to report the notifications of some apps. While the incoming notifications from the iPhone, due to the security limits of iOS, there is a reduced compatibility (but among the apps that provide notifications there is Whatsapp), with Android all instant messaging programs are open to the bracelet. Smart i3 mini does not just indicate the incoming notification and the sender, but also shows part of the text, in practice you can read most of the message on the small screen.
The Zeroner Health application, which activates these functions, available for free on the App Store and Google Play, is simple to configure, requires the entry of data such as weight, gender and height, and shows all the data recorded by the watch once synchronized. .
Conclusions
Smart Bracelet i3 mini by MPOW is a bracelet that for particular uses, especially in the Android field, does not look bad in front of other similar peripherals; it is not particularly accurate in counting steps, but it has the possibility of showing incoming notifications from the most used messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, on the screen, allowing you to read part of the text of incoming messages on the screen.
It costs 23.99 euros and can be purchased directly from here.
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