In the past I’ve used several pedometers, and have overall liked the concept of an easy and (relatively) accurate way of gauging your daily physical activity. The biggest issue that I had with them was in fact a virtue – they can be incredibly addictive. They tap into my competitive and scientific instincts, and push me to keep up a consistent level of physical activity, even at the cost of annoying those around me. (Hey, I need to pace back and forth across the living room in order to get my exercise!) In recent years I’ve started to rely on my iPhone’s GPS capabilities to keep track of my runs, walks, and other outdoorsy activities. However, GPS is quite limited when you are indoors or are doing a lot of walking within a relatively small area. For such situations pedometers are still the best option.

As I’ve said, it’s been a while since I had used a pedometer, and when I started using Omron I was quite surprised with how small, lightweight and quiet it was. Instead of mechanical lever measuring your steps (and making the familiar clicking sound), this pedometer uses the 3D technology that works irrespective of its orientation and provides much more accurate count of your steps.

The setup for this unit was relatively straightforward, and in most cases it needs to be done only once. The only exception might be the recording of the length of your strides. If you decide to go running, or if someone else uses this pedometer, then you’ll need to adjust this measurement.

Fro the past few days of trials I’ve been very happy with this pedometer. It seems fairly accurate, and a definite improvement over the more mechanical pedometers that I had used. No pedometer can really be 100% accurate, and each time I counted my steps by myself the pedometer was off by one or two step (out of hundred that I’d take). I did not test it more extensively and systematically, so I’d be unable to vouch for its exact accuracy.

One of the problems that I have noticed thus far has to do with the fastening clip. The clip is designed so that you can quickly remove the pedometer from your waist. However, it may also cause it to fall out if you rub against something inadvertently. This has happened to me once so far, but fortunately only at home so I was able to find it afterwards. My suggestion would be to put the pedometer in your pocket as much as possible. It will not affect the accuracy, and it will help you with keeping it safe.

Other than the problem with the clip, I am very happy with this pedometer and would recommend it to anyone looking for an easy and accurate way of keeping track of their physical activities.