10 Things we’d like to see in our dream health and fitness gadget

Since we launched Connected Health back in December we’ve come across a huge range of gadgets, apps and other tools dedicated to health and fitness, whether they’re concerned with motivating us to do more and eat better or providing us with detailed stats about exactly what we’re doing and how well we’re doing it on a daily basis.

We have a few personal favourites, like the Nike+ FuelBand and the FitBit Ultra (review coming soon), but if you could design ANY health and fitness gadget yourself, and there were absolutely no constraints, then what would yours be like? Ahh, the possibilities!

We identified some of the key issues with the apps and gadgets we’ve seen already and devised a top 10 of the features we’d love in our dream health and fitness gadget, even though some are admittedly a little silly…

Have a read and let us know what you’d add to the list:

1. It’s comfortable to wear

There aren’t many gadgets that we’ve come across that are particularly uncomfortable, but most of the time you can tell you’re wearing them, or you’ve got them clipped to you somewhere and that’s annoying and distracting, particularly if it’s designed to be attached to you all day.

2. It doesn’t show up as an unsightly bump under clothes

Unfortunately we’re a vain bunch here at Connected Health, so it’s not just about the comfort, but looks are important too. Gadgets have got to be comfortable, as well as small, thin and discreet. Otherwise, we’re just not going to wear it regularly. Sorry.

3. It takes the cake out of your hand

It’s all well and good wearing a fitness gadget day-in and day-out, but if it’s just tracking the steps you take to the bakery everyday, then it may not be what you need right now…

We’d like a more agressive gadget that speaks its mind and tells you enough is enough when it comes to bad eating habits.

4. It knows what you’ve eaten, you don’t have to tell it

A few apps and gadgets aren’t just about tracking your daily activity, but they care about what you’ve eaten too. Unfortunately telling them what you’ve eaten can be annoying and time consuming, whether you need to search, type in what you’ve had or scan a barcode. If the gadget knew right away what you were eating it’d be much, much easier. Although don’t expect us to tell you how that would happen…

5. It talks to you in friendly, informal language

Some fitness apps seem to talk to you in a very posh and formal way, like you’re the queen, or alternatively they’re too aggressive and sound like a drill sergeant. We’d be much more willing to get stuff done if someone was friendly and informal, like a friend who’s helping us get fitter. Of course that doesn’t mean a little bit of tough love wouldn’t be appreciated once in a while.

6. It doesn’t need Wi-Fi or 3G to work and send data

There’s nothing more annoying than completing a gruelling workout then realising it’s not been tracked properly because you didn’t have any 3G reception. Ouch. Our dream gadget would work all the time, and never have a sick day.

7. It gives you pep talks and praise and compliments

We all know we’re much more likely to get something done if we’re being told how awesome we are and how well we’re doing. We don’t need constant praise, but we would like a bit of motivation every now and then.

8. It’s a bit of a multi-tasker

It’s annoying having to switch between apps and gadgets to do different things, instead we’d like an all-singing, all-dancing, multi-tasking gadget that can tell us everything we need to know about what we’re eating, how we’re exercising and what we need to do to improve it all.

9. It has a clean and intuitive interface

All gadgets have a web interface to allow us to keep track of the data that the device has been collecting, so we want that online dashboard to be clean, simple and intuitive, providing us quickly with the data we need. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

10. it’s sweat, water, dust and EVERYTHING ELSE proof

Most of the gadgets we’ve seen seem to be pretty tough, but

seem to be, but it’s essential if we’re taking it with us everywhere that it’s not going to stop working properly after a bit of sweat and a few tears.

By Becca Caddy.

[Image via lululemon athletica]