For monitoring health, watches aren’t always so smart
Some people buy the Apple Watch just to monitor their health. But is it worth the $399 price tag?
A reader said his doctor suggested he get one because it helped his other patients. In one case, the Watch noticed when its owner fell, and it called 911. “Saved her life as it turned out,” he said.
But according to experts, the Apple Watch is no substitute for medical-grade tools that do what the Watch claims to do: monitor blood pressure, test blood oxygen and perform electrocardiograms. It’s marketed only as a “wellness” device, so it did not need FDA approval. Expensive as it is, to take your blood pressure, you’ll need a cuff to go with it, such as the “Qardio Arm,” for $90. For $41, you can get a medical-grade Omron blood pressure monitor, the leader in the field.
Omron also sells a $499 “HeartGuide Smart Watch” with a tiny inflatable cuff. A retired emergency room physician compared it to the gold standard of blood pressure measurements: a mercury manometer, arm cuff and stethoscope. It was consistently off by 20 or 30 points. Its Amazon reviews are astonishingly dismal: 33%, one star.
I bought the FitVii IP68, $42 on Amazon. I haven’t had a fitness tracker since my Amazon Halo conked out, but I find them fun and enjoy monitoring my health. According to kathiresanlab.org, an organization that collaborates with scientists worldwide, this version of the FitVii is the most accurate blood pressure monitoring watch on the market. Comparing it with my CVS monitor, I found that the top blood pressure number, the systolic, was 20 points lower. But then I remembered that my CVS monitor was off by 20 points, when I compared its results with what a nurse got at a physical a half hour after I tested myself. I’m sticking with the watch.
I find it as beautiful as an Apple Watch. Mine has a pink band. The display, showing the date, time, steps, heart rate and calories burned, lights up when you flick your wrist. It has many choices for the display. I love the image of the moon.
Setup was a bit tricky, and not all of its features work. For example, it said I expended just one calorie after 30 minutes of rowing. But it was a great motivator. I rowed harder while trying to get my heart rate up. What do you expect for $43?
A NEW MONKEY ISLAND!
A new Monkey Island game is coming this year. My late husband had a signed copy of the original. I played it to death when it first came out in 1990. It’s still the best game I ever played.
The new version, like the old, is being developed by Ron Gilbert in collaboration with Disney-owned LucasArts. Check out YouTube for the trailer. In the original, and its sequels, a plucky guy named Guy Threepwood battles pirates, faces ghosts, and has his fortune told. It’s even more fun than it sounds. It’s hilarious and has great plots.
In 2013, on the GrumpyGamer.com, the developer theorized what he would do if he ever made another sequel. Thank goodness all the best parts will still be there, made with the same collaborators, only better graphics.
GAMES WITH GRANDMA, REMOTELY
Aimed at kids, the $300 “Amazon Glow” is a new way to play games with grandma remotely. Children can see her face while they play, and she can see theirs in picture-in-picture mode on her phone or tablet. She can also see every move in their game. It might not just be for kids. I remember once reading that former President Bill Clinton is so social, he likes an audience even when playing solitaire. You can play chess and almost 100 other games on this thing.
Standing 14 inches tall, the Glow projects games onto a 19-inch touch-sensitive space on a table. It also provides thousands of stories and interactions with Disney characters. If you also buy the $30 “Tangram Bits,” your audience can play along. For example, with Bits, a child can move physical pieces of a puzzle, taking turns with the remote friend who moves the digital version.
The Glow comes with a one-year subscription for all of its activities. After that, it’s $3 a month. One reviewer said her 4 year-old can work the device “almost completely independently,” but turning the page in a story is surprisingly difficult.
FORWARDING TEXT MESSAGES
My sister recently received an important text message about a co-worker who died mysteriously. To forward it from her iPhone, she did the following: First, she opened the text. Then she put her finger on it, holding it there until a menu popped up. Then she tapped “more,” and tapped the forwarding arrow. Then she tapped in a phone number or name and tapped “send.”
On an Android phone, open the messaging app. Select the text. Press and hold your finger on it. Tap the three dots at the top-right corner. Choose “Forward.” Choose the recipient’s email or enter a phone number. Press “done.”
INTERNUT
PeriodicVideos.com has an interactive Periodic Table of Elements. When I clicked on “calcium,” a British professor showed off the pelvis of a sheep he found on his walk. Calcium, he said, is very reactive, unlike magnesium. If you had calcium wheels in your car, when it rains, your whole car would go up in flames.
