The Sansa Clip is unequalled as a music player for working out. With its light weight, excellent sound and features so useful during exercise, I’ve found the Clip to be a constant companion on walks and trips to the gym.
However, there’s a feature missing that for me necessitates carrying another device. I’d like to see these two devices merged and I think it would be very marketable for SanDisk: the Sansa Clip combined with the Omron HJ-112 pedometer.
Pedometer functionality lends itself to the way I use the Clip and how, I suspect, many others do as well. Pedometers track one’s paces over a length of time to determine the distance the user has traveled, how many steps they took getting there and how many calories have been burned. Many people carry pedometers throughout their day in order to track how many calories they consumed throughout their normal routines. I see this as a perfect addition to the Clip’s feature set.
I would really like to see a licensing agreement between SanDisk and Omron to include their HJ-112 pedometer technology in the Sansa Clip, either in all models or perhaps in a special “Sansa Clip Walking” or “Sansa Clip Running” edition.
Please everyone, weigh in on my idea. And is there a formal channel through which to suggest this to SanDisk?
Wow, Bobo, what a great idea! Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Clip could become our own little complete health & fitness solution? It definitely gives us the beats to keep us moving when we’re working out. And I love your idea of adding pedometer functionality. But why stop there?
I would love to see the Clip continue to aid in promoting my health & fitness by adding the following functionality in the next firmware upgrade:
measure my blood pressure and pulse
measure my weight
measure my Body Fat Percentage
measure my Blood Glucose level (I’m diabetic and need to keep tabs on this)
sound an alarm if I’m about to eat something I shouldn’t
Let’s all keep the great ideas coming. That’s what makes this forum so great. Sandisk has proven that they listen to us.
Wow, Bobo, what a great idea! Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Clip could become our own little complete health & fitness solution? It definitely gives us the beats to keep us moving when we’re working out. And I love your idea of adding pedometer functionality. But why stop there?
I would love to see the Clip continue to aid in promoting my health & fitness by adding the following functionality in the next firmware upgrade:
measure my blood pressure and pulse
measure my weight
measure my Body Fat Percentage
measure my Blood Glucose level (I’m diabetic and need to keep tabs on this)
sound an alarm if I’m about to eat something I shouldn’t
Let’s all keep the great ideas coming. That’s what makes this forum so great. Sandisk has proven that they listen to us.
um, I hope im not the only one that thinks this is silly. I dont want my UI filled with that useless junk (no offense). Dont they have specific tools for that sorta thing? I doubt the effort and the money it would cost to do that sort of thing is even remotely feasable. Considering the market it would catch the attention of.
***I re-read it a bit, if it were a seperate player that a user would choose to purchase, than sure. But still, I doubt SanDisk is looking to get into the health market. (not a bad idea though)
How about a three minute egg timer? A French press coffee timer? Lots of possibilities, but limited application.
I prefer a portable music device personally, and SanDisk has made a wee device that does in fact double as the coolest mass storage data gizmo. I carry a spare USB cable to capture data from diagnostic equipment. It comes in quite handy when I misplace one of my memory sticks.
On the interesting thought of a pedometer, the accelerometers used in the average pedometer are quite crude. There are some outstanding microscopic accelerometers used in various applications that would indeed be small enough to mount in a device as small as a sansa Clip…but they would have quite limited popularity.
There are even GPS receiver platforms small enough to integrate into a Clip…but would you want to know your relative position, or how many tracks remain on your favorite playlist? As small as the Clip is, perhaps a Clip locator beacon!
Now that might be a nice idea…back to the lab.
I’ve GOT IT!! Integrate a pocket dosimeter into the device, and you’ll have rad techs bopping about the lab, happy as a clam!! Hehehe
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
Message Edited by neutron_bob on 04-09-2008 11:45 PM
If one of the choices had been a Clip with a pedometer when I bought mine last week, I might have chosen that one. I haven’t had good luck with pedometers being very accurate. I’d have to read some great reviews of the device before investing in one with a pedometer built-in. I’ve had three different ones over the past three or four years. One of the reasons to have a player is so I can “read” and walk at the same time. I am an avid reader and enjoy taking very long walks, five to ten miles. Before developing problems with my wrists, I also like to listen to audiobooks and knit at the same time.
I think the pedometer idea is a good one, on a separate unit, as someone else suggests. That way you can choose where you want the memory is used.
The french-press option is a tempting one, though, Bob might be on to something with that idea.
My wife has been using the Omron HJ-720 ITC pedometer for 3 months now and loves it. It comes with software to install on your computer and a USB cable to upload its data. The software gives out all kinds of charts and graphs and makes it real easy to chart your progress. This is the most accurate pedometer she’s ever used. Like you she used several before discovering this one. It allows you to calibrate it to your exact stride length. Count out 30 or so strides, measure the distance you covered, then calculate your average stride. Enter that into the device’s setup.
Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I hope it adds something a bit of value.
Obligatory Clip-related comment: The USB cable that the HJ-720 ITC comes with is a standard-USB to mini-USB cable, just like the one that comes with the Clip. So, you can use the same cable for both devices.
Just went to Omron’s website and read about the HJ-720 unit. It looks interesting. Thank you for the suggestion, BJ. For under $30.00 it would be a good way to end my curiousity as to how far I’ve actually walked some days. Spring is finally here and the weather nice enough to put my Clip and a pedometer to work out-of-doors. Two different library systems have supplied me with five audiobooks that I’ve transfered to the Clip. One is seventeen hours long. All-in-all, that’s a whole lotta walkin’.
Just went to Omron’s website and read about the HJ-720 unit. It looks interesting. Thank you for the suggestion, BJ. For under $30.00 it would be a good way to end my curiousity as to how far I’ve actually walked some days. Spring is finally here and the weather nice enough to put my Clip and a pedometer to work out-of-doors. Two different library systems have supplied me with five audiobooks that I’ve transfered to the Clip. One is seventeen hours long. All-in-all, that’s a whole lotta walkin’.
I haven’t had good luck with pedometers being very accurate. I’d have to read some great reviews of the device before investing in one with a pedometer built-in.
On the interesting thought of a pedometer, the accelerometers used in the average pedometer are quite crude.
This is why I linked to the Consumer Reports article. I mention the HJ-112 by Omron because it’s found to be the most accurate of the bunch compared by CR while also being inexpensive.
The Clip is already geared toward physical activity. Adding a readout of how many steps one has taken or how much distance one has covered would hardly clutter the display. Licensing Omron’s technology would open up a new market for the Clip and wouldn’t likely be expensive considering the retail unit I linked to only costs $20 on Amazon.
GPS would require a detailed screen and much more powerful battery. The Clip isn’t up to the task and wasn’t designed for that market anyway.
Does anyone know a formal channel through which to suggest this to SanDisk?
This forum is indeed fun. Please note that I’m only poking at you, the pedometer idea isn’t that bad actually, it’s the question of marketability that gets interesting. I can see the forum questions now, as walking enters the problematic brew.
The GPS data I was thinking about is simple coordinate display, not a map. As for power requirements, there’s a wristwatch available with the capability…any idea how many magawatts you can draw from a CR2032 Li cell?
On the pedometer’s accelerometer question, the sensors I have seen are used in the automotive field for ABS, traction control, suspension control, and airbag applications. I can disconnect one ignition wire, and read the accelerative shaking of the vehicle chassis, displayed in m/sec2. Pretty cool stuff.
This idea has already been kicked around. Ill bring it up at the next planning meeting to see if theres any new interest.
Thank you. If you find the time, please forward on the thoughts from the meeting for and against the concept. If you’d like a copy of the CR article discussing the wide range in performance and competence among pedometer models, let me know.
