Vidonn X5 - bracelet from heaven to monitor physical activity

The boom in the wearable electronics market is generating more and more devices. Today in our review an inexpensive fitness bracelet from the Chinese company Vidonn. At a price of $ 40, the bracelet can count the steps, the distance traveled, and the number of calories burned, and is also equipped with a small OLED display to indicate time and results.

Let's look at what a new Chinese company is capable of and what its creation is.

► Scope of delivery

The bracelet is delivered in a transparent acrylic box, in which besides the device itself there is only a lonely and very crookedly written instruction.

In general, an English translation of everything from instruction to application has been made quite obscenely. Of course you can figure it out, but it cuts the eye.

Spartan package and even the charger is not put - how so? But more about that later.

► Design and usability

The bracelet looks quite simple. The case is painted black, but the strap is sold in 3 colors (black, green and pink).

On the hand, the Vidonn X5 is attached with a fairly simple-looking latch. The length of the strap in a stretched, as far as possible, position is ~ 22 centimeters, and due to a sufficiently large range of diameter adjustments, the bracelet will suit both a child and an adult. The weight of the gadget is only 20 grams.

Immediately an insulting jamb pops up - with a metal fastener, which is always on the table or on an aluminum laptop (in my case), the paint gradually peels off.

And now the most interesting thing: we deal with two latches on the back of the bracelet.

“Voila!” - and detach the body of the bracelet from the strap. As for me - an excellent implementation. No external charging or adapters, synchronization and recharging via USB-connector.

The strap is made of ordinary rubber, but no problems with the skin over the entire period of operation have arisen. The case itself has protection against dust and moisture (according to the manufacturer - IP67), but still I do not recommend immersing it in water for a long time. After several tricks of the shower, moisture got into the slot with the USB connector.

On the front of the device’s head unit, there is a 0.49 "OLED display, the shade of which varies from delivery to delivery (judging by the photo on the Internet) and the only button with an integrated RGB LED. In the bright sun, it’s almost impossible to see anything on the display.

► Functional and autonomy

Looking ahead, I will say that the bracelet's functionality is quite modest. Alternately pressing a single button causes a change of screens, of which there are three: the main (clock, charge indicator and alarm), counting the steps taken and the number of calories burned.

Holding the button for 3 seconds will transfer the bracelet to the “Time” mode or sleep tracking, which is essentially the same thing, since the data for a certain period of time is taken into account. In this mode, the stopwatch is activated, the number of steps taken, calories burned and the distance covered during this period. Switching to the standard mode is performed by holding the button again or by triggering the built-in alarm clock.

Sliptreker, unfortunately, no. The alarm just works at the specified time. One of the reasons for the purchase of this bracelet was an alarm clock, but in this regard, the acquisition did not justify itself, because I could not wake up from the vibrating signal.
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A tricolor LED, which is located under the button, signals your degree of activity and, as it were, hints at the need to get up and do a warm-up, for example. By default, the indicator is always active, but you can turn it off by using two short key presses. Each color corresponds to a certain degree of activity, for example, blue means minimal activity (less than 60 steps per minute), green means average activity (60-120 steps per minute), and red signals intense load (more than 120 steps per minute).

Autonomy is declared at the level of four or more days, which corresponds to the truth, if you disable the permanent synchronization with the smartphone (otherwise it is 2-3 days). By the way, such a form factor is also convenient because the bracelet can be quickly recharged from a portable charger, and it takes about 10 minutes from the strength, despite the “space” 2 hours stated by the manufacturer.

► Sudden entrails

I didn’t want to disassemble the bracelet until the last, since often such devices are not designed for repair, and disassembly can be the first and last (as it happened). Moreover, I know how such devices work and what they consist of, but some kind of incomprehensible power captured my brain and, while controlling my hands, “cracked” this small gadget. It was quite simple to remove the top cover, although it “sat” on glue.

What can not be said about the reverse side. Pulling the board out of the case without removing the USB connector from a thin PCB is almost impossible (I could not do it without damage = /). So the photo from the back is not for the faint of heart - hid under the spoiler.

Attention! :)

A piece of hardware was made on the basis of Texas Instruments SoC CC2540 , which carries on its board 256 KB of “flash”, 8 KB of RAM and an integrated Bluetooth transceiver. In the role of the accelerometer LIS3DH from STMicroelectronics, and to display the information used 0.49 "(64x32) OLED display, which is broken on Aliexpress.

► Software

The application for working and synchronizing with Vidonn X5 is available for iOS (version 6.0 and higher), Android (4.3 and higher, Bluetooth 4.0) and Windows (XP, 7, 8). Also there is a WEB-interface with information about your achievements. Looking ahead, I will say that everything was done clearly in haste, and no program or functionality is highlighted, and the WEB-interface is altogether crooked.

In the "Trend" section you can see more detailed statistics of activity. By the way, the graphics are based on the highly extensive and popular JavaScript library Highcharts.

For the task (to pass, for example, 10,000 steps) you are given bonus points. True, you can compete only with friends in the Chinese social. networks. :)

The program for synchronization with PC also does not shine with functionality or color. Let me remind you that the program works only on Windows (XP, 7, 8). First, connect the Vidonn X5 to the USB of your computer, then launch the application and enter the login information into your previously created account. After that, the program will try to detect the gadget and, if successful, will prompt you to synchronize the data.

Clicking on the "Configuration" in the lower left corner, go to the settings menu and enter personal data that will be used to calculate the steps you have taken, the distance and the number of calories burned. Immediately by clicking on “Alarm Clock”, we switch to the alarm set mode.

IOS app

It looks more concise, but still has a bunch of shortcomings. After installation, you are prompted to log in to your account or register. By pressing the device search key for pairing (you first need to turn on Bluetooth), the bracelet must emit a vibration and show the four-digit code that you need to enter in the application.

Login and synchronization are completed - we can study our achievements. The main screen displays all the data collected during the day and the sharing buttons in Chinese social networks. The “Trend” section is represented by two histograms, where the lower one displays activity during sleep, and the upper one, respectively, at the rest of the day. Unfortunately, only the relative number of steps is visible on the histograms.

The "Friends" section is again only for residents of China. In “More” you can view information about the current state of the bracelet, set up a permanent synchronization or set the alarm time.

Here you can also change personal information including height and weight, contact the manufacturer using the feedback form or read a short manual.

The software raises many questions, but here you should pay attention to the price. I hope the Vidonn company will not abandon its development with time and will finish the software part.

► Results

Good toy, but no more. The only thing that I personally became attached to was the watch, after a month of wearing this bracelet I was very used to the function of regular watches and now and then I look at my hand (as I used to live without them at all?). The vibration alarm could not wake me at all. The function of the pedometer is very interesting, it allows you to monitor your activity and sleep quality without straining, but I would like more informative graphs, the function of a smart alarm clock and a more “even” synchronization application. But the lack of alternatives at this price definitely negates most of the drawbacks. The bracelet is sold almost every second Chinese online store (you can buy here , for example), which also contributes to its popularity.