product analyzed

Pedometer

Pedometer

App icon
Overall rating:
4/5
Technology:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Technology.

Needs:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Needs.

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Below is the video of the review.

What does it consist of:

Pedometer from ITO Technologies is an application designed to record the physical activity of the user indicating the time of the activity, the calories consumed, the distance traveled and the steps that have been taken.

This product is going to be analyzed since it can be a very useful mechanism among older people who wish to control the activity time they develop outside their homes.

Forms of acquisition:

The application is free to use and is available at the following links in the Google Play and App Store stores:

Download link to Google Play

      Download link in App Store

Support

To contact the developers there is only one possibility which is by sending an email to the address support@ito-technologies.com

 

Technical assessment:

May 2020

Pedometer is an application that has been created mainly to measure the physical activity of the user by collecting the steps they take throughout the days.

Features

This app has two main features: activity information and settings, all of which are available from the main screen of the application.

– Activity information. This feature is displayed on the entire screen when you start the application and is divided into three sections that can be selected at the top of the screen: Day (displays the information of the daily activity), week (displays the activity information during the week) and month (shows the activity during the last month).

This function contains at the top of the screen, under the aforementioned sections, the date of the corresponding day and the information on the steps that are recorded throughout that day, this information is quite large so it can help older people who have vision difficulties to identify it quickly. In the lower half there is a table that lists the calories, time, average speed and distance traveled and, under this table, there is a line graph that shows the steps that have been taken throughout the day and when those steps have been taken.

Main screen of the application with the count of steps

– Settings. This function is located in the upper right after clicking on the button in the form of three points of "more options". Within this section we can switch to energy saving mode to consume less battery, change the theme of the application and the units of measurement, add personal data (Age, gender, weight and stride length) and see the privacy policy. All these sections are the most important, it is possible that depending on the device being used, some more may appear.

Settings section Settings section

Personal data configuration Application theme list

Tests performed

In order to analyze and evaluate the application, a series of tests have been carried out to verify its operation. The tests have been carried out on a Samsung Galaxy J7 (Android 9 Pie) device with version 5.33 and an iPhone 6S (IOS 13.3.1) with version 1.1.24

Functionality tests

For each of these devices, the operation has been slightly different, so these tests will be carried out in two sections:

Samsung device - After installing the application on this device and starting it for the first time, two pop-up windows will be displayed (in English), one that will ask for the privacy policies to be accepted in order to start using the app and the other to accept it or not. that personalized ads are displayed. Once this is finished, it must be emphasized that in Android devices, in order to start counting the steps, it is necessary to press the START button that appears at the bottom of the screen, since, if it is not done, the steps will not will be registered, so it is mandatory. Another way to do this is to enter the settings section and configure the automatic step start / stop option. For older people who have less skill with technology who want to use the application, the latter is the most recommended since they will only have to configure the activity time they want to register once and, from that moment, the app will start counting the steps automatically.

IPhone device - Once the application is installed on this device and after starting it for the first time, three pop-up windows will be displayed (the first in Spanish and the next two in English), the first will ask for permission to access the physical and sports activity of the device, and the next two are the same as shown on the Samsung phone. In the case of iPhone devices, the steps are recorded automatically, it is not necessary to press any button to start the count of the steps.

Privacy policies Permissions for personalized ads

Usability testing

This section will measure the ease with which the user can use the application to achieve a specific goal, in this case it is to have a record of the steps and user activity time.

The application is very easy to use, it has a simple and friendly interface, taking into account that in all the sections they show the same: a total of steps, the calories burned, an average speed and a graph that shows the moments in which they are The walks have been done by older people who want to use the application will have no difficulty understanding how it works.

All this makes it very easy for the user to start using the application. This ease of learning to use it is also transferred to the ease of remembering how to use it if the application is uninstalled at some point.

Regarding its effectiveness, it must be said that the app is extremely effective since, once the privacy policies are accepted, in the case of iOS, the application itself will start working automatically without the need for the elderly person who is using it. you only have to worry about consulting the logs. In the case of Android, the user will have to specify the schedules only once so that it starts working automatically.

Regarding portability, this pedometer works on any type of Smartphone, be it Android or iOS.

Taking into account the analysis of each of the previous criteria, it can be said that the product has a considerably good usability in terms of achieving the objective, taking into account the use that the elderly will give it since, like the characteristics that They are going to use the application and they work automatically, it makes it much easier for them to use it.

Accessibility tests

In this section, different criteria will be applied to assess whether the application can be used regardless of the capabilities of the user.

Cognitive accessibility - Regarding the images and icons that the application contains, all of them have a description that facilitates their understanding and, in addition, they are of a reasonable size so that they can be correctly identified.

Accessibility for people with reduced vision - The application has a settings section where you can only change the theme, giving the possibility to choose from a range of 20 different themes. The font size cannot be changed from within the application, although the font size on the main screen is quite large and can be seen perfectly. It is possible to increase the font size in the general settings of the device, although this increase will only affect the size of the font in the settings menu. To complete this accessibility section, it has been decided to carry out some tests with the screen reader systems that Android and IOS devices have. These tests have focused on checking the correct labeling of the icons and buttons available in the app. In all the devices in which the screen reader has been used, the buttons are not well labeled and the data found in the table under the steps does not reproduce them correctly. On the iOS device, it was not possible to access the pedometer settings menu.

Accessibility for people with hearing difficulties - People with hearing difficulties can use the application without any problem as it does not emit any kind of alert sound.

Reliability tests

In this section we will study whether the application is working correctly and does not have critical faults that prevent it from working properly.

In the days that the application has been tested, the only failure that has been detected has been in the iOS device, preventing access to the application settings while using the Voice Over screen reader.

Privacy & Security

Regarding privacy and security, the application, when you start it for the first time, forces you to accept the privacy policies and makes them available to the user in the pop-up window so that they can read them. On Android devices it is possible to access them in the settings section, while on iOS devices it can be consulted on the application download page in the Apple Store.

Conclusion

In general terms, the application works in an adequate way, the only fault that has been found is related to the iOS screen reader.

It is a very reliable application in terms of the step count as long as the mobile is carried with you, in addition the app has some sensitivity and stride length sections in the settings that makes both the step count and the distance it calculates. that has been traveled is more precise.

Its strongest point is its simplicity, to be able to use the application it is not necessary to move from its main page, it will only be necessary to use the settings the first time to configure the activity hours. This makes it an application to be taken into account to promote physical exercise among the elderly and encourage them to go for a walk, especially considering that they need it after spending a month locked in their homes due to the confinement generated by COVID-19, always respecting the measures indicated by the Ministry of Health.

Another of the app's strengths is that it does not need an internet connection for its operation, unlike other applications that use location to calculate the distance traveled on walks, since it does so through the length of stride that has been taken. entered in the settings screen.

Highlights

  • It is a very easy to use application.
  • It does not need an internet connection to work.
  • The sensitivity with which steps are detected can be adjusted.
  • A stride length can be set to increase the accuracy of the distance traveled.
  • The font size is considerably large.
  • It is totally free.

Improvement points

  • It would be interesting if the pop-up windows that force you to accept the privacy policies were translated into Spanish.
  • You could study the possibility of the application automatically setting the step count start and stop times on Android devices.
  • The possibility of showing the option to configure personal data the first time the application is used instead of having to investigate to do so could be explored.
  • It would be interesting if the button labels were revised to facilitate use by people with reduced vision.
  • It would be interesting to fix the error that does not allow access to the settings using the screen reader in iOS.

 

Technical evaluation scores.

Design and manufacturing:
4/5
This section refers to the physical aspects and details of the manufacturing of the technological product
Technical benefits:
4/5
Description of the quality of the technical specifications of the technological solution
User experience:
4/5
This criterion is linked to the user's assessment when relating to the technical product or application.
Accessibility:
4/5
It is the degree to which people can use or access a product, technological solution or service, regardless of their technical, cognitive or physical abilities

Social valuation:

Social valuation scores.

Impact and utility:
This item has not been rated/5
Describes to what extent the functionalities of the product are useful and impact on improving the life of the user
Design and Ergonomics:
This item has not been rated/5
Assessment of how the design of the technological solution adapts to the person to achieve greater comfort and efficiency when using it
Usability and accessibility:
This item has not been rated/5
Possibility of the device to be used, understood and taken advantage of under equal conditions for anyone
Ease of acquisition:
This item has not been rated/5
It refers to the possibilities of accessing and acquiring a technological solution by the user.

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