Shine – the wearable activity monitor to track exercise and sleep

There are lot of activity monitors on the market but none quite like Shine – a precision designed disc-shaped device that can track your exercise and sleep.

The Shine device is about the size of a 20 cent coin and can be worn either as a clasp on your clothing or as a watch using the included band.

With its built-in three-axis accelerometer, Shine can measure your movements whether it’s walking, running, cycling or swimming (yes, it’s waterproof).

Users can then track their progress when they sync it wirelessly with the companion Shine app for iPhone to check your stats and trends.

Shine might be small but it’s certainly strong. It is crafted from a single piece of aerospace grade aluminium and has 1,560 laser-drilled holes on the surface to allow the light from the LEDs through but still keep the water out.

It is actually water resistant to a depth of 100m.

The top surface of Shine is touch sensitive and a series of LED lights set up like the points of a clock face can provide feedback and information.

You can tap it to see how much progress you’ve made towards achieving that day’s goal. The lights arranged like the points on a clock will show exactly how far you’ve come.

It syncs to the iPhone via Bluetooth. Simply open the Shine app and place the device on the screen to start the sync.

The sync is a cool part of the process. The app creates a circle for the user to place Shine on the screen.

As soon as it touches the sync begins and lines start pulsing out from the device on the screen.

Once the information gathered with Shine is uploaded to the app it is displayed on a chart.

There are also highlights pointing out the times of the day and the duration you were most active.

The idea of Shine is to monitor what you’re doing – steps, calories burned and distance travelled – and then challenge yourself to improve.

The points system makes it easy to see where you’re at with your exercise and also makes it possible to set goals.

It is very satisfying to be able to view your improvement over time and it keeps you motivated to do even better in the future.

But the Shine isn’t just a step and activity counter.

It is also a clock and a sleep monitor.

Using the lighting system on the front of the product, Shine can also display the time.

Simply double tap the front of the device and the lights to signify 12, 3, 6 and 9 on the clock flash before the positions of the hour hand and minute hand are activated.

To make it easier, the hour and minute hand positions are brighter and the minute hand flashes so you can easily tell them apart.

On the sleep side, Shine can also tell you how much light sleep and deep sleep you’ve had along with your grand sleep total.

You can put it into sleep mode by tapping the front of Shine three times.

It’s easy to take Shine with you anywhere either with the included magnetic clasp that can clip on to your clothes, belt, shoes or bra.

We wore ours while we were out on our belt loop and used the watchband, which is also included with Shine, when we were at home.

It is so discreet we would have to remember to take it off our belt loop when we got changed.

Other accessories are available for Shine including a higher quality watchband and a necklace.

Shine has a small groove around its circumference and these accessories have a tight band that clips into this space to keep it safe and secure.

Shine uses a flat CR2032 watch battery so it will last four months. This is one less worry for users because, as is the case with other activity monitors, you don’t have to remember to charge it every few days.

A tool is included in the pack to make it easy to open the device and insert a new battery when needed.

Our only criticism of Shine is the top surface was sometimes non-responsive and took a few taps to view the time or our activity progress.

The Shine Activity Monitor is a simple and elegant product that makes it easy to measure your health baseline.

Its excellent design and integration with the impressive Shine iPhone app makes it a pleasure to use.

Shine Activity Monitor

Price: $139.95

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