Zensorium had recently launched this fitness tracker, the Zensorium Tinke and we got one already, to see how good it works in detailing the vitals of the body, including the heart rate, blood flow, respiratory rate and more. This isn’t the same step counter that many brands have made in the past few months, but the Tinke is more than that, helping in tracking the actual health status, which would be fluctuating even based on your mood.
The Tinke was very much famous for the iOS devices, but they have come up with a little longer and differently designed device for the Android phones, and the syncing of the data is wireless, using the Bluetooth connectivity, which would be a little confusing for the new users, unless they give themselves some time to explore how things work here.
Portability wise, the Tinke is very light and small, and can be easily carried in the pocket. But at the same time, the device is easily prone to scratches in the corners and the center area where you place the thumb for the recording of details, is given some protection with a rubbery belt that comes with the magnetic ends to attach on the body of Tinke.
The Bluetooth connectivity is quite helpful because with that, the reading of the vitals and sending that to the smartphone wirelessly would happen at the same time, and you can have a check without wasting much time for recording once and syncing later.
What measurements are taken by the Tinke?
There are a total of four measurements taken, but they are not directly shown, but rather two indices are displayed – Zen Index and Vita Index. The Vita Index is the fitness score that is analyzed by taking the data from the heart rate, the blood oxygen levels and the respiratory rate. The Zen Index would taken the vulnerability of the heart rate as the basis and based on that, it would show the level of relaxation when a breathing exercise for one minute is done.
The vitals that are recorded for measuring the indices are:
- Heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- Blood oxygen levels
- Heart rate variability
Tinke has it’s own dedicated app for the Android phones, and you literally are forced to register an account, which is good in a way because you would only then, be able to track the stats regularly, and it’s just a signing in required for you and others to use the same device and get the tracking done.
Both the indices need a minute of usage each with the thumb placed on the sensors in the center of the Tinke, and that is enough for the app to calculate and display the results in the colorful bars, with the actual points you obtained, letting you know how healthy you are.
The actual problem with the app is the lack of information it provides. There is a very limited information related to the stats, and although you would get all the detailing about the heart beats per minute or the oxygen saturation percentage, but you will have to search somewhere else to understand what these actually mean, and how well you are maintaining it. Perhaps, this could be good to keep a record of, and then show it to your doctor the next time you visit him.
There are a few advices from the app, like the exercise you have to do to keep the body healthy, and how you could improve the health from its current status. For now, that is it from the App but Zensorium claims that they are working on providing more accurate and deeper details by collaborating with the doctors.
* A good plus for the Tinke – it comes with the MicroUSB option for charging – that’s what makes it ahead of others especially for those who are very much concerned about the chargers, as the proprietary ones are always hard to find once lost.
The Zensorium Tinke Android App – the app interface was pretty cool, but you might find some initial problems with the registration because it would need the phone verification and the SMS is never sent. We did find a solution, and after entering into the actual app screen, it was all easy.
There are two sections for the Vita and Zen index, and you would see several settings, page for the badges and points, and also for the networking where you can send and receive friend requests. Commenting on the indices is also possible, and Zensorium is pretty happy awarding you for most of the activity you do, so that you are very much involved and are motivated to use it more.
You will have to enter all your details, including the date of birth, the basic stats, your location and then the verification is done with the mobile number. You would be able to see the history of the indices done, if you keep saving them after every check. There’s an option to discard the reading once the test is done, or save it.
Overall, the device is pretty good at what it is said to be doing – except for the Zen index which we found a bit glitchy, as the reading once said 11 and the other time, said 34. There was no change of mood or the sudden rush of blood, we were sitting at the same place. It’s not the best at accuracy, but still, a very neat option for those who wanted to keep a track of the health status.
It is available for the price of $99 on the Zensorium website, and it would be shipped with no delivery charges. Although the compatibility list for the Android devices in the FAQ section read Samsung Galaxy (S3,S4), Samsung Galaxy Note, Sony Xperia Z1s and Google Nexus 5, we could connect to the device and it worked well with the other Android devices like the LG G2, Moto X. It’s just the bluetooth connectivity that is needed, so not much to worry about.
Buy Zensorium Tinke – It certainly is one of the simple and neat fitness trackers available for this price.
