Update: We have recently published a list of the best fitness trackers to buy in 2016.
Now that Christmas is over for another year and the new year has only just begun, thoughts turn to getting rid of that winter weight and getting fit. If you are low of cash, you may well want to consider the Crane Activity Tracker available from Aldi.
For £24.99, the tracker is basically a pedometer that also tracks time, distance, and sleep duration. It is small and light and comes with two different colour soft wrist straps, belt clip, and USB charging cradle.
It sports an OLED display to show you your progress. The battery lasts about a week, so no having to recharge it every night. And that’s the point; if you are tracking sleep patterns, then you need to keep the thing on your wrist. The charging of the main unit is easily done by using the USB charger. The device is somewhat watertight, so you can run in the rain or wash your hands with the device on, but it is not recommended that you wear the device when showering or swimming.
You can set your own goals for steps, distance and calories and see your status on the progress bar. You can also set 3 daily alarms. Having the display means you don’t have to launch the app or login to a site to see your current steps. All you need to do is click a button on the side of the tracker.
Your data is saved also for seven days on the device. It can pair with a smartphone with Bluetooth Smart 4.0, so any phone such as iPhone 4s upwards (iOS 5.0 upwards) and Android phones version 4.3 upwards (compatibility can be found on Crane’s website). We found pairing the devices to phones easy enough. To download and install the app, the device manual came with a QR code that we could scan and this would take us to the App Store to download the app.
Overall, we were impressed with the Aldi Crane Activity Tracker. For £24.99, it rivals other trackers two or three times the price. This is available as an Aldi SpecialBuys product and will be available from 3 January 2016. As with all SpecialBuys, when it’s gone, it’s gone!
How do you pair Aldi/Crane activity tracker
If you are having trouble connecting the Crane wireless activity wristband, make sure that the Bluetooth function on your smartphone has been activated.
- Once the user settings are complete, return to the “All Settings” menu.
- Select the icon “Activity Tracker”. You can now edit additional settings of the wristband.
- To connect the wristband with your smartphone, select the item “Connect” in the “Pairing” field. A new display window will appear, select “Pairing Now”.
- Select “Pair?” on the display module by pushing and holding the menu button down for approx. two seconds in time mode. The battery symbol followed by “Pair?” will appear on the display.
- Push the menu button again. “Pairing…” will appear for approx. 20 seconds on the display. During this time, the wristband will connect with your smartphone. Once the connection has been successfully established, the symbol will appear on the display. If the connection cannot be created, the symbol will appear on the display.
- Once you have successfully connected the wristband with your smartphone, return to the “Home” menu. From there, you can access all analyses of the measured data via the icon “Activity Tracker ”.
As soon as you have connected the wristband with the Crane Connect app, all recorded data will be transferred to it.
(Updated with more accurate price, picture and product availability)