Th trend is of wearable technology like fitness bands and smartwatches have steadily increased over the years. There are plenty of inexpensive options that do the basic things like counting steps, control music, take/end calls pretty well. With the Apple Watch Series 3, Apple wants users to experience the standalone features of a wearable which in general, are rendered useless if you forget your smartphone at somewhere else.
Motorola however, wants your Moto device to do all the tracking of your health. During Lenovo’s event at CES 2018, the company announced the Lenovo Vital Moto Mod, a snap-on module extension for the Moto Z smartphone lineup. Vital is the “first connected, integrated, multi-vital sign monitoring platform you can operate through a single instrument”, according to Jim Thiede, Motorola’s Head of Product Marketing.
The Mod has an infrared temperature sensor, a finger clip for measuring oxygen, and an inflatable finger cuff. These three features combine to test your heart rate, respiratory rate, pulse oxygen (SpO2), body temp, and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Thiede claims no other mobile platform can deliver accurate blood pressure readings.
After each checkup, users can compare their current readings to past measurements and keep a check on their progress. Just like any other Mot Mod, it snaps on to the back of a Moto Z smartphone and the phone immediately prompts the indication of a Mod being connected.
At a price of US $395 (Rs. 25,000 approx.), the Mod surely comes at a hefty price. During the presentation, Thiede stressed how expensive and time-consuming it can be to track all of these different health statistics with five different biomonitors. So, the company is depending on consumers to look at the bigger picture and go for a “one-time investment” in an expensive Mod over regularly getting health checks done at a clinic. The device will go on sale in April in the western markets, there is no word on its availability in India as of now.
