It seems that there is no stopping the Samsung juggernaut for the past few years. Springboarding from their phenomenal success with their Android device, a raft of peripheral products now ties in to the core. With thanks to MobileZap, DigitalReviews get to take the Samsung Bluetooth Body Scale for a test run.
First impressions
As scales goes, this Samsung Bluetooth Body Scale hides its brains under a bland black exterior, just a single LCD display to break the uniform black of the surface. There is just the one button on the underside to change the units between metric and imperial. Holding down the button also puts the scale into pairing mode.
Samsung strongly recommends to put the scale on a flat surface within 30 seconds of inserting batteries for taring purposes.
In Action
To use the Body Scale as a standalone scale, you wake it up with a tap of your foot. The LCD will wake up and it is ready to go. Get on the scale and it will beep at you when the final reading comes up on the LCD.
But you don’t just go and buy a Samsung scale as a standalone scale right? The key feature of the Samsung Bluetooth Body Scale is the connectivity to a Samsung smartphone. Up to four users can be registered to the device which can make it a family bonding event – as long as everyone is using a qualifying Samsung phone.
As home scales goes, or any scales really that is not regularly calibrated, you tend to get variances in the readings. We have been using our digital bathroom scales for a while, which gives us the continuity with our weight measurements. Not surprisingly, there were some differences in our results. It so happens that my wife’s weight, according to the Body Scale, is a full 300g heavier than what our old scale says. For myself, I got the same reading. Needless to say, THAT particular outcome got a thumbs down from the boss. When it came to my 3.5 year old son, it was reasonably accurate (within reason since I could never get him still long enough).
Gripes
As scales go, there is very little to complain about. For the record my wife is a good dozen kilograms or more lighter than me, and a variation of 0.3 kg is pretty high. I consider myself lucky to dodge a bullet that time.
The lower end of the scale is 10kg and upper end is 180kg. It displays 1 decimal point only which I found a little disappointing. I was hoping that it would be of some use to help keep track of my newborn’s weight.
Specifications
Colour: Black
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (range – 10m)
Batteries included: AAA x 3
Battery life: 1 year (if used 10 times a day)
Weight: 2kg (Body Scale only)
Compatibility: Android Jelly Bean + 4.4.2 version
Conclusions
The Body Scale is just one part of the Samsung equation to help you keep track of your health. This particular component monitors your weight and history if you have the Samsug S-Health app which is baked into the Galaxy smartphones. Without one of these, it is just another scale. If you are health conscious and have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, the Samsung Bluetooth Body Scale is available from here for AUD$121.49. Without doubt additional accessories will be coming to help keep track of your healthy lifestyle.
If the Body Scale is a complement to your Galaxy S5, then check out the range of Galaxy S5 cases to keep your investment protected.
