# Favorite pedometer-type app?



## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

So the doctor asked me, "What do you do for exercise?" Besides absolutely nothing, I occasionally walk. But I'd like to try to track distances.

There are lots of pedometer apps--does anyone have a favorite? Are they sensitive enough to catch if the iPhone/Pod is just in a purse or backpack, and not in your pocket?

or, if you went with a GPS app, what are the dis/advantages?

Thanks for any input.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

While there are quite a few pedometer apps out there, they seem to have the same thing in common--they have to be active to work, not backgrounded, and the device has to be on, not in sleep mode.  This means you're wasting a fair amount of battery life in exchange.  That's fine if you're looking for a meter to time/measure a specific workout, but if you're looking for something to keep on you all day, every day, to measure your overall activity levels, an iPod/iPhone is a very poor choice compared to a regular clip on pedometer.  While the sensitivity on those is often adjustable and they're a lot more accurate than they used to be, putting a pedometer in a purse or backpack is unlikely to give you the most accurate reading.  Thankfully, they're so tiny nowadays that having it on your body somewhere is very easy.

Just using a pedometer in this way is very eye opening--I lost 40 pounds in one summer just by gradually increasing the number of steps I took every day and eating more sensibly!

I currently use the iTreadmill app for actual workouts.  It works very well at timing the workout, measuring the distance in several ways, and charting my history.  It also has a music app built in, so it can play music directly from your iPod playlists. 

Good luck on getting more active!


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

Thank you, Victoria. That was exactly the kind of information I needed. Think I'll go with the actual pedometer and skip the app.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

I was wondering about the Nike+ sensor, but I don't have any Nike running shoes. Still, it sounds pretty cool, has anyone tried it? I believe the functionality is now built into my iPhone 4.


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