The Goqii Experience

Exactly one month ago, I signed up for fitness tracking band from Goqii. Was doing some research on ‘wearables’ when I came across Goqii.

For those of you who might not be aware, Goqii is a fitness tracker band similar to Nike Fuelband or Fitbit. The difference is that Goqii is positioned as a subscription service and with personalized coaching (the band is supposedly  free).

So why did I choose Goqii over other established international names ?

• They were an Indian startup and backed by Vishal Gondal so I thought, “They must be legit”
• Their coaching service which I thought would act as a motivator.
• Their price point was pretty attractive compared to others in the market

The pre-ordering was smooth with my band expected to ship on the 20th of April (I received on the 23rd ). While waiting for my band to arrive I received an Orientation call from my ‘coach’ who explained the Goqii concept and outlined next steps once I received my band. So far so good.

It started to unravel the moment I opened the package. The box said, “Designed in California. Made in China”

Unlike another very popular product (the ip ) which made the above slogan famous worldwide, and exceeded expectations, my first impression of unboxing the Goqii was a bit underwhelming.

Setting up Goqii also wasn’t as smooth as I expected it to be.

For starters, there was no user manual and I literally had to break my head to figure out how to make it work. Finally figured out that there is ‘nothing to setup or configure’ on the band  and all you need to do is strap it. It’s always on and one just needs to tap the screen to switch views. The tap screen isn’t the greatest and switching to sleep mode can be quite a pain.

Ok, so now I had the band done and I was ready to sync it with the app. Tried searching for the ‘Goqii’ app on the AppStore but couldn’t find it anywhere.

Again, checked the Goqii website and discovered that there weren’t any links to download the app. Found a link on twitter to install a ‘beta’ version of the app. Downloaded it to discover that it didn’t work (It was Beta Version 1.0 and seemed buggy as hell). Finally figured that the app wasn’t compatible with an iPhone 4 and I would need a newer version of the phone to run the app.

Since, I wasn’t about to spend 60k to buy a new iPhone just to run an app to sync with my band, I gave up hope of syncing my band data with my Coach.

I continued using the band though. And this is where it gets interesting.

Even though, I could not sync with the app, I could still see how many steps I was walking and the amount of calories I was burning, and since it was like a constant reminder on my wrist, it spurred me on to be more physically active.

There were days when I would wake up and not feel like going for a walk but then, I would look at my band and realize, “Shit, If I don’t walk today, it won’t show any steps or calories burned”. So off I would go, inspired to meet my ‘targets’

Finally got the app working last week after I got an Android phone, where it seems to work ok. Haven’t heard from my coach since I told him the app wasn’t working, but that’s ok as Goqii seems to be working for me as I thought it would – Just not the way the founders of Goqii intended it to be.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you are planning to buy one:

• It does help you change your habits and generally makes you more conscious about what you want to eat and how much you should exercise.
• Constant reminder on your wrist that you need to get active and make an effort every day (and it works e.g. I no longer take phone calls sitting down).
• The band is easy to wear and doesn’t feel clunky when wearing it 24×7.
• The tapping takes some getting used to – Switching to sleep mode is difficult at times and again requires some practice.
• Haven’t been able to sync app data with my Mac so no ‘analytics’ available over a period of time.
• Battery lasts for a couple of days.
• No comments on the quality of ‘coaching’ as I haven’t heard from Goqii in the last 3 weeks apart from the initial orientation call and some email exchanges regarding the app issue. *
• It costs Rs 6999 for a 6 month subscription (the early adopter program was for 6k ) which includes the cost of the band

 So yeah, while am not ecstatic with the overall experience, it’s not bad and works for  my requirements. Worth giving it a shot if you are trying to make a lifestyle change.

UPDATE (7pm):

• I received a call today from both my Coach and Vishal Gondal, who were understandably concerned with my feedback.
• Just wanted to let everyone know that this is not a ‘crib post’ and I am in no way denouncing Goqii or its service. Infact my coach even got onto a skype call with me a 11:30 pm at night to explain the stuff.
• * Vishal also clarified that my coaching would start from the 15th of May and after the initial teething issues with the app were resolved (My coach had sent me an email to that effect on the 6th of May which unfortunately went to my spam email )
• Goqii is a startup and was in beta stage when I got my band. I understand and respect that fact and this blog is just intended as honest feedback so that Team Goqii can improve processes. I definitely want them to succeed.

If you are a Goqii beta user, would love to hear your feedback.

#BeTheForce

Also cross posted at my blog here.