Omron HJ-720ITC Pedometer

The Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer is a full-featured pedometer (steps, distance, calories) that also allows you to upload it all to enjoy graphs and charts of steps, aerobic steps, distance, calories and fat burned. The pedometer is of an advanced design that tolerates more tilt than many. It is also absolutely silent and very accurate.

The Omron 720 pedometer displays steps, aerobic steps, distance, calories, and aerobic time. You can upload your data to your computer via a USB cable for ongoing graphs and stats.

Size: The Omron pedometer is larger than most. It clips to your waistband and comes with a security leash.

Noise: The Omron 720 pedometer is silent.

Accuracy: The Omron 720 appears very accurate when walking at a steady pace, it matches my usual step count per mile. It doesn't count as many "junk steps" as some pedometers, so your step total represents walking and not just jiggling. The Omron is also accurate when worn as a necklace or in a breast pocket as well as at the waist, which is not true of many other pedometer designs.

Battery: The replaceable battery has a 6 month lifespan with normal use.

The Omron 720 comes with a mini-USB cord. On first use, you install the Omron Health Management Manager software, and set a few basic bits of information about yourself. Weight is needed to calculate your calories burned. The set-up was easy.

Once set up, to upload you attach your pedometer to the USB cord, launch the Omron Health Management Software, and select which user to upload. Then you select "Download Data" and it updates your totals and graphs. You can upload your data as often as you wish, but at least once every 35 days.

Unlike systems such as Sportbrain, Fitbug, and Dashtrak, you keep the graphs on your own computer and do not upload them to a web site. This has some advantages in that you don't need to have an internet connection. But some like the community of those online sites, and being able to upload from different computers.

The Omron software allows you to export the data as a .csv file or a .pdf document.

Multiple Users: You can add as many users as your PC has capacity for. Each time you open the software, you select which user's data to view and download.

Blood Pressure Monitoring Equipment: The same software can also download blood pressure measurements from Omron blood pressure monitors.

On the Activity screen, you can see daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly graphs for your total steps, aerobic steps, aerobic time, distance, calories burned, calories eaten, and fat burned.

The daily total and aerobic steps graph shows steps per hour, with the aerobic steps shown with a different color. You can review previous days.

Targets: You can set your daily target goal for each measurement: steps, aerobic steps, aerobic walking time, calories, distance, and fat burned. Your percent of achievement of this goal is shown with a bar and percentage, as well as on the bar chart. When you achieve this goal you get a smiley face next to it.

Weekly, Monthly, Yearly Screens: These screens show your totals over the desired time period and average per day, and how that compares to the goals you have set. You can also see each measurement tracked with a bar graph.

The Omron 720 is similar or identical to the Omron pedometer used by Fitbug. However, the Fitbug uploads to an online site that has more of a focus on nutrition as well as workouts.

Walking Workouts: The Omron 720 and the FitBug do not give the same level of detail for a walking workout that the SportBrain and DashTrak do. They gives only total and aerobic steps per hour and does not calculate speed. But you also don't have to remember to turn them on to record a Step Event as you do with the DashTrak.

Nutrition Tracking Tools: The Omron Health Management Software doesn't allow for any nutrition/diet tracking. The Fitbug web site is a one-stop diet and activity program for those who are able to calculate their portions.

Pedometer Size: The Omron 720 and the Omron Fitbug pedometers are very large and oriented vertically. I find that annoying as I have a short waist, it is my biggest dissatisfier with the system, while the DashTrak is just right.

Pedometer Accuracy: I found the pedometer to be very accurate and it did not overcount junk steps.

Overall: I rate the system as excellent