If you need amobile medical alert systembut want one that is stylish and discreet, the LifeStation Sidekick Smart ($43.95 per month) is worth considering. This wearable device looks like a typicalsmartwatch, but can connect you with an emergency response agent at the press of a button. It also measures your heart rate and tracks your daily step count. The Sidekick Smart turned in quick, accurate readings in our tests and is very easy to use, but you get more functionality from the watch that comes with our Editors’ Choice-winning system, theWellBe Medical Alert Plus.
A Medical Alert Device That Doesn't Look Like One
The Sidekick Smart is a customized EV05 Android-powered wearable made by Eview. It has a black finish and a round 1.82-inch, full-color capacitive touch display with 360-by-320-pixel resolution. It comes with a black rubber wrist band and has an IPX8water resistance ratingwhich means you can wear it in the shower and outside in the elements. That said, don't submerge it, as the watch isn't designed for that situation.
车载蓝牙和4 g蜂窝radios enable a connection to the emergency response center, while GPS and Wi-Fi radios allow emergency response agents to pinpoint your exact location. A built-in pedometer keeps track of your steps, tells you how many calories you’ve burned, and records how far you travel (in feet). You can also view the local weather report from the watch.
A rechargeable lithium-ion battery powers the watch; you should charge it daily with the cradle that comes in the box. The package also includes a USB charging cable and a USB plug-in adapter.
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The Sidekick Smart requires a $43.95 per month subscription fee and doesn't offer fall detection services. As with theLifeStation Sidekick设备,the system also lacks a mobile app, medicine reminders, and the caregiver services you get with other mobile devices such as theLively Mobile Plusand theMobileHelp Solo. That said, family members can pinpoint your exact location using the free Find My Loved One feature. All they have to do is send a text to a number you get at the time of purchase; they receive a message with a link to a map that shows your real-time location.
For comparison, the watch that comes with the WellBe Medical Alert Plus system ($44.95 per month) has similar capabilities, including local weather reports, heart rate monitoring, and a pedometer. However, it offers a few features that the LifeStation Smart does not, including medicine reminders, a configurable watch face (analog or digital), and a companion app that lets you access medical information from anywhere. It also pairs with the WellBe voice-activatedsmart speaker.
Using the Sidekick Smart
Press and hold the LifeStation Smart power button on the right side for a few seconds to initiate a call to LifeStation’s 24/7 emergency response center. If you press the button by accident, you can cancel the call by pressing the red X. A microphone and speaker on the back of the watch enable two-way communication with the emergency center. The heart rate sensor and battery charging contacts also sit on the back.
When you first power up the watch, you see a screen with the time and date. At the top of this screen are a cellular signal meter and a battery status indicator. At the bottom, it shows your last heart rate reading in beats per minute (bpm), as well as your current daily step total. Swipe to the left to enter the Heart Rate screen and tap the heart icon to take a reading. Swipe again to the left to enter the Steps screen. Here, tap the Steps icon to cycle through your step count, distance traveled, and calories burned. One more swipe to the left opens the Weather screen, where you can see the temperature highs and lows as well as the current conditions (such as sunny, cloudy, or rain) for your area.
Quick Responses, Accurate Readings
To prepare the Sidekick Smart watch for first use, simply place it in the charging cradle and let it charge—a voice prompt lets you know when the watch is ready. I only had to wait only around 10 minutes charging it up out of the box, but your mileage may vary. In testing, the watch lasted for around 24 hours of battery power before it began issuing low-battery alerts.
To measure response time, we clock how long it takes for a live agent to respond once you press the button. The Sidekick Smart averaged a response of 28 seconds in our tests, which is faster than what we saw with theBay Alarm 4G LTE GPS Help Button(48 seconds) and theADT On-the-Go(35 seconds), but not theGreatCall Lively Mobile Plus(15 seconds).
Conversations sounded clear and adequately loud in testing. The emergency response agents were always professional and friendly, and they provided my exact location every time.
The heart rate monitor and pedometer features were spot-on, with readings that matched those I got from aFitbit Charge 5fitness tracker.
A Sleek Wearable That Keeps You Safe
With the LifeStation Sidekick Smart, you can get emergency help at any time without having to wear a cumbersome button around your neck. In addition to providing fast one-touch access to emergency response agents and clean two-way communication channels, the watch is easy to use and waterproof. It also accurately records your heart rate and step count, and offers local weather reports. That said, while the WellBe Medical Alert Plus is slightly more expensive than the Sidekick, it offers more functionality, including access to medical advice, medication and prescription refill reminders, and lots of caregiver features, giving it the edge and making it our Editors' Choice award winner.
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The LifeStation Sidekick Smart is a versatile smartwatch that serves as a 24/7 medical alert device, a pedometer, and a heart rate monitor.
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