Moki is not just another activity tracker. Let's compare.
It's all very well us knowing why we made each and every Moki design decision with schools in mind but, if you are interested enough to be reading this, you should know too.
There are plenty of great activity trackers out there and some of them are also being used by schools. A good way to understand Moki's strengths is to go through some of these other products and compare features. So here we go.
GARMIN vívokí™ and vívohub™
According to Garmin, 'vívokí is a reliable, easy-to-use activity tracker that fits into corporate wellness programs to provide motivation and accountability for participants.' Data from vívokí can be synced to a phone via Bluetooth (not great for groups...more on that later) or automatically via the vívohub which can be installed in high traffic areas and sends the data using ANT Wireless technology (which is very cool). Once the data is synced it is then sent to the Garmin Connect wellness portal.
So you can understand why some companies are offering this as a solution for schools too. Being Garmin there is no doubt that this is a great product but in the school setting there are definitely some potential issues.
The first and perhaps easiest to spot is the size of the device itself, which Garmin describe as 'small and discreet'. It is designed to clip to your clothes or fit in your pocket. If you work in a school, the idea of introducing 30 or more black, 'small and discreet' £60 devices into the classroom may cause you to shudder. That leads us onto the second potential issue and that's price tag - around £60 for each vívokí and £150 per vívohub (prices for 'integration partners' may be less). While that is certainly a lot cheaper than other products in the Garmin or Fitbit range it's still quite a financial commitment when ordering large numbers.
UNICEF Kid Power
Named by TIME Magazine as one of the “Best Inventions” of 2016, the UNICEF Kid Power Band is the world’s first Wearable-for-Good®, connecting activity to impact. This is a great initiative designed to get kids active but also enabling them to unlock therapeutic food that UNICEF delivers to severely malnourished children. The more they move, the more lives they save.
While this product is a fantastic way to get individual kids active there are some potential shortcomings with introducing Kid Power bands into the school or group setting. The main issue is that they are Bluetooth enabled. The only way to sync the data from the bands is to do so via Bluetooth. While we have not tried to do this with 30 or more Kid Power bands at the same time, Bluetooth was not designed for this, which is why we chose NFC contactless payment technology for Moki.
The steps totals are also displayed on the Kid Power band screen which is great for individual use but in the classroom teachers may be concerned about unwanted levels of competition and the risk of the least active students becoming demotivated.
By the way, the UNICEF Kid Power website has some brilliant and free videos to help get kids in school moving. Choose from nearly 100 videos, from dance and yoga to lessons that integrate social-emotional learning (SEL).
Pedometers in bulk via Alibaba etc
Schools and groups also have the option of simply buying pedometers on platforms such as AliExpress and we have spoken with a number of schools who have. There are many very affordable and generally reliable products to choose from. Although they often come with a mobile app to sync the data to (again, always Bluetooth) these apps are not designed and do not allow for group activity. Schools end up having to manually collect the step counts of each student at the end of each day and collate and organise them using tools like excel.
Moki
Moki is the first physical activity tracker designed from the ground up for schools. Simple, robust and cost-effective, Moki Bands count your steps and use contactless technology to transmit the data to the Moki app with a simple tap. Moki Bands are water-resistant, durable and don't need recharging. Unlike most other wearable movement trackers Moki Bands don’t have a screen on them so don’t display any information. All of the data that is transferred to the app is completely secure and no personal information of any kind leaves the app. With its focus on teams and team challenges rather than the individual the Moki app is also designed to be inclusive.
Pedometers have been around for ages and there is a massive range available but none of them are like Moki. We hope that the above list might give you more insight into why we developed Moki and why we chose the features we did.
Features Comparison
| Product | Moki | Garmin Vivoki | UNICEF Kid Power | Pedometers from Alibaba |
| Measurements | Steps, MVPA | Steps, MVPA, Distance, Calories | Steps | Steps, MVPA, Distance, Calories, Sleep |
| Digital Display | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Designed for Groups | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Wristband | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Type | Cell/ No charging cables | Cell/ No charging cables | Recharge via Cable | Recharge via Cable |
| Battery Life | 6-8 Months | 6-8 Months | 1 Day | 1 Day |
| Data Transfer | NFC | ANT | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Price | £25.00 | £59.99 | £30.00 | From £5.00 |