The joy of unboxing the Lenovo HX03F Spectra Fitness Band is amplified many times over by its dashing good looks, which are accentuated by the unostentatious, even spartan, packaging. The device is also a breeze to set up — you can get the polychromatic 0.96-inch TFT display screen to light up within minutes. My device came with a staid black band, but the starkly officious screen colour soon gave way to a cheery interface once I synced the tracker to the Lenovo Healthy app, well before I began to step it up. It’s also remarkably light on the wrist — the silicone strap clasps well enough without a constant reminder that you’ve been tagged.

For an entry-level fitness band, the Spectra comes packed with enviable features, including sleep monitoring, real-time heart-rate monitoring, all-day activity tracking, and notification alerts for everything from incoming calls to text messages to social media alerts. Although I did not test the limits of its hardiness, it comes IP68-certified — that is, it is dust-proof (even after eight hours’ exposure) and water-proof (up to a depth of 30 metres for upto half an hour), which makes it particularly rugged for Indian conditions. The battery is also a bit of a workhorse. During the week or so that I tested it, wearing it 24x7, I had to charge it only once.

And, yet, for all the robustness and the aesthetic appeal of its outer crust, the Spectra trips up on a few of its core functionalities. The pedometer, for instance, comes across as less than precise. I tested two fitness trackers — the Spectra and a Fitbit device — wearing both simultaneously (and inviting some unflattering comments). The Spectra was off the mark with its count. One day, it overestimated my step count (I know because I manually counted my steps to validate the two devices’ readings) by a factor of 20 per cent; the next day, it under-counted by a factor of 10 per cent. The heart-rate monitor was also off by a few counts.

The Spectra has a few other failings too. The back-lit display is not bright enough, and it may be hard to read your device when you’re outdoors. And incoming messages and notifications scroll longitudinally on the screen, which is enough to give you a crick in the neck.

Given such limitations, the Lenova Spectra doesn’t quite measure up to the most exacting standards that die-hard fitness freaks may demand of it. But it serves well as a fancy, if somewhat moderately pricey, entry-level tracker that packs in quite a few bells and whistles, even at the risk of making trade-offs in the core functionalities.

Price: ₹2,999

Pros: Sleek looks, lightweight, easy to set up, water-proof, packs many features for an entry-level band

Cons: Pedometer unreliable owing to lack of precision, notifications are inconvenient to read

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