LAS VEGAS - What do you call something that looks like a smartwatch, but actually detects your mood every hour? Zensorium would call that device Being, or a “bio-sensing wearable” that looks a lot like a smartwatch but has deeper functionality. In addition to step, calories, distance and sleep tracking, the $199 Being monitors your mood using its continuous heart rate monitor.
Zensorium explains that Being can tell if you’re fuming angry or jumping for joy by analyzing variations in heart rate, categorizing your moods into four zones: distressed, excited, normal and calm. The wristband can also differentiate between “good stress” (is there such a thing?) and “bad stress,” and suggest breathing exercises and destressors, if it senses you are overwhelmed.
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Although it’s not branded as a smartwatch, Being looks like one of the finer smartwatches I’ve seen, with its gold trim surrounding the screen. The digital screen is bright and uses simple iconography to show your modes and your hourly mood measurements. Those appear as small colored circles on the screen, a new one popping up each hour when the wristband automatically takes an assessment. Being also does that for heart rate -- once you sync to the app, you’ll be able to see an hourly breakdown of your heart rate.
In addition, Being tracks your daily activity and can monitor your sleep. During a workout, you’ll get continuous heart rate readings, and during the day, Being measures your heart rate every hour. That’s a nifty feature to have if you want to easily monitor your resting heart rate as part of a get-fit plan, and you should: those with high resting heart rates are more at risk of heart disease.
Zensorium promises a three day battery life for the rechargeable 43-mAh battery. The device is water resistant up to 3 ATM, which means it's splash/rain resistant, but is not suitable for showering, bathing or swimming.
While its fitness tracking abilities are basic, we’re interested to test out Being’s mood detection feature. Presuming you know when you’re upset or happy, a wearable that tells you this information is a bit silly, but we want to see if Being’s suggestions on how to reduce stress are actually helpful. Currently, you can preorder Being now for $199 -- stay tuned for our full review.
Valentina Palladino is a senior writer for Tom's Guide. Follow her at @valentinalucia. Follow Tom's Guide at @tomsguide and on Facebook.
