We Turn Motion into Meaning™

Frequently Asked Questions for StepTrakLite™ 1.2.1

• Basic Usage Questions
• Questions About Accuracy
• Known Problems
• Questions About the Twitter Tab
• Questions About the Log Tab
• Miscellaneous Questions
• Questions About Support

Usage

Start your music playing using Apple's iPod application, then run StepTrakLite. Your music will keep playing.

No, Pandora and LastFM are 3rd party apps. Apple's policy is that only one 3rd party app can be running on the device at a time.

Pretty much anywhere you'd ordinarily wear your device. On your belt, in your pocket, or even on your upper arm StepTrakLite will accurately count your steps and classify your activity. You may need to tweak the settings a bit if you carry your phone/iPod in cargo pants or a purse.

NOTE: If you carry your device in your pocket, make sure the lock button isn't getting pressed as you walk, otherwise StepTrakLite will stop.

Yes, but the quality of your results may drop if the device can move independently of the body. Therefore, having the iPhone/iPod Touch sit loosely in pants pockets or purses is not recommended.

The current step and activity information is always stored by the device, even if you quit the application or power down the device. Hit the "Reset" button to clear this information. To save your workout before resetting, you can use the Twitter or MapMyWalk Logging functionality as described below, and in the StepTrakLite User Manual.

Go ahead and answer. The application will save your current steps and quit. When you complete your call, the application will launch again just like it was before. Unfortunately, no steps can be counted when the application is not running. If you ignore the call, your iPhone may autolock, which will stop StepTrakLite from counting your steps. You can prevent this by disabling autolock in your phone preferences.

If an SMS message comes in while StepTrakLite is running your iPhone may autolock, which will cause StepTrakLite to stop counting. You can prevent this by disabling autolock in your phone preferences.

If you switch applications, StepTrakLite stops counting your steps. This is the result of Apple's policy of not allowing applications to run in the background. You can still play your music by starting the iPod application first, however.

StepTrakLite stops counting. When you lock your device, StepTrakLite keeps running but the iPhone OS disables the accelerometer, which StepTrakLite usees to measure your activity.

The iPhone OS allows 3rd party apps to stream audio while the phone is locked, but not read the accelerometer sensor. Your device's music play feature doesn't rely on the accelerometer, so it can keep running.

We want you to be able to run StepTrakLite all the time too, but Apple insists that no application can run in the background and won't allow accelerometer updates while the phone is locked. If you have a moment, email Steve Jobs and tell him why you don't agree.

Those reviews are old. We now fully support the iPod Touch.

Ok, we did that. Would you please go back and fix your one star review? Thanks!

Accuracy

StepTrakLite comes preprogrammed with settings that should work for most people. However, if you are getting inconsistent results, try adjusting the Count Sensitivity slider on the settings page as appropriate.

Here at AWare Technologies, we don't just have algorithms for step detection, we have algorithms for activity classification. Through analysis of your gait, we can tell if you are running or walking. And lots of other stuff, too — we haven't given everything away for free!

Moderate exercise is an activity level equivalent to walking, while vigorous exercise more closely corresponds to jogging or running. For the exercise geeks out there, the cutoff between moderate and vigorous is at about 6.0 METs.

When walking and holding the iPhone, your arm will compensate for the motion of your body, kind of like a shock absorber. This causes the step "signal" to be weaker, and StepTrakLite may miss some steps. For best results, carry your phone in a pocket or on your belt.

Known Problems

StepTrakLite isn't counting steps. What gives?

StepTrakLite can't count your steps if it is not running, or if your device locks. StepTrakLite will prevent your device from locking while it is running, but incomming SMS messages or phone calls can cause an iPhone to lock anyway. If StepTrakLite stops counting, it is generally because the lock button was accidentally pressed or an incoming SMS or phone call caused the iPhone to autolock. If this happens frequently you may need to disable autolocking in your phone preferences.

Apple's policy won't let 3rd party applications run in the background or read the accelerometer sensor while the phone is locked. We can't fix this problem unless and until Apple changes its policy. Rest assured, as soon as Apple allows us we will release a version you can run all of the time.

StepTrakLite burns very little power, but your device's radios (WiFi, cell phone GSM/EDGE/3G, and Bluetooth) can burn a lot. To count your steps, StepTrakLite keeps your device from sleeping. However, this means that your device's radios aren't sleeping either.

If you see power drain problems, go to settings and disable WiFi. If you use an iPhone, you can drastically extend your battery life while using StepTrakLite by switching to Airplane mode, but this will make it impossible to receive calls or SMS messages.

The Twitter Tab

Twitter is a popular microblogging service that lets you post small text messages to a "personal timeline," which is a little like a micro blog. You can make this timeline protected (only approved people get to see it) or public (anyone can read it). Twitter is very popular and there are a number of good iPhone Twitter clients, including TwitterFon and Twitterific. You can also post and receive Twitter updates ("tweets") by SMS.

We added Twitter support because we wanted to give StepTrakLite users an easy and free way to record and (optionally) share their steps with their friends. You can create a "protected" twitter profile for your StepTrakLite updates and use it as a private or friends-only exercise log. Alternatively, you can share your updates with the world.

Go to http://twitter.com and create a new Twitter profile. You will need to choose a profile name and a password. Then, go to the Settings tab for that profile and check the "protect my updates" box.

In StepTrakLite, go to the Settings tab and type in your twitter profile name and your password. Presto! You're ready to start posting updates.

The MapMyWalk Log Tab

MapMyWalk.com is an online community where users can store training logs, routes and other exercise related information. After registering and inputting your user name and password on the Settings tab, you will be able to upload your step counts (and supporting information) to their website for easy perusal.

You can register either by going to the MapMyWalk registration page or by clicking the link on the Settings page of StepTrakLite.

You can view your data either by going to the MapMyWalk training log page or my clicking on the link at the bottom of the Log page of StepTrakLite.

MapMyWalk allows the users to specify the activity (Walk/Run) but also its type (eg. Brisk/Easy). You can choose to have the type of walk reflect your pace or the duration of your exercise, or you can select none to just transmit the unqualified activity.

The total time field is set based on the activity duration given on the Count tab, not on the difference between the start and end times. The former is actually more appropriate for calorie expenditure calculations.

Post a message on the StepTrakLite User Support Community and tell us where you'd like to post your data.

Misc

We will be releasing more exciting products soon. In the mean time, enjoy your free, accurate pedometer software.

Yes. After one minute with no touches, the screen will dim to 5% brightness. Just touch the screen again to wake it up.

Very. StepTrakLite is the highest rated and most popular pedometer program for the iPhone. But don't worry about us — we'll make it up in volume.

Well done. But if you keep it up, you'll go blind.

Support

We created a StepTrakLite User Support Community for your questions and comments. The StepTrakLite developers are active members and we look forward to meeting you there.