This is my contribution for @blind-spot's new project: #blindtest
The idea is for users to review the several DApps available for the STEEM Network, focusing on a different DApp every week. This week we're reviewing ActiFit.
Intro
I've been testing ActiFit for 6 days.
There are only two ActiFit versions available: Android and iOS mobile apps. I use the Android Version 0.5.4.
This is a crude app, in my opinion, with a ugly interface. On the other hand, it's functional and it does what exactly it needs to do. Developers sacrificed aesthetics over functionality and that's not a bad thing. I'm also a fan of making things work, first of all... and beautifying them later on.
1) The App Review
The main screen of the Actifit App shows you the Activity for Today and includes a series of buttons to access other features of the App.
After installing the App, the first thing you should do is to configure it, so I'll start this review by the last feature.
A) Settings
The Settings screen is self-explanatory and there's nothing complicated about it but I'll go through each section individually.
1) Activity Data Source
There are two options here. The default is to use the Phonse Sensors and I've found that I needed to activate the option "Enable Aggressive Background Tracking" otherwise my Android system kept clearing the memory and terminating the ActiFit App, which meant it wouldn't track any steps.
After activating that option, it only failed once, in 6 days. Yesterday, the App was turned off and I didn't notice it until noon, my morning activity was lost. This was the only glitch I had in a week.
The alternative way of tracking steps is to use an Fitbit bracelet, which I don't have, so I haven't used this option. Sounds interesting, though.
Now let's look at the remaining Settings.
2) Steem Post Payout
Here, you can choose whether to receive the payout from the post in SDB + STEEM Power or 100% in STEEM Power.
3) Measurement System
Another simple and self-explanatory option. Depending on where you live, go with the Metric System or the US System.
4) Donate to Charity
I haven't explored this option. There are a few charities present on Steem, to which you can Donate the Rewards of the ActiFit posts. You'll find a link to the selected charity below the combobox.
5) Daily Post Reminder
Finally, there's a nice and handy feature, to create a reminder in case you tend to forget posting your Actifit activity.
The most important part of the App is, of course, the ability to Post to the Steem Network.
B) Post to Steem
Again, this screen is made of various parts. Let's go through each one:
1) Steem Username
In this section, you must set your Steem username and your Posting Key only the first time you use the App. It will be saved ever since - for your comfort.
2) Report Title
This will be automatically filled by the app, just like you see below. You can change it as you see fit.
3) Full Report Payout in AFIT
If you believe the AFIT token will be very valuable in the future, you can opt to receive only AFIT tokens and no STEEM.
4) Activity Count
There's nothing much to do here. This number is filled by the app and you cannot change it. (What? You thought you'd gonna cheat? Think again.)
At most, you can press a button to import the data from Fitbit.
5) Activity Type
In this section, there's a combolist with a huge set of options, ranging from Dancing to Walking, Running... there's even Shopping and Shoveling. The option I used the most was "Daily Activity".
6) Track Measurements
Before you start writing your daily post, you can include a few data about yourself.
This is a part of the App I think it could be improved by saving the values for the next day... It's kind of boring having to insert the same values everyday.
7) Report Tags
This is where you set which tags you want to use in your STEEM post. The first tag will always be #actifit, so there's no point in inserting more than 4 tags or in repeating that one.
8) Report Images
Here, you'll find a button to add images and photos to your post.
You'll have to insert one at a time, as there's not a way to upload several images at once. Everytime you add a photo, the editor will be locked until the process is completed.
9) Report Content
This is a simple text editor, nothing fancy about it. If you're not used to writing and formatting your posts with Markup Language - like we nerds do - you can write the post in a site like Busy.org or SteemPeak.com or even on the eSteem App and once you're done, copy it to the Actifit Report.
10) Report Preview
The Preview area is a nice touch. It helps you to review and correct any mistakes you might have done - before posting your ActiFit Report.
After you've checked, rechecked and triple checked your post... you can use the button "Post to Steem" at the top right of the screen... and off it goes into the Blockchain.
C) Snap an Acti Pic
This button is used to capture a photo with the camera of your phone, to be later added to your Report post.
D) View Tracking History
On this screen, you'll find your Activity starting from the day you've installed the app. No matter if you have posted or not, your Activity will be always stored. There's also a chart... but it's still so raw and cumbersome I won't even grab a screen of that. (It will certainly be improved.)
E) View Daily Leaderboard
This section will show you the top 10 ActiFit users for the day. I'm not exactly sure how this is achieved since we're all on different timezones. I mean, it's Saturday morning here, and these guys are already up to 27000 and 42000 steps? I don't think so. They're probably still enjoying Friday night.
F) View Wallet
The next and final part of the interface will show you how many tokens you have. Since the tokens have no use case at the moment, this is simply for fun. You can also use it to check the amount of tokens your friends have.
Below your balance, there's a full log of the activities and how many tokens were earned for each.
This concludes the App Review. Next, I'll talk a bit about the website.
2) The ActiFit Website Review
The team has been working hard on the Website. It looks a million times better than the App.
After you login at https://actifit.io, you'll immediately see a popup with your AFIT Balance and Activity.
A) My Wallet
This page will show you a detailed outlook of your AFIT Wallet, as well as a detailed outlook of your STEEM Wallet. You can use this page to:
- Transfer STEEM or SBD (AFIT transfers are not yet possible);
- Power Up STEEM;
- Power Down STEEM;
- Claim Rewards;
I'm very happy to see these tools available at the ActiFit website because it brings more decentralisation to the STEEM Network.
Below this area, you'll find a complete and detailed log of your ActiFit Balance. You'll see exactly what you did to earn AFIT tokens and how many AFIT tokens you earned with each activity. There's a link "Activity Details" that will take you to the ActiFit Report associated to each Wallet movement.
B) My Activity
The other page of the ActiFit website will show you your reports. In a simple and cute way, you have several stats displayed for each Report:
- You ActiFit Ranking (mine is 15);
- Date and Time of the Report;
- The number of Upvotes and Comments received;
- The amount of STEM / SBD / AFIT earned;
- The number of Steps achieved that day;
- A Link to the Report;
- A Link to Edit the Report.
C) Edit Report
I've found this Editor to be really simple and yet, much better than the one at SteemIt.com. You've got a tollbar to simplify the editing of the post, you can change anything you want - from the Title to the Tags and you can include Photos, in case you forgot to do it through the app.
The first day I used the ActiFit App I forgot to add a photo and I've used the website to fix that. It worked like a charm.
Conclusion
The Android App is still very raw... and definitely not attractive, but I agree with the view of the team. They're focusing on functionality and improving the ecosystem, before apllying some more lipstick to the app.
Honestly, I don't know whether this AFIT token will ever be worth anything... or if it will have a serious use case. Right now, I think it's a wild guess. I am not the only one with these doubts. If you're interested in the Investment side of the ActiFit project, I invite you to read my friend's @teutonium opinion on that. He has been investigating the project and talking with the team. Here's what he wrote yesterday:
@mcfarhat was very eager to answer his doubts.
In the past, I've also talked with @mcfarhat in Discord. I remember asking about if they were thinking about developing a Windows Phone Version but, sadly for me, they have no plans on doing that.
Besides these questions... I fully support the ActiFit team, as they are very active, very helpful and are doing an amazing job to pull new users into the STEEM Network. You can register through the ActiFit Official Site by paying a small fee, and you'll have a STEEM account in a few seconds, instead of waiting 2 months for the SteemIt.com team to open you one.
Final Thoughts
I've been carrying out this review on a Xiaomi RedMi 3, which is my backup phone. Personally, I think Android is a total crap, when compared to Windows Phone. But what can I do? Just like with the markets, once the herd starts moving in a direction, it's extremelly difficult to make it change direction. Even if the sheep are all heading straight to a thousand meter cliff, you won't be able to stop them easily. People are a bit like Lemmings and they love to follow what their neighbours are doing.
This review was carried out by posting the Reports on my secondary account: @trincowski-pt.
I did that on purpose, to avoid annoying my followers with these posts.
I hope you have enjoyed this review... and I hope I can see you entering your own review of ActiFit for the #blindtest project until the end of the day.
Here's the link to the #blindtest project, by @blind-spot:
And here's the link for the ActiFit website:
@trincowski signing out...