1.2.2014

I've had the excellent WiFi Withings weight / body fat / air quality scales for sometime now and have been very pleased with them. They are sleek and elegant but are also very practical if you - like me - have bought into the 'big data' revolution and want immediate submission of your data into the 'cloud' for ongoing analysis.I'd been holding back from buying the older wired blood pressure monitor from Withings as it shipped with the old iPhone adapter and I don't like using the fiddly adapter for the iPhone 5/5s for retro-fit. I also hoped they'd bring out a wireless version that is far more future proof and of course will work with non-apple products.So along come this brand new wireless version in Jan 2014 so I just had to try it!As with all Withings products it is beautifully designed and put together. The gorgous packaging and fine materials of the device itself gives you a premium feel similar to that of opening an Apple product for the first time. In the box is the Withings wireless blood pressure reader, a back-up wired connector (very useful just in case the wireless fails or you don't want to use Bluetooth), a quick start manual and a more detailed manual. The 4x AAA batteries are pre-installed so the product is ready-to-go out of the box.Set-up is a joy via Bluetooth and took literally just a couple of minutes with intuative step-by-step instructions on-screen through the Withings app on my iPhone 5. The Withings unit is seamlessly controlled via the app on the phone during use with no need to mess with any setting on the actual device after initially switching on. It turns off automatically after use.One of the nice surprising new features is the "Auto" feature that you can set to automatically conduct 3x measurements in succession (with obviously a short gap in between for rest) with the average taken for even more accurate measurements just as my doctor asked me to do when using a manual traditional blood pressure monitor.Other really nice features include:- automatic time of day capture with each blood pressure reading that you can later analyse between am and pm readings and understand how your blood pressure changes throughout the day automatically via the dashboard in the app- auto capture of your resting pulse- real-time readings being sent to the app on the phone so you can see what's going on whilst the devise is working- battery charge indicator through the appFor those geeks / power-users out there who want more, the best and most useful feature is of course the seamless ability to capture all the readings from the device which are then sent 'to the cloud' and shared with the other growing number of apps in the wellbeing/health eco-system that you give permission.For me I use:- Combination of Withings BP monitor & Scales for my weight, fat percentage, pulse-rate and blood pressure readings- Jawbone UP for my activity tracking 24/7 and sleep tracking- Sleepio for personalised CBT sleep training (which seamlessly integrates to Jambone UP)- MyFitnessPal for food and drink tracking- Run Keeper for fitness tracking- The ability to easily send data through to your doctor and/or 3rd party as required via email- and all the data from all the above automated & manual inputs analysed and reported by TicTrakAnd what does all this data tell me? Well, that I am over-weight with high blood pressure who eats (and drinks) too much and spends an awful lot of time sitting around and not enough time exercising.Sadly non of this wonderful technology replaces personal motivation, some personal discipline and lifestyle change. But SURELY there must be an app for that I hear you cry!?In summary, the Withings wireless blood pressure monitor is highly recommended and a joy to use and own.

5.4.2014

The Withings BP monitor is part of a range of health products produced by Withings which also includes: weighing scales and pedometer/pulse meter/sleep monitor. It's a robust product and having compared it to other BP machines for a month the results seem realistic.The deviceThe BP cuff unlike other products is rigid, a pre curled material with a flexible end with Velcro to secure. Attached to the cuff is a large circular tube which houses the mechanism to pump up the cuff and transmit the readings. The device comes in a box but there is no storage bag.The product comes with very brief pictorial instructions. Although the set up was not difficult I would have liked a few more words.You down load an app onto your Android or Apple mobile device (phone/tablet), set up an account turn on the Bluetooth, and take a measurement. There is no display on the device you can't use it without a mobile device. Nor can you run the device from a computer, although you can log into your account on a pc/Mac and view your results.Having used BP machines fairly extensively I found it reasonably easy to wrap around my own arm correctly. The flap is long to allow a variety of arm widths, for most people it will be a bit long and the excess can get in the way of starting the device. When a reading has been taken the results are colour coded red for high, amber for elevated, green for normal. Pulse is recorded also. There is link to show a table of WHO criteria values for BP, which appears at the end of the reading. However I could not see how to access this later when looking at the summary of values. You can ask the device to take 3 sequential readings and it then displays the average, but it does not show what the three readings were.The Withings appThe Apple app requires OS6 or later so won't work with the original iPad. The apps are not identical on Apple vs Android. The apps works ok but could be much better. You can set up a profile within your account for family members or guests. It records BP as a graph, although you can change the scale from 2 weeks, 1 month, 4 months 6 months or 1 year it defaults back every time you reopen it. Its hard to see on the graph a single days readings, however there is a table to scroll through all your data. The Withings web site it shows a share button but I could not find this on Apple or Androids apps. The Apple app has a share with my doctor category where you add the recipients email and it sends a list of readings. The same feature is not there on Android, the sharing function on Android only sent an email saying how great the product was, saving to drop box did the same!The app is designed to also measure weight, sleep, and activity as well as BP. If you don't necessarily need to all the other Withings equipment to use some of these features.Weight- the app pairs with Withings scales, but you you can still log your weight manually. You can also pair with MyFitnessPal app.The sleep component uses the Withings Pulse or Bodymedia device. The activity uses the Withings pulse, Body media or Runkeeper a free App which tracks your activity running, walking cycling via the GPS on your phone.The Withings app could be a little more user friendly. For example the cuff turns off quite quickly after use, It would be good if there were some reminder to turn on the blue tooth and reactivate the device.. The button to take a reading only appears when the device is powered up. The app was quite slow to respond when I went to set up a second user, and I ended up doing it twice. Then could not easily work out how to remove the duplicate. However but apps get updated quickly so this may change esp as Withings asks for feedback.

17.5.2014

Kindly given to me to review this is an easy to operate device that allows you to measure your blood pressure and heart rate and track the results via the excellent Withings app and website. As this could well be an occasional use device for a lot of people it was nice to see Withings have designed the packaging to act as the storage box rather than be discarded. The box has a magnetic catch allowing you to easily open and close it and the monitor fits securely in place.Along with the blood pressure monitor you get some instructions and a USB adapter to connect the unit to your smartphone via cable instead of bluetooth. The monitor is powered by 4 AAA batteries and these came preinstalled and ready to use.There isn’t much to the monitor, there is a silver cylinder attached to a large arm strap. On the top of the cylinder is a button that turns the device on/off; the bottom of the device is where you replace the batteries.Setup was fairly easy. Note you will need a smartphone and the Withings app to make use of this monitor, which I already have as I have a set of Withings scales. To set it up you need to pair your phone with the monitor via bluetooth and then add it to your Withings account within the app. I found the first time I tried this the phone appeared to pair with the device but then wasn’t actually connected, switching the Bluetooth off and then on again resolved this problem.From then on whenever you power up the monitor it will automatically connect to your phone and the app. You’re able to take readings to add to your account or you can take a guest reading.To take a reading you pop the monitor on (tricky the first time, very easy afterwards) and press the start button on the app. You can either take a single reading, or 3 consecutive readings which are averaged. If you’ve had your blood pressure taken before you’ll be familiar with the sensation, the monitor inflates and squeezes your arm in the same way a doctor would. During the reading process the app provides real time data as to what is going on.If you’ve not positioned the monitor correctly the reading will fail and you’ll be prompted to start again.Once completed the app shows 3 readings:SystolDiastolHeart RateTo help understand your readings the app provides a result based on the World Health Organisation standards (`Normal blood pressure’ in my case, phew!). The app also allows you to add notes to each set of readings.Withings have really nailed the app, it’s crisp, polished and easy to understand. If you’d rather look at your data on a bigger screen you’ve got access to the Withings website which, like the app, is brilliantly designed and easy to use and has the additional benefit of allowing you to email you data directly from the website (e.g. to your doctor). I’ve used both the Withings app and website for years with a pair of smart scales and to have further data added in a clear and easy to understand manner is a huge plus of buying into the Withings ecosystem.The blood pressure monitor is a fantastic bit of kit, especially for those who want to keep an eye on things in between checkups. It’s quick, easy to use, and backed up by a brilliant apps and website and is available from

3.7.2017

Blood pressure and heart rate are two important health indicators. Whether you're monitoring your vital signs because you are being treated for abnormal blood pressure or you just want to keep a responsible eye on your health statistics, regular readings can help chart your progress with treatment, or give you early warning of possible problems to come.Spot readings are useful, but trends are more so.To keep a history of your readings is important if you want to be able to identify changes in your health. A simple cheap wrist monitor can be used, but it's up to you to record its results and look out for possibly significant deviations from the norm. The Nokia BPM can help with this,as it stores your data in the cloud and graphs it for you in the app.You can't use the Nokia BPM without a smartphone or tablet running Apple IOS or Android. Oddly, there is no Windows Mobile app, despite Nokia's previous collaboration with Microsoft. I installed the free Health Mate app from the Google Play store onto my HTC phone. The first time you run the app, it asks you to enable Bluetooth and install any Nokia devices (a motion detector and scales are also available in the range). The instructions are clear and the process reasonably painless. Foolishly, I installed the app on two devices simultaneously - my tablet as well as my phone - but that seems to cause confusion and I don't recommend it. If you have an iPhone or iPad you can use a USB connection instead of Bluetooth. You can choose whether or not to leave Bluetooth running on your device. If it's turned off, the app will ask for permission to turn it back on at launch time; if you don't you can use the button mounted on the BPM to start the app and ready it to begin taking a reading.You can choose whether to take a single reading or the average of a group of three. The app provides basic instructions, and there are also well-written instruction leaflets included in the package and info is available online. The Health Mate app displays the readings and saves them so that you can use the app's Dashboard and history to view your progress. It can share data with Google Fit and other health monitor apps.So far as I can tell, the BPM is accurate. Its readings are in line with other sphygmomanometers I've used and it comes with a long list of standards with which it complies. The Health Mate app - at least in the Android version I'v used - has good core functionality but seems to crash occasionally when trying other functions, although this has got better over the course of the last week following an upgrade. So long as Nokia continue with improving the reliability of the app all should be well. The BPM appears to be well made and comes ready to use with four AAA batteries installed. The app reports the state of the batteries so you have notice of when they need to be replaced.I can't fault the Nokia BPM. It's easy to use, so it readily becomes part of a regular routine, and helps keep track of an important set a vital signs. Recommended.

2.7.2017

In 2014 I reviewed this product when it was called the Withings Wireless Blood pressure monitor and it got the same 5 star review; though it was a higher price 3 years ago. Before that I had the version with a dock connector so I'm a long term fan. Whats left of Nokia recently bought Withings and have relaunched all the withings products under the Nokia name. Sadly they didn't make it play the Nokia ringtone on turning it on. Nokia have kept the excellent Withings packaging; unboxing a BPM is an event.As a long term user my relationship with Withings was strong when Nokia bought them; I really liked their mobile app.It worked well; had good features for encouraging activity and had a good selection of devices for monitoring your health and general lifestyle (activity, sleep, blood pressure and weight/ heart health.) On rebranding the app Nokia broke it spectacularly; and several weeks later still haven't restored it to its former glory. They are making progress and important thing for the BPM is the blood pressure monitor is essentially unaffected; if you use apple health the sync isn't available but you can get the data from Nokia or share readings from your device by email.The blood pressure monitor is essentially unchanged; and despite the app issues it still remains my preferred meter. The app takes you taking a reproducible reading; sit calmly on a chair; fit the cuff to your arm at the same height as your height- be calm and take a reading without being disturbed. It is all over in about a minute. The cuff isn't the most comfortable - with a stiff 1/3 of the cuff a little cutting - but can go around a wide variety of small or large arms.The readings it takes agree with readings from the Withing's version (albeit taken one on each arm 5 mins apart) the device is certified as a medical device; when I first got my bluetooth one I compared the readings to a calibrated desktop meter and the readings were very close so I have trusted the readings over the years. The cuff takes 4 aa batteries to power it (supplied preinstalled when it arrives.) ; and they last a long time. Its bluetooth 4 so there is no pairing - put it on your arm and press the single button. If the app is installed it will recognise the device and let you take a reading and store it into your device (and into the cloud.) You can then share the readings with your doctor - I started taking home blood pressure readings as taking a reading at the doctors marked me out for immediate treatment.Nokia may have (temporarily I hope) broken the app but the device itself feels as bullet proof as before and the lower price is a bonus. The issues with the app could have cost it a star - but as they don't impact the blood pressure monitor at the time of writing I haven't done so. I have tried other devices in the last 3 years - the withings app kept me coming back Nokia have

3.12.2014

I confess that I'm a fan of Withings products. I have an old set of Withings Wifi Scales and I have a Withings Pulse. This Blood Pressure Monitor came up on Amazon Black Friday Lightning Deals, so I took the plunge.First impressions first - it is very green. By which I mean the colour and not "environmentally friendly" :) If you don't like green you're out of luck! Inside the box I found a little booklet titled "Quick Installation Guide". This is, perhaps, not the best title for instructions sent with a medical device. Or perhaps it was just my weird mind that had me giggling at the possible places they might be suggesting I install it. I was relieved to find it was actually just talking about installing the app on my iPad/mobile device.Subsequently the instructions weren't as interesting to me, so I ignored them. Installation is simple and the app guides you through it. This part of the process is slick and easy.When it comes to the app. On Apple devices you require iOS 6.0 or above. On android you require Android 4.0 or higher. On my iPad I had to install the iPhone version of the app.To me it's a nice looking piece of kit with the good build quality I'd expect of Withings. I was, however, a little bit surprised by its size. If I roll my sleeves up and put the blood pressure monitor on then it barely fits and the tubular bit of the device presses against my lower arm. It's not particularly comfortable. I'm tall and with long arms, people with short/smaller arms will probably not find it easy to use.The monitor can take your blood pressure using one measurement or as an average of three measurements with configurable intervals (e.g. 3 measurements with a 2 minute gap between). This seems a brilliant idea to me. However, to use the latter mode you have to turn it on in the app each time you use it. That's rather inconvenient when I forget and I wish it would just remember my settings. Not the end of the world but a bit niggly.I have taken about 30 measurements, it has failed to read properly on two occassions. This is slightly frustrating but the failure rate is on a par with just about every other blood pressure monitor I've used. When it does this I merely check that I've not actually died, do indeed have a pulse, and try again. This has, so far, always proved a successful strategy! Based on what readings I would normally expect to get, the results it provides seem reasonably accurate.For a relatively high price you get a well built, bulky, average performing, blood pressure monitor. The distinguishing feature is that it stores your results to your Withings account and the app for you. As a gadget lover I'm a big fan of that. Realistically though, you're going to have to be a gadget lover to justify the price for that one feature and not just write your results down with the, old fashioned, pen and paper approach.

24.2.2014

I've never encountered Withings products before and I have to admit I'm impressed. First impressions really do count. There's something about the cream and mint green trim that says 'health'.So, basically we have a wireless blood pressure cuff with self-contained pump that sends readings over bluetooth or USB connection to your phone. I didn't use the USB connection for the purposes of this review but I would note that it's a pity you can't plug the cuff into a PC, but as far as I can see there's no software available for this. The cuff takes 4 AAA batteries. I'd suggest getting a pack of Amazon's basic low discharge NiMh rechargeables because you'll probably being going through quite a

1.9.2017

Nokia have taken over the healthcare product company formerly known as Withings. As Withings had a good reputation for consumer market medical gadgets, I was worried that Nokia's influence would somehow ruin or cheapen the brand. Thankfully though I need not have worried, this wireless blood pressure monitor is an excellent product in my view.The first thing surely you want to know when buying a blood pressure monitor is "How accurate is it?". I have used this device now for a decent amount of time and compared it with manual readings taken the old fashioned way on some professionally calibrated equipment by someone medically trained, and with a monitor of another brand of good repute.

16.4.2014

The Withings wireless blood pressure monitor is a splendid highly technical device designed to appeal to those who adore gadgetry and want to measure their blood pressure accurately into the bargain. Trust me, with a device like this you no longer need to rely on your memory or paper for recording readings for everything is geared to go straight to your mobile phone and, if desired, your doctor thereafter.Reviewing it posed no problem. A friend, who is a Consultant Cardiologist at a nearby hospital and expert in hypertension, agreed to assist me. He took the machine and put it through its paces and pronounced his verdict.The first step was to set the machine up via a mobile smart phone (Android or Apple)

23.2.2014

I liked the design of this product, minimal packaging (just a box), very small instruction manual with limited pages and the product itself is pretty easy to use without much fussing. Even holds itself up on your arm as you turn it on.The cuff is a stiff thing that grips onto the arm as opposed to the older fashioned types that you need to struggle to fit right and try to strap on correctly.Putting the app on my iPod touch 5th Gen was a piece of cake although signing up was a bit confusing as it wouldn't let me sign in with Facebook (I don't know why it really requires facebook? This isn't the kind of thing you use to socialise and share with!).

7.7.2017

This monitor looks almost too good to be functional, let alone accurate, but I was shocked by how accurate it was.It comes in a really nice hard cardboard box which is obviously meant for storage; it takes a few goes before you figure out how to adjust the Velcro cuff and fit it back in, but once you do it's kept safe inside.From the off usage was simple: you download the dedicated Health Mate app, turn on the blood pressure monitor and it's instantly recognised with simple click to pair operation - foolproof.Three-quarters of the cuff is semi-rigid, and the rest is flexible. (If you have large biceps, it may not fit you.) You slide it up your arm, wrap the solid-feeling Velcro around and click START on the app.

25.6.2017

This is a clever device that you need to use in conjunction with a smartphone or tablet. In the box in which it arrives (the sturdy cardboard is, I think ok to store the monitor in - there is no separate case included) there is just the monitor itself (with pre-installed batteries) and a couple of instruction leaflets. Set up was easy after installing the app to my iPhone with a connection made by a Bluetooth connection. When you press the button on the top of the aluminium tube which makes up part of the monitor, your phone or tablet detects it automatically. You might need to unlock your gadget, but then you can press "start" to get a reading. You can either do a one-off reading or an average of three.

28.6.2014

In my quest to become healthier, I've added a new item to my tracking and monitoring... the Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor. This is an arm-cuff home BP monitoring device that integrates with my iPhone, and I'm impressed. I've used wrist-cuff monitors before, but I've heard that they aren't nearly as accurate as the arm-cuff "gold standard". The Withings monitor is easy to use, and I'm looking forward to seeing what my long-term trends will end up being.Set-up was easy. I already had the Withings app on my iPhone for my scale, so all I had to do was to make sure I paired the monitor with my iPhone via bluetooth. Once that was done, then the Withings application added the monitor,

3.9.2014

When I upgraded my iPhone I had a problem in that the dock connector on my original blood pressure monitor didn't fit my new phone; though it worked fine with a dock adaptor. That said the wire was always a pain; and my wish was granted with the release of the bluetooth version. The meter looks identical to the original WIthings' blood pressure monitor; just without the wires.Withing's box opening experience is always excellent; opening the Blood Pressure Monitor box you get the cuff (batteries included) along with a manual explaining how to hook it up to your phone to take readings; already having the app installed it was a question of connecting the bluetooth together and I was away.

9.7.2017

Nokia has shifted into the device marketplace with the purchase of the Withings brand. So, there will be users of these devices that will own prevoius versions with the old brand. The knock on effect is that some changes have apparently taken place with the app (it is now a minimalistic looking app), that lots of users are unhappy with. I used it and could understand some of the comments but didn't have any issues with the way it worked. It does enough for my needs, and one of the important features worth noting is that you can create family profiles which allow you to monitor the BP of your family.The device itself works well, and like others take more than one measurement to find your average BP and it also takes your pulse to give you your heart rate.

Withings BP-800 - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail