Lumoid's Wearable Gear Service Lets You Try Before You Buy
Wearables are everywhere, and judging by CES 2015, more are coming. With so much to choose from, it can be hard to decide which will suit you best. But camera equipment renting company Lumoid wants to help you make your choice — its new program called Wearable Gear lets you try out five activity trackers or smartwatches for a week before you decide to buy.
Lumoid's system is similar to that of Warby Parker's try-on system for glasses: you choose the five wearables you're interested in, Lumoid ships them to you, and then you have a week to play around with all of them before deciding whether or not you want to purchase one. If you do, you pay Lumoid for the device, and if you don't, you only pay the company's $20 rental charge (shipping fees to and from are included).
Lumoid's website breaks down the 16 wearables it offers into sleep trackers, fitness trackers and "stay connected" smartwatch-esque trackers, with a few, like the Pebble Smartwatch and the Jawbone Up Move, overlapping between categories.
MORE: How to Buy a Fitness Tracker
When you select the devices you want to try, you'll see a short description and list of features that the device has, as well as a selection of colors. While most of the devices Lumoid offers are wristbands, the company does have wildcards, such as the Fitbit Aria Smart Scale and the Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor, that you can try along with the rest.
As time goes on, the long-term success of Lumoid's wearable try-before-buy program will likely rely on the variety of wearables it offers. Devices like the $400 Withings Activite are absent from the website, as are more hardcore sport watches like the TomTom Runner Cardio.
While one week seems like a short time to assess five different wearables - especially when you factor in app downloads, device pairings and setups - Lumoid seems to have an intriguing system for those who are still debating which smartwatch or fitness tracker is right for them.
Valentina Palladino is a senior writer for Tom's Guide. Follow her at @valentinalucia. Follow Tom's Guide at @tomsguide and on Facebook.
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