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Mio's Slice fitness tracker wants you to stop counting your steps

The Slice ditches the 10,000-step goal for a new personalized metric based on heart rate.

Dan Graziano Associate Editor / How To
Dan Graziano is an associate editor for CNET. His work has appeared on BGR, Fox News, Fox Business, and Yahoo News, among other publications. When he isn't tinkering with the latest gadgets and gizmos, he can be found enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City.
Dan Graziano
2 min read
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Mio

Mio wants you to stop worrying so much about hitting 10,000 steps. The metric that was made famous by Fitbit may soon be a thing of the past following the release of the Mio Slice on Tuesday. It's available now for $129 -- that's about £105 or AU$179.

Rather than relying on the number of steps you take, the Slice, which was announced last January at the CES trade show, has a new personalized metric that translates heart rate data into a single, easy-to-understand score. The Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) metric is based on the Hunt Study, a large-scale health study in Norway that linked activity levels to overall health and longevity.

A PAI score is calculated based on your age, gender, resting heart rate and maximum heart rate. It is calculated over a rolling seven-day period, which encourages users to stay active throughout the week. Any activity that increases your heart rate will add to your PAI score, although you gain points faster from higher intensity activities, such as interval workouts.

The goal is simple -- try to keep your PAI score over 100. That's the number the Hunt Study determined could increase your lifespan by up to 10 years and provide maximum protection from lifestyle diseases.

In addition to the PAI score, the Slice can track heart rate, calories burned, distance and sleep. It can also display notifications from your phone. The Slice is available now in black, navy, stone and sienna in both small and larges sizes. It is being sold at Brookstone stores and Mio's website.

Mio also announced its second-generation Link heart rate monitor. The Link 2 can continuously measure heart rate from your wrist, forearm or upper arm for up to 20 hours. It can also transmit heart rate data to other devices over Bluetooth or ANT+ frequencies. Mio has said that the Link 2 will be available later this year.