Pocket Insider Latest Technology Review
BACtrack Mobile is the latest line of breathalyzer by BACtrack. The device is small enough to fit into your purse or pocket. However, don’t let the size of the device fool you, because this breathalyzer is powerful enough to save your life. Let’s take a quick look at the features again.
Features:-
- Track results from the last 6 hours to the last 14 days and beyond
- Keep track of location
- Gain insight on user’s drinking habits and learn how the user’s body processes alcohol
- ZeroLine estimates when the user’s BAC will return to 0%
- Keep results privates or easily share via text, Twitter, or Facebook
- Compact, lightweight design is portable and convenient to carry around
- Features an LED indicator
- Quickly pairs via Bluetooth 4.0
- Powered by a long-lasting rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Review
Hardware
Design & Build Quality
The BACtrack itself measures at 1.75 (W) x 2.75 (H) x 0.63 (D) inches. Weighing only at 47 grams, the device has a solid build quality despite its plastic construction. On the front of the device, users will find the power button and a micro-USB charging port at the bottom.
On the top of the BACtrack Mobile lies the mouthpiece with an air ‘exit way’ on the other side. The transparent mouthpiece fits easily within the front of the device, for easy switching between users. BACtrack provides extra mouthpieces in the kit for testing sanitary, with additional mouthpieces available for purchase if needed.
Overall, we like the simple design of BACtrack Mobile with its great build quality.
Battery Life
In our test, we found that one full charge on the BACtrack Mobile offered plenty of uptime. We managed to get over 40 tests per charge, which is pretty impressive. The device also has an auto-off feature when it is idle to help conserve power.
To recharge the BACtrack Mobile, all the user needed is a micro-USB cable. It takes approximately an hour to fully charge the device.
Features
One key highlight of the BACtrack Mobile is it uses police grade Xtend Fuel Cell Sensor Technology, which offers the highest level of accuracy and consistency on the market today.
Once powered on, it takes about 10 seconds for the device to calibrate and warm up. The user then blow into the device and the breath is then captured. The analyzed data is then displayed on the user’s smartphone (Android and iOS compatible) via Bluetooth.
Another main feature of the BACtrack Mobile is its ZeroLine Technology, a patented technology by BACtrack which determines how long it takes for the user’s blood alcohol level to drop to 0.00%. We found that ZeroLine predicted an accurate time frame in almost every test.
Software
The BACtrack Mobile application has a very simple UI with 4 menus.
The BACtrack Mobile app not only show the user their blood alcohol content (BAC) percentage, it also contextualizes the reading too. For example, a 0.03 reading will also show this message: “You may be experiencing a loss of shyness and slight euphoria.”
The app can also log data, which will monitor each and every test. However, this requires the user to have a BACtrack account.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the BACtrack Mobile proved to be a neat little device. The device is not only extremely portable, but it also provides very consistent results. The accompanying app is easy-to-use, intuitive and pretty much straightforward.
While the BACtrack Mobile is not an ideal solution for determining whether or not to drive (not that any device should), we would recommend the BACtrack Mobile to anyone who is wanting to check their drinking habits, wanting to learn more about how their body metabolizes alcohol and such.
