Smart Consoles

Smart Consoles with Apps

The Apps

It is here, an easy to use smart console for treadmills, ellipticals, recumbents, and bikes. The home screen of this console will look very familiar to you; it looks a lot like your phone and tablet.

The Matrix fitness consoles come ready to go with video apps like Netflix, Hulu+, and YouTube. Other apps that are included are Facebook, Twitter, and Weather. Some people say they don’t need apps on their treadmill, but once you see how easy this is to use, your next piece of Matrix equipment will have a smart console too.

Fitness Programs

These consoles aren’t only about entertainment they also include a well-rounded selection of fitness programs and motivational tools to keep you engaged, and to help you stay fit.

Sprint 8 just got a lot more fun. You can have Phil Campbell the developer of the program come on and coach you through your first several Sprint 8 workouts. Also you now get a sweat score for each interval and encouragement to meet and beat your last interval.

Another smart feature is integrated workout tracking with ViaFit. At the end of your workout your statistics are sent to the ViaFit app. ViaFit logs time spent, calories burned, miles traveled, etc. From there you can have ViaFit push your results into other fitness apps you may be using like Fitbit, Map My Fitness, Run Keeper and many more.

Virtual programs, which Matrix calls Virtual Active, allow you to visit worldwide destinations. There are dozens of destinations to choose from. Each destination has multiple tracks. All video is professional HD video. When you get to a hill in the scene the incline or resistance increases on the fitness equipment.

No Subscription

So you want to bring your fitness routine home. You get a slick new piece of equipment. Now, how would you like to pay $29 a month to use all the features it has to offer? Me neither. With the Matrix consoles you do not pay a subscription to Matrix or ViaFit. This is another big advantage over the other smart consoles that are out there like Nordic Trac’s iFit and the highly advertised Peloton bike.

You use your existing Netflix, Hulu+, and YouTube accounts to log in and start viewing content. Fitness tracking is all inclusive; even syncing your workout data to third party apps like Fitbit or My Fitness Pal is free. On the Virtual Active programs the consoles come with 2 destinations. You can purchase additional destinations; once you buy them, they are yours to have. You can even switch them between your treadmill and bike if you desire to do that.

The Choices

Matrix offers 3 console options. Following is a short description of each.

For more details, see this .pdf from Matrix showing the features of each.

XR

Some would not call this a smart console. It is very basic but still offers ViaFit tracking and Sprint8. You can even link it with the Passport Video player and do the Virtual Active programs on your big screen. If you are looking for simple, this for you.

XER

A true smart console with a 10” touch screen. Here is where you can get in on all the fun with apps and other visual content. Very intuitive and easy to use.

XIR

The 16” screen is the obvious upgrade, you also get a web browser app that is not on the XER. The screen is higher resolution and is brighter. This is the ultimate smart console.