Alert1, Kelsi: Review

We tried this product out in real world usage for an initial few days, while I wore it around in San Francisco. This product is part of our "out and about" testing program, so we tested the alert capability periodically in different locations over about a week.

No GPS capability

While not totally obvious prior to purchase, we now realize that this product is quite different to some of the other "out and about" products we are testing, because it does NOT know where it is at any given time. In other words the Kelsi does not contain any GPS locating capability.

How it "locates you"

When you press the alert button, the system calls its call center and a friendly responder comes on the line. A bit like a cell phone, the voice comes out of the pendant and you can talk to the person through the pendant.

If you ask "do you know where I am?", you are told that no they do not. "However, if we dial 911 for you, the 911 service will be able to tell us and you where you are"

Profound difference

For two reasons, this is a profound difference to systems like the Splash or the Premium Guardian which we are testing.

First, with those products the call center knows where you are because the wearable pendant sends a location signal back to them without you needing to do anything and without needing to call 911. This means that if you need some type of help that falls short of needing to call 911, they will know where to send that help even if you do not.

Second, for the Kelsi, in case of a real emergency the ability to locate you will depend on the ability of the 911 system to pin down your location. It is the same as would be the case if you dialled 911 on your cell phone. But there has been a lot of press recently about how unreliable cell-based 911 location services are. So we think this is a much less robust approach to location than having the GPS built into the pendant.

Sound a bit tinny

The sound quality of the calls is rather poor, and much poorer than the other out and about systems we are testing and poorer than my cell phone. The sound is tinny and static-y. The voice from the device is understandable, but I think if you had any hearing impairment this would be a negative.

Small

As noted during unboxing, this pendant is smaller than the other out and about pendants. Not sure yet how much of an advantage that is, but it is not a bad thing. It is still a bit bulky for every day wear in my opinion.

Water resistant

Here is what it says on the Freeus website (the manufacturer):

"Unlike some mobile personal emergency response systems, eResponder can be used in the shower. However, it is not designed to be submerged in water."

We mark the product as waterproof in our database, but it is definitely not as waterproof as pendants with no "voice in pendant" capability which you can fully immerse.

The competitors GreatCall Splash and Philips Lifeline GoSafe and Numera Libris are waterproof to a specific standard called  IP67: ("highly water resistant: submerged in water for up to 3 feet and up to 30 minutes"). 

We suspect but have not confirmed that the Kelsi (Freeus eResponder) may be less water resistant than the above three competitors.