Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Fitbit Flex Activity Tracking Wristband Available Now for $100

Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
spazzcat said:
Fitbit replaced it, but who makes a sport tracker that isn't sweat proof. I then got a Fuelband and hated it, can't share data and it doesn't work for cyclist.
Click to expand...

1) The Fuel Band is water resistant. I even wear mine in the shower. Sweat for the Fuel Band, is, well, no sweat. (The Flex is also water resistant and can be worn in shower).

2) I'm not sure what you mean, you "can't share data"? One of the big "sells" with the Fuel Band is that you can share and compare with friends. I don't use that feature, but you can authorize people to see your data at Nike+ or have it automatically uploaded to FB or Twitter.

3) What band does work with lower body? My experience, and I've used them all, is that they depend on upper body motion. I know you can manually input cycyling info into the FitBit or UP apps, but there are many apps that let you do that, but its not the same as automatically measuring activity which is the point of these bands. That is more supplemental.

I'm not arguing for the Fuel Band, I have my issues with it, but I don't understand the hate for it. It's really the "jack of all trades" of activity bands -- yes master of none, but convenient and I've never lost it like my FitBit One. If the Fitbit Flex was the One with a band it would be more of a winner.
 
B

bidwalj

macrumors 65816
Feb 16, 2007
1,056
136
I have used the fuelband, Up (both versions), and this flex.

If your main motiviation is to workout better, have it push you harder or make your daily goals, the fuelband wins out hands down.

The fuelband has the neat display that tells you what you have done and what you need to do to reach your goal. The fact you can press the button and see where you are helps a lot when you are pushing yourself at the gym and want to go a bit further. IMO thats the best use you can get out of these bands. The fuel points may or may not mean much, but you can control how high you want to set them and know what your limits are after a few uses.

The flex and up may do much more but I rarely used the other features after a week or so. Sleep function is a gimmick really, its neat to know how you slept but it doesn't really motivate you to do anything different. I also hated having to put the band into sleep mode. Same thing with the food tracker. you have to enter what you ate everytime for it to be of any use. Most wont really keep up with it after a while.

The smart alarm is useful if you want a slient alarm.
 
Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
bidwalj said:
The fuelband has the neat display that tells you what you have done and what you need to do to reach your goal. The fact you can press the button and see where you are helps a lot when you are pushing yourself at the gym and want to go a bit further. IMO thats the best use you can get out of these bands. The fuel points may or may not mean much, but you can control how high you want to set them and know what your limits are after a few uses.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%, and added bold for emphasis. These bands are what they are. None of them will do anything unless you have the motivation to do it. Fuel points is a great way for the motivated to continue to challenge themselves and go to the next level. But all of them are wildly inaccurate if one is using them to measure "standards" like calories burned and steps taken, especially when used on treadmills and elliptical.
 
B

bidwalj

macrumors 65816
Feb 16, 2007
1,056
136
Chupa Chupa said:
Agree 100%, and added bold for emphasis. These bands are what they are. None of them will do anything unless you have the motivation to do it. Fuel points is a great way for the motivated to continue to challenge themselves and go to the next level. But all of them are wildly inaccurate if one is using them to measure "standards" like calories burned and steps taken, especially when used on treadmills and elliptical.
Click to expand...

I agree, the points may not mean anything as far as whats burned goes, but they do mean something when you are pushing yourself. I know what my record is and I know I worked hard to get that record. If I'm trying to beat that record now, I will have to put in the work. To me that is where the value is, not how many steps I took, what I burned, how long i slept, etc.

You can do the same with the other 2 bands (just look at the miles traveled or steps, etc). They aren't as affective since they don't have a display like the fuelband. The flex comes close, but you really cant tell how much longer you need to keep running / pushing since its measured in quarters and only has dots to display. Sure you can sync with the app but as you use the band more and more, the syncing part is what decreases. it simply becomes a chore.
 
spazzcat

spazzcat

macrumors 68040
Jun 29, 2007
3,662
4,757
Chupa Chupa said:
1) The Fuel Band is water resistant. I even wear mine in the shower. Sweat for the Fuel Band, is, well, no sweat. (The Flex is also water resistant and can be worn in shower).

2) I'm not sure what you mean, you "can't share data"? One of the big "sells" with the Fuel Band is that you can share and compare with friends. I don't use that feature, but you can authorize people to see your data at Nike+ or have it automatically uploaded to FB or Twitter.

3) What band does work with lower body? My experience, and I've used them all, is that they depend on upper body motion. I know you can manually input cycyling info into the FitBit or UP apps, but there are many apps that let you do that, but its not the same as automatically measuring activity which is the point of these bands. That is more supplemental.

I'm not arguing for the Fuel Band, I have my issues with it, but I don't understand the hate for it. It's really the "jack of all trades" of activity bands -- yes master of none, but convenient and I've never lost it like my FitBit One. If the Fitbit Flex was the One with a band it would be more of a winner.
Click to expand...

I mean by sharing, posting daily steps to runkeeper, etc. The Fitbit One will pick up steps when you pedal, if it on your waist. The fitbit Ultra isn't sweat proof, but they never told anyone that until it died on you. Then they would tell you not to let it get sweat on it.
 
Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
bidwalj said:
I agree, the points may not mean anything as far as whats burned goes, but they do mean something when you are pushing yourself. I know what my record is and I know I worked hard to get that record. If I'm trying to beat that record now, I will have to put in the work. To me that is where the value is, not how many steps I took, what I burned, how long i slept, etc.

You can do the same with the other 2 bands (just look at the miles traveled or steps, etc). They aren't as affective since they don't have a display like the fuelband. The flex comes close, but you really cant tell how much longer you need to keep running / pushing since its measured in quarters and only has dots to display. Sure you can sync with the app but as you use the band more and more, the syncing part is what decreases. it simply becomes a chore.
Click to expand...

Yes. You are preaching to the choir here. My last post must not have made sense -- it was basically saying Fuel Points have there place.
 
J

jimyim

macrumors newbie
May 9, 2013
1
0
No doubt Fitbit devices support more functions. That's the reason I ignored comments from other users and purchased Fitbit One. Ended up, it only worked for a month. I sent it back for repair. I received no updates (except acknowledgement that Fitbit has received the device) after that. It has been almost 2 months!
If anyone of you decided to go with Fitbit, good luck with their support.
 
D

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,245
6,393
US
bidwalj said:
Sleep function is a gimmick really, its neat to know how you slept but it doesn't really motivate you to do anything different.
Click to expand...

I'm shopping for one of these bands and looking at the Flex, I'm coming to a similar conclusion. Sure it's a cool feature, but I'm just not seeing where it provides any actionable data or feedback?

Maybe I'm missing something? Could someone who uses the sleep tracker explain how you find it useful?

The vibrate alarm thing I can see being useful if you and your partner get up at different times. Not the case in my house, so at most it might get used once every couple of months.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom