Fitbit Flex Activity Tracking Wristband Available Now for $100

[MacRumors]

Fitbit today launched its newest wearable activity tracking device, the Fitbit Flex. The wristband, which originally debuted at CES 2013, counts calories burned, distance walked, and steps taken, along with offering tools to record food intake and sleep quality.

At $100, the Fitbit Flex is more affordable than competing products like the Jawbone UP and the Nike FuelBand, priced at $130 and $150, respectively.

The waterproof band needs to be charged approximately every five days and syncs via Bluetooth 4.0. It works in conjunction with the Fitbit app. Engadget has posted a comprehensive review of the Fitbit Flex, finding the design to be appealing but the sleep and food tracking features to be lacking.

What Fitbit seems to have done is look at the rest of the fitness-tracking field, figure out what features have proven most successful and essential and then packed them in a surprisingly stylish and affordable package. At $100, the Flex isn't an impulse purchase considering its relatively niche appeal, but for those looking to pick up this particular type of lifestyle product, it's a solid choice.

The social aspects of racking up Fuel points and Jawbone's more robust mobile app certainly have their appeal, but we'd say the Flex offers the most well-rounded experience, not to mention the best bang for your buck.

The Fitbit Flex wristband can be purchased from the Fitbit website for $99.95.

Article Link: Fitbit Flex Activity Tracking Wristband Available Now for $100

 

[appleguy123]

It charges by Bluetooth 4.0? How does that work?

 

[needfx]

if...only...I...could...get...it...on...my...chubby...wrist...DONE

 

[JodyK]

Charges via Bluetooth has to be a mistake.
This looks like a solid choice for this market ... The few things they say it lacks in can be improved via a software update.

I was waiting for this to come out and I think I might take the plunge.

 

[jclo]

Charges via Bluetooth has to be a mistake.
This looks like a solid choice for this market ... The few things they say it lacks in can be improved via a software update.

I was waiting for this to come out and I think I might take the plunge.

Yes, that was a small error that I fixed. It was meant to say that it needs to be charged every five days and that it syncs via Bluetooth, not charges via Bluetooth.

 

[Macwick]

BTW the Fitbit Flex has been available from Best Buy for the last couple of weeks, I'm wearing one now. Weird way to do a product rollout.

 

[Scellow]

WTF 100$ for that ? ..

 

[Crzyrio]

BTW the Fitbit Flex has been available from Best Buy for the last couple of weeks, I'm wearing one now. Weird way to do a product rollout.

They probably just put it out prior to when they were suppose to.

 

[spazzcat]

In my opinion, the Fuelband is the most usless.

 

[Crzyrio]

In my opinion, the Fuelband is the most usless.

+1

The flex is probably the best of the 3, it has everything the other 2 have combined. With the exception of the Display on the Nike+

 

[jps1012]

I have it.. Charges through USB. I think they meant Syncs via Bluetooth.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

My UP band just had to be RMA'd after only 4 months. Still better than 3 times in 3 weeks with 1.0 version. This looks more appealing if they can add enhance the features. Plus it's at $99, which is a better entry point.

 

[mcdspncr]

Looks like good competition for the UP and Fuel Band, but I'm still waiting for the inclusion of an altimeter. This would definitely help the accuracy considering there is a big difference in caloric consumption between walking up a hill/stairs compared to flat ground. The Fitbit One (also $99) has the altimeter but is missing the wristband. Hopefully the next gen of Flex will have both!

 

[freedevil]

For me, these bands are just fads. I get excited and use them for a month or two and then I forget about them. It may be good for people who don't go to the gym. I am not buying into the fact that a band can really gauge my sleep patterns and wake me up at the right moment. UP just randomly wakes the user up within 30 minutes of the alarm. The band is so uncomfortable to sleep in that it defeats the purpose of monitoring sleep.

 

[atheos]

Looks like I'm gonna stick with my UP. The sleep tracking and alarm feature is the most useful part of the product and everybody seems to agree that Flex is quite inaccurate at that. Also gotta love the 10 day battery life.

 

[cerote]

Looks like I'm gonna stick with my UP. The sleep tracking and alarm feature is the most useful part of the product and everybody seems to agree that Flex is quite inaccurate at that. Also gotta love the 10 day battery life.

Wired has a little better review for it. Says the battery life is not that bad.

I plan on switching just because UP band as a product sucks. With the 2 in the house we are up to 5 replacements between us. We bought them in Nov. The tracking works great and such but just not worth it having to RMA it every few weeks it seems.

 

[ikir]

No shipping to italy... sigh

 

[bearda]

BTW the Fitbit Flex has been available from Best Buy for the last couple of weeks, I'm wearing one now. Weird way to do a product rollout.

I seem to remember the Fitbit One being the same way. Was thinking about preordering on on the Fitbit page when I found one on the shelf at the local Best Buy.

 

[ScottNWDW]

I have a FitBit One and I love it. The Flex does the exact same thing as the One, with but you can wear it on your wrist. The main disadvantage I would see with the Flex is that you don't have the display like the One does and therefore you will have to keep syncing it with the iPhone app. With the One, you wear it on the waistband of clothes or put it in your pocket.

As far as the food tracking goes, I use mine in conjunction with Lose-It. When I started using FitBit, the food monitoring was not as comprehensive as it is today, plus I had been using Lose-It for several years and had a good database built up in it. The FitBit app and Lose-It speak to one another so they will work together. Your FitBit step data and food data will sync back and forth with another and if you have the FitBit Aria scale all three will and do work together. When the FitBt app syncs with Lose-IT it will sync the calorie count for the entire meal rather than each item that you entered in Lose-It. If you want to have a bigger breakdown then you just need to enter everything in FitBit and don't sync the meals with Lose-It. Over the years the FitBit database is getting more comprehensive since more users are using it and items keep getting added.

as far as the sleep portion goes. Not sure exactly how it works, but on the FitBit one you have to start the sleep mode when you go to bed. If you are a person that tosses and turns a lot it will show that you had a lot of movement. If you are a person that pretty much sleeps in the same position most of the night then it will show you had a better sleep. It will also record anytime you get up to go to the bathroom because the steps will also be counted as well. The charts will show times of activity and inactivity and they will rate your sleep pattern. It is very interesting and eye opening. How that will exactly work with the Flex I am not sure since it doesn't seem to have the button like the One does.

 

[japanime]

I've logged 18,000 miles using the Nike+ system in its various iPod and iPhone incarnations since 2006, and have had my eye on the Fuelband. This Fitbit Flex has piqued my interest, though. I wonder if it would be worth using the Flex as an around-the-clock monitor, while continuing with Nike+ on my iPhone for long-distance workouts.

 

[dingster1]

I've been waiting for the Flex to come out! Using Myfitnesspal right now nay iPad. Hoping for a native BB10 app...

 

[Chupa Chupa]

In my opinion, the Fuelband is the most usless.

+1

The flex is probably the best of the 3, it has everything the other 2 have combined. With the exception of the Display on the Nike+

I've been using the FuelBand almost since it launched and have had my share of dissatisfaction with it BUT it has helped me maintain motivate and I've gone from walking at a 1mi/20 min pace to running 1mi/10 min pace. Also have gone from walking 4 miles daily to running 4 miles 5 days/week and 10 miles one day week.

I'm always on the lookout for improvement so I snatched up a Flex yesterday @ BB while I could (they sold out fast). I can't really judge it on accuracy yet but...

The Fuel Band wins on:

1) communication (display in band)
2) charging convenience (USB built into band, no adapter needed, no need to disassemble to charge like the Flex.
3) attractiveness (says a lot b/c the Fuelband is ugly IMHO, but the Flex looks a bit dorky on the wrist as it's very thick near the LED window.

Also huge disappointment with the Flex: does not count stairs climbed like the The One.

The Flex wins on:

1) More complete app (lets you enter in activities, water consumption, food eaten

2) Sleep monitoring if you are in to that. The Fuel Band is useless when sleeping

3) Syncing (Flex syncs automatically to iDevice via BT, though no idea if this is a battery eater. The Fuel Band must be manually synced by pushing a button on the band).

As of right now I'm still sticking w/ the FuelBand. It's the best of an unsatisfying lot. The market is still wide open for a truly complete wearable activity monitor. As I use the Flex the next few days my mind may change, but only if the Flex turns out to be more accurate than the Fuel Band, which consistently under counts my runs on pavement, and severely so on machines (treadmill, elliptical).

----------

I have a FitBit One and I love it. The Flex does the exact same thing as the One, with but you can wear it on your wrist.

Just an FYI, the Flex DOES NOT count stairs climbed like the One.

 

[fruitpunch.ben]

My UP band just had to be RMA'd after only 4 months. Still better than 3 times in 3 weeks with 1.0 version. This looks more appealing if they can add enhance the features. Plus it's at $99, which is a better entry point.

Yeah I bought mine in January. It recently started losing charge in about 6 hours. Been waiting a couple weeks for support to get its act together, stop telling me to reset the band (which I already tried before I emailed them!) and get me a new one. I hope it lasts longer!
The Flex looks okay, but it really doesn't have any features the Up doesn't, has a much uglier app, and imho, the band doesn't look as good. So I'm happy with the Up, and confident enough in their warranty process (after the V1 fiasco) that I'll take my chances with another one.

EDIT: and since they just bought bodymedia, I'm expecting some sweet new features in V3!

 

[Chupa Chupa]

EDIT: and since they just bought bodymedia, I'm expecting some sweet new features in V3!

Yup. What killed the UP for me was the clumsy syncing in conjunction with lack of any information on the band itself. People wear these bands for instant feedback on how they are doing for the day and the UP makes it much more difficult than competing bands. The styling is OK, but clearly form over function AFAIC.

The Fuel Band is hardly feature rich so I don't know why no one dares bust open this market with something ground breaking. Every new version of every brand feels like V1.x rather than V2. Nike doesn't even bother updating other than new colors (Whoopee!).

 

[spazzcat]

I've been using the FuelBand almost since it launched and have had my share of dissatisfaction with it BUT it has helped me maintain motivate and I've gone from walking at a 1mi/20 min pace to running 1mi/10 min pace. Also have gone from walking 4 miles daily to running 4 miles 5 days/week and 10 miles one day week.

I'm always on the lookout for improvement so I snatched up a Flex yesterday @ BB while I could (they sold out fast). I can't really judge it on accuracy yet but...

The Fuel Band wins on:

1) communication (display in band)
2) charging convenience (USB built into band, no adapter needed, no need to disassemble to charge like the Flex.
3) attractiveness (says a lot b/c the Fuelband is ugly IMHO, but the Flex looks a bit dorky on the wrist as it's very thick near the LED window.

Also huge disappointment with the Flex: does not count stairs climbed like the The One.

The Flex wins on:

1) More complete app (lets you enter in activities, water consumption, food eaten

2) Sleep monitoring if you are in to that. The Fuel Band is useless when sleeping

3) Syncing (Flex syncs automatically to iDevice via BT, though no idea if this is a battery eater. The Fuel Band must be manually synced by pushing a button on the band).

As of right now I'm still sticking w/ the FuelBand. It's the best of an unsatisfying lot. The market is still wide open for a truly complete wearable activity monitor. As I use the Flex the next few days my mind may change, but only if the Flex turns out to be more accurate than the Fuel Band, which consistently under counts my runs on pavement, and severely so on machines (treadmill, elliptical).

----------



Just an FYI, the Flex DOES NOT count stairs climbed like the One.

I like the UP the best, but after my version 2 only lasted 40 days, I have given up on Jawbone. I used the original Fitbit the longest, and only stopped using it when it died from sweat! 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. I bike around 2000 miles every year. So, I upgraded/replaced my Fitbit with the One. I didn't get the flex for reason you listed. I like have my stairs count. I just wish the sleep tracking was my like the UP.