Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Slate, Small/Large

Update 12/8/15 - Fitbit just added a new firmware update for the sleep timer feature. Once updated it's no longer necessary to tap the Fitbit before going to sleep or when waking it. It will now recognize when you're inactive and have gone to sleep. It also has some new goal setting software in the app relating to sleep to make it easier to focus on getting more (or less) sleep. The graphic interface is pretty nice. I'm looking forward to using this since I've become something of a night owl and could really stand to get on a better schedule. One more thing to like about my Fitbit. The update took about 5 minutes using my iPad and plugging my Fitbit into its charger while it updated. The whole thing was simple. A red arrow on the dashboard, in the sync area alerted me to the upgrade. I really like this new feature. I bought 3 of these fitbit flex devices, one for myself, my husband and my sister. Before purchasing I researched several wristband devices such as the Jawbone UP, the Nike Fuel and and the Polar Loop. I also looked at the fitbit force which is a newer version of this band. The lack of water resistance on the force was a deal breaker for me. I wanted to be able to wear this band 24/7 and to be able to wear it in the shower or when swimming. That was part of what made it attractive to me. Also, after reading reviews about the clasp problems on the force and how many people lost them, I wanted no part of that. They are also quite a bit bigger and look clunckier. The wristband on the UP looked like it would catch on everything and had no display at all. The Polar had lots of quality problems. I wasn't crazy about the looks of the Nike. The display is nice and I can see how people would like them, but not my style. The fitbit flex, to my tastes, had the coolest look. I also know a couple of people who own the fitbit flex and they were very enthusiastic about them so that influenced me as well. So here is what I like about the flex: I like the way it looks on my wrist. All of us got the slate color. You can also order bands in a few different colors, both here and on the Fitbit site. It is lightweight and even though I don't often wear a watch I don't notice this on my wrist at all. The clasp was VERY difficult to secure the first couple of times until the rubber softened up a bit and until I got the hang of it. I secured it off of my wrist a couple times when it was new. Making sure the band and clasps are lined up correctly and then placing one finger directly below the clasp and my thumb directly above and squeezing hard was the way to do it. I like that it's water resistant and that I can wear it swimming or in the shower. It is safe down to 10 meters or around 30 feet. I like that the wristband is made of TPU rubber, which according to Wikipedia is a type of rubber used in automotive instrument panels, caster wheels, power tools, sporting goods, medical devices, drive belts, footwear, inflatable rafts, and a variety of extruded film, sheet and profile applications. I think it should hold up for a very long time. I like that the display on the band gives me a rough idea by tapping on it of my progress throughout the day. I can also check my progress on my iPhone 4S and see number of steps so far, calories burned, how many hours of sleep I got last night and how often I woke up or was restless. So far it seems very accurate. I can also track the foods I've eaten and the calories, my weight goals and weight lost, check on the weekly number of steps friend's with Fitbits have taken and compare them with my own. I like that I can wear it 24/7 and only have to take it off to charge it once every 7 days. It takes about 3 hours to charge with a USB thingie that comes with it. I use a wall adapter to charge it but could also use a USB port on my desktop or laptop computer. I've lost too many pedometers in the past by dropping them out of my pockets or forgetting about them and sending them through the washing machine, so the wristband seems like a much better option for me. I also like that I can connect wirelessly with my smartphone and with the little dongle included that goes into my desktop or laptop, can connect with those wirelessly as well. Software downloads for all of these are free. I'm also able to connect on my first gen Kindle HD 8.9 although I can't see where it's shown as a supported device so far. But it works with the Android fitbit software in the app store. The step measurements seem reasonably accurate. Waving my hand slowly won't register as a step. Waving wildly will. Driving in the car won't register but reaching around quickly in the car sometimes will. Typing on the computer or Kindle won't register. I've heard that swimming doesn't register either but you can input the time and activity on your phone or tablet. When I first got the flex I started the iPhone app and watched my steps register on my screen as I walked around the house. That, and watching my steps on the treadmill have shown it to be pretty accurate for me, although not perfect. I think that all pedometers have some inaccuracies. What I'm looking for is a comparative trend where I can tell how much exercise I'm getting. The accuracy is good enough for me. So I wake up in the morning, tap the wristband quickly a few times to tell it I'm awake. Then if I tap it twice I see one tiny blinking light, telling me I'm working on my first 2,000 steps. Later, when I've hit that mark and tap to check again, I'll see one solid light and the second one blinking. There are 5 lights total and each represents 2,000 steps (or 20% of my goal. I could set it up differently on my computer, using a different number of steps as my daily goal if I wanted to.) So I can see my approximate progress any time during the day. When I hit my goal of 10,000 steps the band vibrates and all the lights flash. That means you done good! I can set up to 8 silent vibrating alarms on this fltbit. I have one to wake me up on weekdays (you can specify which days) and one at 8:00 each night to remind me stop eating for the day. The vibration gets my attention and is effective at waking me up. I set the alarms on my computer or phone. At night when I'm in bed and ready to go to sleep I tap the wristband rapidly a few times, it vibrates briefly, and goes into the sleep mode until I wake it again in the morning. So am I happy that I purchased the Fitbits for myself and my family members? Yes I am. It motivates me to walk or run more. I can connect to other friends and family with Fitbits to see everyone's weekly step progress but what really motivates me is just competing against myself. I'll find myself parking in the back of the parking lots at stores to log those extra steps or walking around the store longer because it's a good way to add even more. When I haven't reached my goal at night, I'll sometimes walk around the house several times just to hit a number. Now that can't be all bad, can it? Update 1/12/14 - I'll keep updating this review with comments and observations as I use this device. I noticed that walking at a rapid pace is counted as "active minutes". Someone on a message board suggested adding a touch of lotion to the clasp if you're having trouble getting it to clasp when it's new. Update 1/16/14 - A full charge is lasting just a bit over 7 days. It takes about 3 hours to recharge it fully. Update 1/21/14 - Some people have complained about this band coming undone and losing it. I haven't had any problems with it at all, even when pulling tight coat and shirt sleeves over it, brushing my arm against things or the dog pulling on it once or twice. (I'm sure the dog could have pulled it off if I didn't stop him.) The other day I had the dog's leash wrapped around the wrist with the Fitbit and even with the dog pulling against the leash the fitbit stayed on. We walked this way a couple of miles before I noticed it and unwrapped the leash from my wrist. But even with all that agitation my fitbit stayed put. It has stayed on through enough that I'm not very concerned about losing it. I've only taken it off to charge it. I have the band snug enough that I can only put one finger beneath the band but I can move it a couple of inches back and forth on my wrist. Update 7/3/14 - A new update that works with iPhones that use the Fitbit app was released a few days ago. I've used it with my iPhone 4S and really like the new upgrade. It adds a whole new dimension to my Fitbit app. With the upgrade, I just click on the exercise icon on the dashboard which takes me to a new screen showing the days of the week that I've exercised. (Meaning a walk, run or hike, something in addition to the regular walking in my daily activities.) This screen shows exercise frequency by day of the week, it puts a check on the days that you do some planned exercise. If I click the little stopwatch in the upper right-hand corner, it takes me to a screen where I can click Walk, Run, or Hike. I go back and can then click Cues which takes me to another screen where I can select whether or not I want to hear spoken cues. I can also tell it which cues I want including: Distance, Time, Average Pace, Split Pace, and Calories Burned. Then I go back again an can select the frequency of the cues from every .5 miles to every 5 miles. Or, I can make the cues time based ranging from every 2 minutes, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes. I can also select the volume of the cues. (Medium was perfect for me.) Then, back again to select a playlist from my iPhone's loaded tunes. Last, I allowed location services for Fitbit in my phone settings and I was ready to go. Now I see a big red circle with a Start arrow on the screen over a GPS map showing my location. I pop in my earphones, click Start and my music starts playing. As I walk, I can see a screen showing how far I've walked, rate per mile, time elapsed. Every half mile a voice interrupts my music telling me how far I've gone and all the other things I've specified in Cues that I wanted to know. Then it goes back to playing my music until it's time for my next designated Cue. How cool is that? It works seamlessly. At the end of my walk I tell it I'm finished (or I could also pause it if I stop to talk to a neighbor or something). When I'm finished (or even during the walk or run) I can see a little red line showing my route on the map. The steps from my walk are added to my steps count, just as they always are. I love these new features. They add a lot to the Fitbit experience. For those of you who track calories and foods eaten in the Fitbit app, the update now includes a bar code scanner. So far, the things I've scanned have been in their database. If you don't see the bar code symbol in the upper right-hand corner of the Log Food screen, log out of the Fitbit app and then log back in and it should be there. Update 11/28/14 - If something happened to ithis Fitbit today, what would I replace it with? Another one just like it. If one of the new Fitbit models was interchangeable with it on a daily basis I might get one of those too, just because I like new technology. But this one would be my main fitness band. I would like having a watch built in, but then it would look kind of silly wearing a conventional watch on the other arm. And I have a lot of nice watches. Update 12/12/14 - I just noticed today that the Fitbit Flex is the #1 Best Seller on Amazon this holiday season. It does seem like when I see people wearing fitness bracelets, this is the one they're most often wearing. A lot of the competitors have lowered prices significantly on their devices which is probably the best indicator of all. It's nice to know that I'm not the only Fitbit fan after wearing it for nearly a year. :) Update 12/26/14 - My Fitbit looks all new for the holidays. This replacement bracelet took over 20 days to arrive but for about $2 it was worth the wait. 1pc Small S Black with White Dots Spots Replacement Band With Clasp for Fitbit FLEX Only /No tracker/ Wireless Activity Bracelet Sport Wristband Fit Bit Flex Bracelet Sport Arm Band Armband A couple people have asked me how the bands hold up over time. I have to tell them that I don't know since I'm wearing different colored ones almost every day. They don't have much of a chance to show wear. After almost a year of wearing these 24/7, none of us have had one come off accidentally. Even the cheap knock-off bands seem sturdy and reliable like the original. And I'm not a very careful person about pulling tight sleeves over it or draping grocery bag handles over my arm. I have the steps across our back patio counted out by counting them myself. It is 60 steps back and forth once. (Yeah, I know, way too anal.) Oftentimes when I haven't hit my 10,000 steps for the day, I'll go out and walk back and forth with my iPad on the patio table to check my progress. I know from doing this that the Fitbit step count is dead-on accurate for counting steps when walking. Dancing will add steps which I think is fair since it's at least as good as walking for exercise. Update 1/30/15 - I can't believe I've had my Fitbit Flex for over a year already. I'm still wearing it 24/7 as a great motivator to keep moving. I've had several people email me with questions about the way it counts steps so I thought I'd share this with you. I tested another fitness band recently, wearing it on the same arm as the Fitbit. The other band recorded a lot more steps than the Fitbit. I've "manually" counted steps while walking around different areas around my house and compared them to the Fitbit and found them to be exactly the same. But I never did it for more than about 100 steps. Now I was curious because the readings on the two bands were so different. So I went for a walk and counted out 1,000 steps as I took them, counting in my head. (Mumbling under my breath, actually.) Before I started, I noted the starting number of steps on my iPhone for both bands using the apps for each. At the end, I checked the number of steps for both bands. The Fitbit recorded 1004 steps. The other band recorded 1,217. Only 4 extra steps on the Fitbit is pretty impressive and is close enough for me. I'm contacting the manufacturer of the other band to see why it's so far off. Several people didn't realize that you can adjust the stride for the Fitbit. Just log into the dashboard in your Fitbit app, click on the little gear thingy in the upper right hand corner and select "Settings". There's a field there for Stride Length and Running Stride Length. You can manually enter your personal stride length. If you leave these blank, the app will estimate the values based on your height and whether you are a man or woman. Click the "Update Profile" button to save your changes. Remember to sync to update your tracker with the new stride measurements. I didn't even realize I could do this until several months after I had my Fitbit. I guess it must have estimated correctly in my case because when I put it in manually I didn't notice a difference. Update 4/30/15 - Fitbit has an update that now allows you to track multiple Fitbit devices on your Fitbit app. I haven't tried this, but from what I understand this will allow you to go back and forth between other models and once registered it will recognize them automatically. It's tempting to try the Fitbit Charge or the Surge that can measure heart rate or pulse or have caller ID. They're bulkier than I would like to wear on an all-the-time basis, but would be nice for workouts. And new technology is always fun. The Flex is still my first love and I like the switchable bands, but I'll look at the new models now that it isn't an either/or decision. Here are their instructions for adding another Fitbit: Update your Fitbit app (if you haven’t already) ‘Set Up a New Fitbit Device’ from the Account tab in the Fitbit mobile app or Fitbit Connect Finish the setup instructions, and start swapping – we’ll take care of the rest! Update 5/7/15 - Has everyone seen the new Fitbit commercial? I usually fast forward through TV commercials on the DVR, but this one I recorded and kept until I could find it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0qVi_nF6y8 This makes me smile every time I watch it. Update 1/24/16 - When I purchased my Flex a little over 2 years ago it was advertised as being "Water resistant to 10 meters or 33 feet" which is 1 ATM. Their website now states: "Flex has been tested up to 1 ATM meaning it is sweat, rain and splash proof. However, the device is not swim proof. We also recommend taking Flex off before showering because, as with any wearable device, it’s best for your skin if the band stays dry and clean." The definition of 1 ATM, as I understand it is that it indicates that under static (nonmoving) conditions at 10 meters below the surface of the water the pressure of the water will not breach the seals on the device. But I can't take it into the shower? Perhaps even more confusing is the Fitbit Surge is rated at 5 ATM (50 meters) and has the same warning about not being swim proof and not to be worn in the shower. Are they just trying to ensure that users don't abuse the tracker? That said, I always shower with mine, I never dry it off afterward except the top when I'm drying my arms. I don't swim often but when I do, I leave it on. If I were going to spend a lot of time swimming on a regular basis I might take it off since it doesn't track swimming anyway. But for splashing around in a pool occasionally, I don't worry about it. My skin is somewhat sensitive to watch bands and I'm allergic to some metals and other materials. I couldn't be much LESS careful about the Fitbit and have never had a problem with the band and my skin. The underside is often damp from getting wet in the shower even half an hour later and it hasn't bothered my wrist. Being able to wear this 24/7 was a major selling point for me and it has worked just fine since January 2014.

SUMMARY: This device will not do anything for you, but it will help you make good decisions about what you need to do yourself. Fitness is hard work. If I had to sum up what this device is doing for me, it is this. It is keeping me utterly honest about everything. I cannot lie to myself about how many calories I'm burning. It won't let me. Just knowing there is a record motivates me to make sure it is a good one. It's the same effect one gets if they know they are being graded.  ****** THE LONG VERSION I have been using the fitbit flex for five days now and I have fewer pounds and great fitting pants already, so it would be hard to regret my purchase. I went ahead and set my fitbit up to integrate with MyFitnessPal as soon as I set it up, so I have no idea how it works without it. Setting it up was a breeze. Go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/fitbit and follow the instructions. Once it is set up it gives you a warning that you should only enter your food on MFP to avoid double entries. I have entered everything I eat on MFP, and the info magically finds it's way to my fitbit dashboard, and there have been no problems whatsoever. Entering exercise is a little more complicated. Once you've done the integration, your MFP exercise entries will require one extra step--the start time of your exercise. My entries consist mostly of running and swimming. Technically, I don't need to enter the runs, since the pedometer takes care of them just fine, but when I do enter a run, the two apps manage it well. MFP gives the start time and duration of the run to fitbit, and fitbit takes that info and does some calculations that take the pedometer data into account, and comes up with a number of calories burned. I have run into one snag...if I edit the start time of my entry in MFP after I've already logged it, it causes the exercise to log twice on fitbit and I have to go into fitbit and manually remove the double entry. Sometimes I'm lazy and I don't enter the runs in MFP and I just let fitbit use the pedometer data exclusively....I've not taken a close enough look at the difference to comment on it, but it seems to work well either way as far as calorie counting. I just prefer knowing the speed and duration of specific intervals and that data is lost if I don't enter it into MFP. I take the flex off when I swim laps, since I have a watch that counts my laps and distances for me and wearing both would be cumbersome. I enter my swims manually into MFP, and fitbit automatically calculates it all. I've had no problems. You'll have a new thing in your MFP display too. Your exercise log will have a "fitbit calorie adjustment" entry. For whatever reason, fitbit lets me eat just a little less than fitness pal does, so the math is obviously a little different on the two programs. If you are tall and have abnormally long legs like me, you may have to adjust fitbit's default stride settings. Their website can tell you how. The biggest lifestyle change for me has been brought about by the in-your-face awareness of just how sedentary sitting at a computer is. On days when I work at my desk, 6PM rolls around and I've only got maybe 500 steps logged. I'll hit the gym to do my 3 mile jog, and still be no where near the 10 thousand step goal that is the default setting for the fitbit, so I end up walking on the treadmill until I get there. I find myself going on long walks after my swim too. Maybe I'm crazy, but I can't stand to go to bed without meeting my step goals first, even if I've logged a long swim, but whatever the reasons, it is working, and fast. I am losing weight again after stalling out for quite a while. I mentioned only having 500 steps after a day at my desk. Yesterday I had my first day away from my desk...shopping, a little yardwork, housework, just getting all the little things that need done around the house...at 5pm I had logged 8000 steps and was almost to my goal. I mention this because I think this is what makes the fitbit worthwhile. It quantifies how sedentary your life is on a given day and then tells you exactly what you need to do to make up for it. And I know, if you are a desk worker like me, that 10,000 steps is going to seem a bit ridiculous after a day at the office, but trust me, if you can make yourself make up for it, you will be blown away by the results. I hesitate to put the numbers down for my weight loss over the last 5 days, because I have frankly lost weight faster than I should and I don't want to invite trolls or create unrealistic expectations...everyone is different. I am eating more than 2000 calories a day (within the recommendations of the app set at medium plan intensity), I'm not starving myself, and yes, my legs were pretty tired the first few days, but I promise, I feel great. I'll be at my goal of 145 in a couple of weeks at this rate. The fitbit didn't lose that weight for me...I worked my butt off all by myself, but fitbit helped me figure out what I needed to be doing. **** I know this review is getting long, but I wanted to mention a couple of other things. I LOVE the sleep monitoring. I have random bouts of insomnia, and I sometimes wake up repeatedly all night, and this thing has done a brilliant job of measuring how much time I've actually spent sleeping vs. how much time I've been in bed. And that number of hours of actual sleep correlates almost perfectly to how I feel, mentally, through the day. The default sensitivity is perfect for me...though I have seen it isn't so much for other people. It is easy to turn it on for naps too. Just tap it five times when you lay down, and again when you get up. You can fix it manually in the website if you forget...it will still have the movement data regardless of whether you tap it or not, it just needs to know when you were sleeping to fix it all. It accidentally goes into sleep mode here and there...once when I was using a hammer drill, once when I was using a hammer, and once when I was shaking a bottle of cat antibiotics to mix it, but when that happens, you know because it vibrates, and if you tap it five times right away to bring it out of sleep mode, it won't mess up your data.

After working with the Fitbit for about 3 weeks, I have developed a deep affection for the device but have also learned that the Fitbit under-counts the number of steps by a huge amount. I was interested in - Steps taken - Distance travelled - Active minutes - Calories burned How accurate is this data? Read on to find out, but although the quality of the data is iffy, the Fitbit is a fantastic tool for keeping active. On other issues like setup, sleep anaylsis, web interface and the iOS app (after the latest update), the Fitbit rates very highly. -- Steps taken I tested the step accuracy by walking for 15 minutes, using the GPS in a Garmin to measure distance, and a clicker to count the steps. The Fitbit recorded 1,059 steps, and 0.6 miles, while the clicker gave me 1,707 steps and the GPS claimed 0.91 miles. These numbers show that the Fitbit data is about 60% of the actual data. This is a huge difference!!! I have repeated this test with similar results; in all cases, the number of steps was at most 70% of the actual numbers. I have learned to live with this lack of accuracy by modifying the number of daily steps in my goals; instead of 10,000 steps, I aim for 7,000 steps. How about the number of steps if you log an activity? Below is data for some activities: - Vinyasa Yoga (1 hour): 68 steps - Rowing at 150 watts (15 minutes): 230 steps - Body Pump (1 hour): Varies between 774 and 942. - Cycling at 15-16 mph (1 hour): 3,927 steps - Cycling at 16+ mph (1 hour): 2,750 steps If you equate steps with effort, then these numbers are low (compare them to walking for 1 hour). But this is intrinsic to any device that measures effort via arm movements. You just need to adjust your goals, not a big deal. -- Distance travelled The Fitbit measures distance by multiplying the number of steps by the stride length; if you have not set a stride length in your profile, Fitbit derives one from your age and height. Once I realized this, I lost interest in distance (I can multiply numbers). -- Active minutes The only way that I could get Fitbit to credit me with active minutes was by logging an activity. Otherwise Fitbit is stingy with active minutes. For example, today I did more than 10,000 steps but only got 2 active minutes. Sigh! -- Calories burned What is a calorie? Seems to depend on the person, heart rate profile, and body efficiency. Estimates from heart monitors and other devices vary by huge amounts, so I use them to indicate trends. Below are the numbers from some activities as measured by Fitbit and the data from the HealthStatus site - Vinyasa Yoga (1 hour): 434 calories, HealthStatus 574 calories - Rowing at 150 watts (15 minutes): 127 calories, HealthStatus 142 calories - Body Pump (1 hour): 357 calories, HealthStatus 400 calories - Cycling at 15-16 mph (1 hour): 601 calories, HealthStatus 696 calories It looks like Fitbit consistently gives lower numbers than HealthStatus so you can use this information to adjust the number of calories burned to stay at your weight (or whatever). HealthStatus claims that 2128 calories is the right number for a moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) man of my age and weight, so I am using 2300 as my goal; I may revise if my weight starts changing.

***Updated 8-25-2013*** I took a morning walk today and brought the same 3 devices with me that I used in my first comparison. The results were very different and not so good for the Fitbit Flex. Nike+ = 4.02 miles. New Balance Via Active pedometer 4.11 miles. 9665 steps. Fitbit Flex band 3.69 miles??? 8276 steps??? I tend to think the Nike+ app and the Pedometer are closer to correct since the distances they measured are very close to each other. I have walked the neighborhood before too and think from previous experience that I was right near 4 miles. If that's the case, then why is the Fitbit Flex so low compared to the other two? The Flex battery is fully charged, I just charged it last night. And the numbers are the most recent as I synced the Flex to the computer as soon as I got into the house from the walk. What's more confusing is that originally, I was finding that on a daily basis, the Flex was giving me more steps then I normally took. It still does. So this morning's result is pretty shocking. I definitely have to change my thinking that the Fitbit Flex is to be used more to give you a VERY GENERAL idea of how much you have done and not trusted to give an accurate accounting. Addressing something I said in the original review, Fitbit did send me an XL sized band when I requested it. I did wear the Flex on my left arm (non-dominant) next to my watch for a few days, I did not find any appreciable change in the readings the Flex was giving me. So I am back to wearing it on my right arm (dominant) for comforts sake. On the plus side, syncing with the phone and the computer still works mostly flawlessly, though sometimes I cannot sync to the computer because apparently, the Fitbit dongle doesn't always get detected by the computer again when it wakes up from sleep mode. The Fitbit Connect software will tell me the dongle cannot be found. This generally won't correct itself until I reboot the computer. For the accuracy issues, I am taking away a star from my rating and giving it 3 stars. ***Original Review*** The reason for writing this was to give an idea of the accuracy of the Fitbit Flex. I took my first walk this morning wearing the Flex. For comparison, I also wore an old style digital pedometer and I also had the Nike + app running on my phone. Here are the results after a little more then 3 mile walk. Nike+ 3.41 miles. 428 calories New Balance Via Active pedometer 3.37 miles. 1346 calories 7677 steps Fitbit Flex band 3.43 miles 1378 calories 7527 steps Overall, not too bad. Considering the Nike+ app is using Gps to calculate distance but the other two devices are just using motion sensors, all the results are fairly close. The reason the calorie count for the Nike is so much lower is that it's only showing calories for the amount of distance traveled. The Fitbit and the pedometer are, I believe, giving what they consider a Total calorie count the body has burned so far in the day since midnight, both from the walk and just by being alive. So in this case, I have to give the Fitbit Flex good marks. BUT, and there is always a but, I do think that when just going about your everyday stuff, the Flex is a little too sensitive. I remember the average step count the old Fitbit Ultra used to give me after a day of work and the Fitbit Flex is consistantly 1000 steps or more higher for a day. I have also tested it myself, downloading the data now, and then downloading again say 15 to 30 minutes later when I have just been sitting at the computer or after just moving the steering wheel while driving. And sure enough, the step count will have gone up some. I am sure it's picking up just the random motion of the arm while typing, moving the mouse around or just doing other random stuff and counting it as steps. Fitbit even says on its website that: "Flex is a motion sensor on your wrist. There are many instances where your hands may be moving, but your body may not be, such as playing the drums, cooking, or even burping a baby. Flex may count some extra steps here and there to give you credit when it thinks you are active." So if you need something that's dead on accurate for a whole day of activity, this may not be the best thing for it. But for actually walking/running, the Fitbit Flex seems to have done a pretty good job. Additionally, I find the Flex mostly comfortable to wear and you forget it's there. I currently wear the Flex on my dominant hand because I have a watch on the non-dominant hand. Fitbit does suggest wearing the band on the non-dominant hand. Maybe once I get the XL band, I can wear the Flex next to my watch on the other arm (it won't fit higher on that arm now) and the accuracy might improve. I have the Fitbit Connect software on my computer and have the Fitbit app on my Galaxy S3 phone. Syncing works flawlessly with both of them.

**********Still IN LOVE with this Fitbit! I have had no problem with it becoming loose or falling off, the charge lasts for daaayyyysss! I am moving more than ever! Down 5 pounds toward my goal weight!!!!! Get moving! : ) 1 WEEK TODAY!!!! I am in LOVE with this Fitbit. I had wondered why I was gaining weight. . .easy answer. . .I eat more than I move! Now, this may seem a no brainer. . .but with an office job, I did not realize how much I was not moving and what poor choices of food I was choosing to eat quickly. This fitbit is a motivator for me. . .constant reminder to get up and move. . .to make smarter choices with my food. I like that it encourages me to compete with me for my physical well being. And, I can now connect to my friends on FB who are also Fitbit addicts. . .I have nothing negative to say about this. The band is comfortable. . .when you put it on listen for the clicks and it is secure. . .my band has not fallen loose much less fallen off. . .secure all day. I love Fitbit! *********Weekend update: I found I do not have to set my flex for when I am about to sleep, it monitors it on its own. ' I was pleasantly surprised about how much I walked just during everyday cleaning, but was surprised that "active minutes" never registered anything. But, today after going outside to walk and pick up downed limbs around my land I was surprised when I checked my app and already had 27 active minutes, so it definitely picks up when your walking includes more effort. I know you are supposed to be able to shower with it on, but for now I am afraid to lol. I have took it on and off with no assistance and have had NO problems with it falling off and it continues to get more comfortable. I am purposefully drinking more water so I can log it and eating less so I don't have to log it '. Also, it makes me want to keep moving so I can beat my day before. However so far can still not connect to fb to challenge my friends, this is apparently an issue for many right now. Will update again soon! ******************************************************************* I received my Fitbit flex yesterday. I chose the slate color thinking it would blend in nicely with the outfits I choose for work. I also chose the flex because of the price, until I see what I do with it and how useful I find it. I may choose to stick with the flex or upgrade depending on my experience. The packaging was great. It comes with two bands, a small and a large. The actual "brain" is in the large but slips easily into the small. I watched one of many YouTube videos to have a heads up on how to begin. I immediately put the "brain" part into the charger, included, and plugged it in with the dock from my iPhone. It reached 60% within minutes and that is all you need to begin. I downloaded the Fitbit app on my IPhone 6s and it literally walked me through step by step on how to get it set up and going. Setup was a breeze. I quickly put it on my arm, with my daughters help. The band was a little hard to get on by myself, but I did snap it and unsnap it several times before I put it in to loosen it up. Also the clasp was on the large band but it switched right over to the small easily. I walked around the house doing regular chores, checked my app and was pleased to see it was indeed counting my steps and calories burned. I decided to play with it more and went to the calories part. How easily it was to add in my food intake for the day, and it recognized each food I put in, I did not even need instructions to do this, just minutes to sit down and play with it. I was not happy to see how many calories I had actually consumed while hurriedly eating at work '. I do think this is going to make me more aware and hopefully for that I will make better choices, if I can commit to being faithful to this, we will see. I did wear it to bed and whenever I woke up I was aware that it was on my arm. I may loosen it or just see if over time I don't notice it at night, it is very comfortable when I am up and moving. I did forget to let it know I was going to bed so it did not monitor my sleep, this morning it did say I got 8.5 hours asleep, but I am not sure where that info came from. But, I did go to bed close to 10pm and was up a few minutes after 6:00 am since it is Saturday, so I'm not sure yet how the sleep part works, gonna figure that out today. I am going to consume more water just so I can add it in to my log '. And, already this morning after about an hour of housework I am surprised how many steps I have taken. So far I am excited, pleased and ready to see what I can do with Fitbit as my motivator. I will update again in a week.

After reading reviews, both positive and negative for the Fitbit Flex, I decided to dive in and order one. After receiving the package and opening it, I found no instructions other than a handy link on a piece of paper that pointed me to the Fitbit website. No big deal. I found the band, actual Fitbit unit and components of good quality. The unit was completely dead so it needed a charging. I plugged the unit in to the charging cradle and plugged it in and magically a single LED was pulsing! After approximately 2.5 hours, I was greeted with five pulsing LED's and my unit was ready to go. Following the instructions I installed the Fitbit software on my iPhone 5s and paired the unit via Bluetooth. I was happy. My happiness was shortlived, however, as this is when things started to go downhill fast. The Fitbit app guides you through the intial setup, one being entering all your stats into the software. After entering all the pertinent data, I saved the info and went to the dashboard. I was impressed. There were graphs for calories, steps, sleep, etc. For some reason, I decided to look back at my stats and miraculously, I had lost 40 pounds and I was now 10 years younger!! The downside was I was now 0',0" tall and a female!!! I changed my information, saved it. I restarted the app. My age and gender was correct, but now I had lost another 10 pounds! So I thought, maybe three's a charm. I resaved my data one more time and everything fincally stuck....EXCEPT my weight of 230 was now 229.9 lbs. I guess I could live with a tenth of a pound. With my Fitbit on my wrist, I decided to take a few steps around the house. Upon checking the app, it was off by a few steps. Nothing terrible that I couldn't live with. I decided to head to bed as it was 11:45 p.m. to test the sleep function. I crawled into bed and gave the Fitbit the secret knock of taps... Was it three taps? Was it five? Do I tap for 5 seconds? Whatever I tried, the Fitbit would respond with a solitary blinking light. Hmm... I must not be doing something right. I get up, go to YouTube and lo and behold, there's a guy that says you have to tap on the 'curve' of the bracelet to put it into sleep mode. Ah ha!! Now I know the secret. After about 30 minutes of tapping in every possible combination of timing I still could not get the Fitbit to go into sleep mode. The plus side is the dashboard said I burned 500 calories and walked 1200 steps, so I guess I got that going for me. I finally went to bed at close to 2 a.m., frustrated and angry. I then had a thought! I had read you can set the sleep mode in the app! What was I thinking??! All that work to get the unit to go to sleep, when a simple click of a button in the app would solve all my problems. I opened the app, synced the unit and clicked the button to tell the unit I was going to bed. I layed there thinking I wonder what kind of crazy graph I would see in the morning about how many times I tossed and turned and got up to go to the bathroom. Even after getting up twice last night to use the bathroom, I was thinking of how it would look on the graph. After waking up, I promptly opened the app and stopped the sleep function. I had slept a total of 6 hours and 12 minutes. SOLID! I had not woken up or stirred once! The app said I had had the soundest sleep ever!! Needless to say, the Fitbit packed up and will be making the trip back to Amazon for a refund. Not recommended unless you deal well with frustration. Save your money.

I LOVE love love my Fitbit!! I've had the Fitbit Flex since around February and it has changed my life. The biggest impact it has had on me is that it constantly holds me accountable to my exercise and sleep. I have lost 20 pounds so far, by making diet changes, doing strength training exercises, and moving a lot. The Fitbit would not be nearly as amazing without the technology that goes along with it - the website and the app. When I have bluetooth enabled on my phone, my Fitbit data constantly syncs with my phone. I can check the app to see, in real time, exactly how many steps I've taken, how many miles I've walked, and how many minutes of my day have been "very active". Within the app or the dashboard of the Fitbit website, you can customize your goals for each of these elements. During my first week with the Fitbit, I just went about my normal life and looked at my data at the end of the week. Then I set my goals for the following week to be slightly higher than the amount I did previously. For example, if I did on average 7500 steps a day, then I set my goal for the next week to be 8000 (500 steps more). Every week I look at my data and set new goals to make sure I am constantly improving and moving more. (By the way, I paid the $50 annual fee to sign up for the Premium account. The Premium part of their website provides you with so much data, weekly reports and graphs about your food if you log it, activities, and sleep. You can also download spreadsheets of your data through the Premium tab. I highly recommend this if you are very data-driven or want to keep track of your progress.) One of my favorite features of the Fitbit is the sleep tracker. Since you always wear the Fitbit, it can track your sleep each night, including how long you're actually asleep for, how long it takes you to fall asleep, and how many times you wake up or are restless throughout the night. This is usually the most interesting part of the Fitbit when I show it to friends. I've convinced multiple coworkers to buy and use Fitbits. Fitbits are definitely more fun when you have friends that use it also. You can add friends, and then within the app or website it shows the rankings among you and your friends in terms of who has the most steps. This is REALLY motivating and fun!! Since getting the Fitbits, we are all motivated to walk more and exercise, partially because we want to be in first place in steps. We also now have a reason to talk about our active lives and what we've been up to, and I've even started working out with some of my friends. It's amazing! I've had people ask me how accurate the Fitbit is. While I can't necessarily speak to its accuracy, I can speak to its consistency. That's good enough for me, because what matters to me is that I'm moving and that I'm moving more every week than I did the week prior. I did very recently start having problems with the battery life of my Fitbit. For the last few months that I've had it, I've only had to charge the battery about once every 5 days. I also set up email and text reminders about when my battery is low so that I never let it die completely. (I don't want to lose any steps or sleep data!) When I recently started having this battery life problem, my battery would drain every 12-24 hours. I tried the troubleshooting tips on the website and then sent an email to their customer service team. They were able to check the system logs and verify the battery life error. After sending them a copy of my Amazon receipt, they sent me a brand new Fitbit package free of charge, and without me having to send in my defective tracker first. I have been very impressed every time I've contacted their customer service team. I also contacted them to see if they have any larger size wristbands. The Fitbit comes with a small and large wristband, but the large is definitely not big enough to fit my dad, who is on his own weight loss journey. After emailing them about the larger wristband size, they got my shipping information from me and sent me an extra large wristband free of charge. Wow! Thank you Fitbit! If you're debating whether or not you should spend $100 on this, I absolutely say to go for it. The motivation and information that I've gotten from this device is worth much more than $100 to me personally. If you're someone that would wear a Fitbit all the time, then it's worth it.

I compared the FitBit Ultra, BASIS Wristband and FitBit Flex I bought two of each to help rule out Duds or Lemons The Fitbit Ultra is what I have used the longest, and it has been tough and reliable for two years straight (but it is no longer manufactured). It took awhile for the barometer to kick in when I first got them. I was about to ask for an RMA when they finally started showing "stairs climbed," so if the new model, the FitBit One, is similar ... then I encourage you to be patient and give it a week to get going at full functionality. Pedometer mode: Ultra is very accurate as a Step Counter, Climbed Elevation Recorder and distance recorder; it is more accurate than the BASIS Band or the FitBit Flex BASIS Band is not consistently reliable, it often fails to register any steps for hours at a time. When it is working it works well, but it has no barometer, so does not record Elevation. Flex is not accurate as a step counter (mine over-counts by 20 to 25%) but is very consistent and it is a very accurate calorie counter. Flex has no Elevation sensor. Barometer mode: The Ultra is generally accurate, but changeable weather can cause misreadings. BASIS Band does not record elevation FitBit Flex does not record elevation Calorie estimator mode: Ultra ... generally accurate. BASIS Band when the pedometer is working, it is accurate here too. FitBit Flex ... generally accurate. Heart Rate monitor mode: Ultra does not record heart data: so "not available." BASIS Band does not have the high reliability/sensitivity level of a true medical device, but when it is showing heart data, it is very accurate FitBit Flex does not record heart data: so "not available." Skin Temperature monitor mode: Ultra Skin Temperature data not measured. BASIS Band does not have the high reliability/sensitivity level of a true medical device, but when it is showing Skin Temperature data, it is very accurate FitBit Flex Skin Temperature data not measured. Sleep sensor & analysis mode: Ultra needs to be placed in a wrist harness at night, then manually recorded via the software input editor the following day. Analysis is graphed automaticly. BASIS Band auto records sleep. Analysis is graphed automaticly. FitBit Flex can be told via tap-code to automate the sleep session record, or manually recorded via the software input editor the following day. Analysis is graphed automaticly. Wrist Watch mode: Ultra can display the hour/minute digitally, but is not a replacement for a watch. BASIS Band functions as a digital watch displaying date/day/hour/minute. FitBit Flex can not be used as a watch. User experience: Ultra needs to be placed in a wrist harness at night, the harness is a pain to use; the Ultra is simple and easy to use during the normal work day. BASIS Band simple to use, comfortable to wear. FitBit Flex's latch is difficult to master, otherwise the Flex is comfortable and it's simple to use. Software Fitbit software is flexible and simple to use "as is" or customized. Results are compatible with several other devices, Withings, for example, and FitBit graphics are printable. BASIS Software is not nearly so simple to setup, nor easy to use, nor is it always easy to Sync and display. BASIS is not customizable, exportable nor printable. Users may be reduced to screen captures as the permanent, viewable record of BASIS Band data. Online Customer Support: BASIS and FitBit both offer customer support, but I have had erroneous "help" advice from FitBit staffers 50% of the time, and they tend to be defensive when they are wrong rather than being willing to try again to troubleshoot issues. That is not a deal-breaker, but be warned that you may be disappointed by the FitBit support staff... Basis Support staff are much better, they make it clear the customer matters to Basis. For highly reliable fitness measuring devices I trust FitBit over BASIS, and for ease of sharing with a coach or medic, FitBit gets an "A" to BASIS's "F"; but when the kinks are worked out, BASIS will be a real training asset. FitBit cant touch BASIS, if the BASIS is working reliably. You can collect more data and paint a more complete pattern of ones' health and fitness using the BASIS; but the brittle and clumsy software interface cripples the BASIS. Buy both if you need a good sensor array right now and cost is not a problem; or wait for BASIS to get better software and more reliable sensors and just go with BASIS.