I got a Charge HR for Christmas. I really like it, although used the alarm for the first time this morning and got a bit of a shock.

Have noticed, though, that if I play the piano for a while my step count goes up!

I went clubbing, and fitbit reported 20,000 steps. But they were only the flailing of arms.

With the heart rate monitor reported to be totally inaccurate, how useful is it, really?

I'm glad to see that the market for trackers has been proven, although Fitbit stocks are taking a dive. There is still vast room for improvement. I suppose the industry will slowly roll out "advances" through planned obsolescence. I'd like to see better tracking of heart rates, breath, body temperature, blood composition, hell throw in a full EKG and EEG to boot. It may be a decade before we get there.

New year work adjustment period.

Yes, but I haven't found better sleep tracker yet:
http://www.wareable.com/withings/bes...s-and-monitors

You can set the Fitbit to "record a workout" if you're doing anything that could confuse it. And dancing is still exercise after all

The native food tracking is useless on all. Syncing to MyFitnessPal is easy and much more accurate and I've found (almost) every Swiss product on there.

----

I've used the original Jawbone Up, Garmin Vivosmart and most recently the Huawei smartwatch. Boy has used the Fitbit Flex. Boy ditched the Fitbit within a week because it was too much effort and hasn't gone back to a tracker, I upgraded my Up for being buggy. To be fair - these were both 1st gen and I'm a girl geek perpetual early adopter who can put up with the teething pain and tears

Vivosmart: love it. The design is futuristic and sleek, the tracking is automatic across sleep and waking and is seems pretty accurate. Syncing is painless. The best parts: (1) great as a watch; (2) waterproof; (3) can receive notifications and even read messages (though cannot reply). For 110 Fr., I thought it was a great deal.

Huawei Smartwatch: I just got this yesterday. I'm not too convinced about the step counting yet - this may be because the watch strap needs adjusting and it's picking up too few movements. HR monitor is pretty accurate. On the "smart" features, I'm quite impressed so far - voice recognition is (mostly) accurate in all three languages I speak but speaking into my wrist is taking some getting used to!

The downside of all the apps I've found so far? Terrible at moving across timezones. I'd really love not be called lazy for sleeping more than average across a 24 hour period when on a plane adjusting to a 8hr time difference...

"It can kill you"? A bit melodramatic.


Moving your feet and your hands is, as far as exercise goes, very similar to walking. the 20000 refers to total steps that day, not just the time spent dancing.

It tells you right in the packaging that if you want to record HR while exercising accurately it needs to be tight to your wrist, so you will likely need to have it one clasp tighter. if you keep it loose, it doesn't pick up the signal bouncing back from those green lights properly, as half of the signals get lost. I've been using mine for months, with zero problems. this isn't a fault with the Fitbit - any HR tracker that isn't tight to your skin will have problems.


And, no, they wont be sued - this is not the US.

The Surge does adapt to different time zones, but you need to make sure you have your phone in the right time zone, and you've enabled the function in the app.

hmmm, that sounds credible

Fitbit hit with class-action suit over inaccurate heart rate monitoring

Right, I need one of these, have just engaged in a diet bet with someone at work.

J2488 - I think I'll get the Surge, but also play a lot of football. During a game, what meaningful readings can you get? If I play indoor as well as 11-a-side, providing I hide it under my shirt during official games, can it do useful tracking on both, esp distance ran in outdoor?

You can set it so it automatically starts recording when you've been playing for 5 minutes (useful if you forget to start it yourself).


It will continuously measure the time you've been playing (which can be paused, if you have a break), your heart rate, steps, distance, GPS (if you like, to record forward runs, etc), and the calories burned. Once you sync it to your phone, it will also tell you exactly how much time you spent in each heart training zone, and how that compares to previous games.

If you want it on 24/7 and wear a "normal watch" too then get a Charge HR. A Fitbit Surge is really only useful for running or as a watch replacement, and it's too big to comfortably sleep with imo.

I'm considering a replacement for my running watch (a MotoActv - real old school), so the Surge looks interesting. I'm wondering: what exactly do I gain with a sleep tracker? Can anyone here honestly say they've improved their lives by monitoring their sleep?

I asked for a Withings Activite for Xmas. Very pleased with it. Doesn't have as much function as other trackers but does all I need without needing to be charged all the time. It looks for all intents like a normal watch so I only wear a 'proper' watch on the odd occasion when I am going out now.

Shall I make you all cry? On Gadget Show last night they were comparing Fitbit with apps you can get for your mobile phone and concluded the apps were just as good - and they're all free!

My phone is in my bag, and I don't carry it with me all the time, far from it. Whereas a Fitbit is small enough to be carried from the moment I wake up till I go to bed at night. That makes it worthwhile to me.

So's a pedometer and still a lot cheaper than a Fitbit.

First day with the Surge. Did some gym stuff at lunch, tracking seemed good and HR was in line with what the machine was telling me. Calories on the watch (I presume more accurate) were a little less than billed on the machine.

So far, I like it, but the only gripe is the utterly stupid charge socket / cable. Some proprietary nonsense that barely fits into the socket and wobbles around once in there.

A couple of weeks later and I can confirm that my Fitbit Charge HR is very accurate vs my Withings blood pressure monitor... both just measured a 66bpm resting heart rate, and the Withings took an average of result of 3 measurements.

The Withings is a great device, I like it a lot.

No evidence that fitness trackers make you healthier, study says

From here

Which is what I would have thought.

Still, I suppose it makes some people happy to feel they are trendy.

This is old news, it has long been known that 50% of people stop using them within a year. But did you read that study fully, from the university website? I did. http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicin...l.pmed.1001953

It doesn't categorically say that wearables don't help to improve health and fitness, it says that there is simply too little scientific evidence to support a conclusion that they do, and that the evidence we have is mainly anecdotal. This is to be expected given the relative youth of the market, the change from inconsequential fad to the huge multi-billion market they are today, and the fact that technology is only just now, in the last year or two getting to the point where wearing them 24/7 is actually comfortable with decent battery life. As technology further advances it will only improve the situation simply by making us more aware of our bodies in an increasingly detailed and seamless way.

Ultimately, a wearable is only any good if you can back it up with the desire to get fitter, otherwise what do you think it can do... mind control? You can't force someone to do what they don't want to do, and deep-rooted behavioural changes have to take place, however minor, to make them effective to any degree.

There are some good white papers on it here http://endeavourpartners.net/white-papers/

As a result of wearing mine I am more conscious of the amount of activity I do per day, and as a result I walk more and take more stairs. I have adjusted my own behavioural patterns to the point where they are now automatic. You may think that "isn't worth it" but then again realistically who cares... the fact is that it has made a small but noticeable difference to me, and doubtless to many others who wear them. To say they make no difference whatsoever, to anyone, is simply false and unsupportable.

We live in an age of increasing obesity and death, and anything that even attempts to motivate people to do more is a good thing it in my eyes, especially when it's on your wrist and constantly reminding you.

Not sure why you seem have such a chip on your shoulder Tom, I guess you were never the trendy chap in life and it's now blossomed into a lifelong gripe?

Just kidding.