Along with my newly found fitness craze, there was a sudden need for a fitness band. Previously in March, I had obtained a Jawbone UP but ended up returning it because I didn't really have a need for it. But I knew the Flex was coming out, so I waited....until now! (I also bought the UP again but I ended up returning both)
Fitbit Flex - $99.99
Look and Feel:
Cool thing about the flex is that the actual working part of the Flex is small and removable so that the band colors can be interchangeable with additional bands that you can buy for $29.99. The band is sleek and has a high tech look to it. The band itself feels so comfortable, often times I forgot that I was even wearing it.
In other reviews, many people complained that it was hard to put the band on. I did not find it difficult, the trick is to wiggle the snaps together using your thumb and index finger. When you tap the Fitbit twice, a display will show up the number of dots (up to five) indicates the percentage of steps to reach your goal. For example, two dots means 4000 steps out of 10000 steps has been achieved for the day. Then to put it into sleep mode you have to tap the band repeatedly for about two seconds. This was not too difficult but I did have to do it more than once a few times to get it to work.
Syncing:
The best thing about this fitness band is that it has bluetooth capabilities. So that it can sync automatically to your phone without having to take it off. Downfall is that it is only compatible with phone that has bluetooth 4.0 and higher. This means only iPhone 4s, 5, the newer iPads, and the newer Samsung devices. All of which I had none of those, I have the HTC One. So I synced it with my iMac. Whenever my Mac was on and I was within 20 feet of it would sync automatically every 15 minutes or so. I also went back to the iPhone 5 for a day to test out the Fitbit app that went with it. I felt it looked a little overwhelming too busy looking. Since I use MyFitnessPal, I had no use for the calorie counter in the app. The only thing I was interested in was how many steps I took that day and my sleeping patterns.
Pedometer:
I felt that the pedometer was too sensitive. First of all, when I first brought the band home steps had been recorded the afternoon before I bought the band around 8 pm that night. Then at work I was just leisurely walking around and monitoring the kids at work; I managed to reach 10,000 steps in a short 4 hours. While at the gym after running a mile and then 30 minutes on the elliptical I could barely get 5,000 steps. Just like the UP band the goal amount of steps can be customized.
Water-Resistance:
I did not take any showers with my band, just for precautionary measures. But I did notice that after working up a sweat in the gym, there was sweat that traveled to the jellybean compartment of the Fitbit. It was coated in sweat, disgusting.
Alarm:
The silent alarm to wake you up is much stronger than the UP's. It shocked me awake every time but of course I would just turn it off and go back to sleep. What I did not like was that the silent alarm is not a smart alarm like in the UP. The alarm goes off just at the time you tell it to (more on this in the UP section). The alarm is indeed silent but the vibration can be felt though out the entire bed so usually it woke up Tuan before it even wakes me up.
Overall:
The Fitbit is relatively awesome but I always felt that it was missing a lot of features that the UP band has. There is only two modes on the band, awake or asleep. The silent alarm is not a smart alarm. Bluetooth syncing is a plus but is not compatible with many phones.
Jawbone UP - $129.99
Look and Feel:
Undeniably the Jawbone UP's design is sexy. The band is stiff and the band is noticeable but after a while you will become desensitized. The parts of the band runs throughout the entire band so that over-bending it will cause the parts to be damaged (I flipped out when one of my co-workers tried to take it off me and try it on, I thought she was going to break it).
When you press the button on side the indicator shows either a sun or the moon. The both can either be glowing or flashing. Each indication corresponding to different modes. Going back and forth between the modes is fairly simple by a certain amount of taps and holds. I did get confused with all the different tapping and pressing combinations. So I often would put the band into activity mode instead of sleep mode. Then when that happened, sometimes the band would not respond for a few seconds for me to fix change it back.
Syncing:
The UP syncs to any mobile device that is able to download the UP app. Since the band has to be physically taken off and the band is plugged into the headphone jack. I could totally see myself losing the jack cover that belongs to the band one day. Whenever I plugged the band into my phone it would think that it was actual headphones and would stop playing my music out loud. Maybe that just happens with my HTC One, who knows. The app is simple. It shows me what I care about, sleep and steps. There is also a section for caloric intake but I ignore that.
Pedometer:
I like that the band can be put into activity mode. It is basically a stopwatch to record your activities which can then be seen on steps section in the app. The goal steps are customizable and I had no problems with the pedometer itself.
Water-Resistance:
I did not wear the band into showers. Since there is a removable cover on the band I did not want to risk it. The band did get covered in sweat but that can be easily wiped off. After a while I did notice some fading or color disorientation on the edges around the band. I have the turquoise color so that the edges began to look green. This might be from rubbing against the desk when typing.
Alarm:
The smart alarm is pretty cool. You set the alarm at any time you want and a time interval at which you would want the alarm to go off. So for example if the alarm is at 8:30 and you set it at a 20 minute interval from the time of 8:10 to 8:50 the silent alarm will go off during a period of light sleep. The silent alarm did not feel as strong as the Flex. Sometimes I didn't even realize it was going off (I sleep like a zombie) but Tuan surely did. Also, there is a nap mode. That is if you even remember to switch it to nap mode before you pass out. In the app you can choose how long you want your naps to be so that the silent alarm will wake you up.
Overall:
The UP is pretty sweet, it has four different modes that it can be switched to. Smart alarm is a plus for me. But the band is not bluetooth and seems to be more delicate and prone to breakage in my eyes.
Conclusion:
I might be a bit biased to the UP since I had owned it before. It set my expectations for the Flex to be a bit high. The UP has more features than the Flex. There is more features in the Flex app than the UP. Flex has bluetooth. So in the end I just chose to return both of the devices. They are both are awesome in their own ways but I felt like all I cared about was about how many hours I slept and how many steps I took. Both of which are not that important to me, I know how many hours I slept and if my sleep was good or not. I work out so that I know that I am taking enough steps in my day. The pedometer is more for people who are more sedentary and who do not exercise. The band that I would buy and keep would have the look of the UP but the interchangeability of the Flex. The bluetooth of the Flex but the compatibility of the UP. The different modes of the UP along with its smart alarm. The water-resistance of a swordfish and the durability of titanium... That I would keep.
