Fitbit, Wearables and Connected Devices – Need Your Advice!

By Thursday, July 17, 2014 3 Permalink 0

My Fitbit Force was delivered to me the same day they issued their recall. I debated what to do, because I had spent a few days asking friends for advice on which ones they had and why and had settled on the Force because of the features, but mainly because most of my friends had Fitbit as well. Because of that I decided to keep it and was diligent about checking for any weird rashes.

I’ve spent almost 6 months with it on my wrist and I was addicted! During Firefly, I was tracking just shy of 30,000 steps a day! Then a week later, it fell off my wrist as I was typing on my laptop.

I immediately felt naked!

At first I assumed that the clasp just came apart since I knew that was an issue. Then I looked down and realized that the glue had given away and I now had 2 pieces of my Fitbit.

Broken Fitbit Force Fitbit Force in Two Pieces

I’m sure I can glue it back together, but I’m a little wary of doing that since so many people had sensitivity issues and who knows if adding an additional epoxy would make that better or worse.

At this point, since it is recalled, I’m just going to send it back and get a refund.

Connected Devices

I feel like since I’ve last looked into these types of connected devices, there have been a few more that have been released or announced (many for pre-order), and I’m so excited for where the wearables industry is going! I’ve recently pre-ordered two of these items: Ringly and Vessyl.

Ringly - The Ring That Notifies You When You're Phone Rings

Ringly is a ring that vibrates when certain people call or text, and can even notify you when your Uber is arriving. You are able to set up how you want it to work via their app, but think of the possibilities. No more do you need to keep checking to see if you missed a call, or keep your phone on the table while you eat! Read more on their website (and use my referral link if you want to order! ).

Vessyl - The Device That Knows What You're Drinking Automagically

Vessyl is a thermos style cup that can read what is inside and track sugar, calories, protein, caffeine and more! I’m pretty excited to be able to track what I’m drinking in my Bulletproof coffee each morning. I’d love to know exactly how much fat and calories are in my butter coffee. This has been in the making for over 7 years now and the videos on their site are pretty impressive. (Again, if you order, use my referral link!).

Need your advice!

Back to the issue at hand, I’m now back in the market for something to track my steps. I’m open to all options at this point as I’m not terribly impressed with the Fitbit Flex (although I *do* like that it is both thinner and smaller than the Force) and I think I’d prefer a bracelet over something that clips to clothing.

Since I’m working at home having a device like FitBit was such a motivator to get out there and walk to Ozo or Ideal for coffee instead of driving. I feel like I need that motivation back! Plus, there’s a few big festivals coming up (like The Underground Music Showcase (UMS) and Riot Fest) and I would love to know how many steps I take while rockin’ out!

What would you recommend? Which device do you have to track your steps? Any other devices I should look into?

I want to hear your thoughts!

3 Comments
  • Lauri Rottmayer
    July 17, 2014

    I love, love, love my UP band by Jawbone. Additionally, their customer service is amazing. I vote UP band. Then we can be teammates. :-)

  • Monika
    July 17, 2014

    I’ve heard great things about the UP band by Jawbone. Thanks for the recommendation Lauri!

  • Jason Harris
    July 18, 2014

    My neighbors each just got a Withings Pulse O2.

    Here’s a Cnet review:

    http://www.cnet.com/products/withings-pulse-o2/

    It’s more advanced than the basic info captured by Fitbit and Jawbone…but for me, I like the simplicity and looks of the Flex (and Force if they were still selling it).

    -Jason

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