Ultra Cool: Fit Bit
09
February
2/9/2010:
[This week's post series is "Hoboken411 Product Reviews," which will feature one item each day that may be of general interest to the readers. Each product is already owned and purchased by Hoboken411.]
Pedometer of the 21st Century!
I was always interested in knowing how far I walked in a given day. Since I wasn’t a big fan of the pedometers of days past (boring), this usually meant that I re-traced my steps using a website like G-Maps Pedometer, or something along those lines. And I never really turned on by fancy GPS tracking devices that many hikers and bikers used.
Last year, I learned about an exciting product called the Fit Bit. I placed a pre-order for the device in May 2009. After waiting for over six months for the product to be released, I received mine in December 2009.
“The Fitbit accurately tracks your calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled and sleep quality. The Fitbit contains a 3D motion sensor like the one found in the Nintendo Wii. The Fitbit tracks your motion in three dimensions and converts this into useful information about your daily activities.
You can wear the Fitbit on your waist, in your pocket or on undergarments. At night, you can wear the Fitbit clipped to the included wristband in order to track your sleep. Anytime you walk by the included wireless base station, data from your Fitbit is silently uploaded in the background to Fitbit.com”
But it does much more, too!
The Fit Bit, along with your accompanying personal web page, can be used as a fairly powerful tool to track your fitness, activities, sleep and even diets. However, I do not have the time luxury to input all the foods I’ve consumed, so I don’t use the website for food tracking. But your personal page on the site is great – you can even compare your results with friends, or see how your level of activity compares with the rest of the users (I’m in the top 10% percentile). It can be a bit motivational if you’re close to breaking a personal goal, to “push you over…”
One frustrating aspect is that you need to *remember* to wear it at all times, and put the sleep band on daily – which can be a bit of a pain, especially if you’re exhausted (or drunk!)
But I find that the Fit Bit is amazingly precise (I’ve compared my daily walks on gmaps to what the device read – and it’s usually within 95% – 105% accurate.)
If this piques your interest – please be advised that “The Fitbit is currently in high demand. We are filling pre-orders, and will start shipping new orders on Feb 17th.”
Does anyone own one? What are your thoughts?
February 9th 2010 - 13:06:53 |
“and it’s usually within 95% – 105% accurate.”
Does it tell you where you’ll be waling in the future 5% of the time?
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February 9th 2010 - 14:08:09 |
Kind of OT but someone told me once that the creators of the gmap pedometer were a couple of Hobokenites. Sue and Paul somethingorother.
Maybe someone in websurfland knows the full story…?
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February 9th 2010 - 17:14:27 |
What I meant was if I walk a mile, it’ll register between .95 and 1.05 miles.
You also need to keep it on your belt / hip for the best accuracy. In your pocket registers a bit longer than you actually walked.
Interestingly, if you’re busy at home, say cleaning up, walking around, it’s cool to see how much distance you can actually put on just inside…
In response to HomeTeam who said:
Does it tell you where you’ll be waling in the future 5% of the time?
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February 9th 2010 - 20:39:21 |
I bought one for my husband for xmas. He is obsessed with it. Not only does it help him track his activity for the day, it also keeps him honest with his eating and exercising. Getting his calorie count up every day has become almost a game for him.
In response to hoboken411 who said:
You also need to keep it on your belt / hip for the best accuracy. In your pocket registers a bit longer than you actually walked.
Interestingly, if you’re busy at home, say cleaning up, walking around, it’s cool to see how much distance you can actually put on just inside…
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February 10th 2010 - 10:43:35 |
Yup HasBrix, you’re right — I’m the creator of gmap pedometer and I’m a Hobokenite. When I first launched the site I actually had the map zoom to Hoboken by default, out of a combination of personal convenience and civic pride.
But of course it kinda took off after that, so I changed it to be zoomed out a bit more — for the convenience all the other folks in the world not fortunate enough to call Hoboken home!
In response to HansBrix who said:
Maybe someone in websurfland knows the full story…?
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February 10th 2010 - 11:34:09 |
When I first found that app (I forget where/how) and it zoomed to 07030 I thought to my increasingly paranoid self “HTF did it know to zoom there?” Only later when I learned from an acquaintance (who apparently knows you) of the origin of the app did I connect the dots.
Anyway, a personal note of thanks: it really helped plan and quantify my marathon training, and debunk long-held myths (such as the Hoboken/CSP to Fort Lee/GWP upper loop being a full 20 miles).
In response to paul.d who said:
But of course it kinda took off after that, so I changed it to be zoomed out a bit more — for the convenience all the other folks in the world not fortunate enough to call Hoboken home!
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February 10th 2010 - 12:50:40 |
Hey my pleasure! I get a huge charge out of thinking that the site is useful to folks all over the world. It’s helped me train for Chicago and Philly so far, and I’m finally in (after three failed lottery attempts) for the NYC marathon this year!
In response to HansBrix who said:
Anyway, a personal note of thanks: it really helped plan and quantify my marathon training, and debunk long-held myths (such as the Hoboken/CSP to Fort Lee/GWP upper loop being a full 20 miles).
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February 10th 2010 - 18:01:25 |
This is amazing….
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February 10th 2010 - 18:37:30 |
that is a great point, i”m gonna wear mine inside to see how much distance i travel chasing kids around my home!!
In response to hoboken411 who said:
You also need to keep it on your belt / hip for the best accuracy. In your pocket registers a bit longer than you actually walked.
Interestingly, if you’re busy at home, say cleaning up, walking around, it’s cool to see how much distance you can actually put on just inside…
Login or Register to reply