Fitbit Flex Hands On

The Fitbit Flex is an attempt at wearable technology that tracks steps, sleep, calories burned, distance walk, and other frivolous things. The band is similar to the Jawbone Up, however this band is going to functionality over design. The small tracker that does all the heavy lifting is enclosed in the small band. Unlike the Up you don’t have to take the bracelet off daily to sync, you will only have to take the band off every 5 to 7 days to charge the little tracker. The Flex uses Bluetooth 4.0 which allows you to sync the band’s data in real time with select iOS and Android devices. The device list is limited to iPhone 4s and up, with iPad support. The Android list includes just a few Samsung devices that people report having issues syncing with. Although all is not lost, the device comes with a little USB that allows you to sync the Fitbit Flex with your Mac or PC computer. Of course you’ll have to download their application to sync, but this will allow you to sync the band even if you don’t own a phone that is supported.

The one thing that I love over the Up is this band is an adjustable bracelet so it will fit any size wrist. The up you had to measure it to ensure the fit, and in my case one size is too large while the other one was to tight for comfort. The flex fits my wrist just right, and I can adjust it if I felt it was to tight or too lose at any point or time. Another worry is that I the bracelet won’t fall off if it were to get caught on something. I don’t know how many times I had the Up slip off when I was working out or just running around to get things done. Many times I would not notice right away and would have to back track to find the bracelet. Another perk of the Flex is the little display that shows you your progress to your step goal. It’s nice when your away from your online dashboard or your mobile phone.

The Flex however is great in some areas the Up does manage to achieve in being smart. The Up’s  smart alarm will wake you up when in light sleep, while the Flex will just use its silent alarm when you set it to go off. The Flex does not have any sort of stop watch or way to tell the band your going to do a work out, that’s all done through the app or online dashboard. That’s something I forgot to mention, Fitbit has an online dashboard which enables you to view your information online. The company does not require all your information to be stuck on your mobile phone. You can make changes to the Flex through the online dashboard, and when it’s close to your syncing device it will update the Flex with the newest information.

The design award goes to the Jawbone Up while to easy to use (once setup) Flex gets awards for throwing it on your wrist and just forgetting about it. The Up requires you to sync twice a day, charge every 10 days, and more maintenance on the device. The Flex is a plug, set up, than play device. Overall this is going to be a tough review because I love the Up, but the Flex looks appealing and somewhat better designed. I will have a review out after a week with the Flex so you can wait for that! Tell me if you’ve used either of these devices and what you’ve liked about them. If you have not gotten to use either of them or refuse to use them tell us why in the comments below!

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