Update 9/2/16: Years later mine is still going strong as well as my husbands. However he left the household leaving it behind so I was able to set it up for my teenager daughter to use it and it was an easier process than I thought it would be.
Not only did I buy one for myself, but after seeing it in use and how it could motivate a person my husband asked to get one as well so we purchased two from Amazon about a month apart. Both times this item shipped quickly with my Prime account.
I do read that some reviews say that all of the numbers are skewed and incorrect, but after reading lots of online reviews from different products of this type both on this site and on other websites NONE of these devices are 100% accurate for anyone...and anyone who says so is probably just not aware or lying to themselves or you because they are brand loyal. I've had no issues with it miscounting major steps or stairs. I did notice that it does sometimes count steep hills as stairs, but I think it works on altitude so that makes sense. And honestly, who cares...count it I worked hard to get up that steep hill count it! :0) I would be interested to find out how many stairs it counts as a flight, as I seem to rack up more flights at work than at home. I think my work staircase may be steeper or go higher than my home staircase because I always get more flights while at work than at home even if I only go up them once at work. Also it only counts going up, not down. Again that is understandable because your muscles work harder going up.
As for counting how many steps my feet take each day I clip mine every day to the inside of my bra in the gap between cleavage. I'm not sure that would work for all women, but it works perfect for me and I have never had it come unclipped and should it accidentally it would fall into my bran and I wouldn't lose it. The instructions say you can clip it to your waistband or put it in your pocket as well. I was afraid of it falling off and losing it, but I think the clip would be strong enough to keep it there with no problems. I'm just used to putting it where I do now. I liked the location so much that my husband decided he liked the location too, but being a man with no bra he got creative. We had an extra lanyard around that has a keyring that a badge clip was attached to. He took off the badge clip and now he just slides his fitbit clip onto the ring, puts it around his neck and slides it under his shirt. The shirt keeps it close to his body so it's not swinging around and still gets an accurate count. We've compared our numbers when waking around together and they are always very close, slightly off because we have different strides. He's also worn both, one clipped to his lanyard and one to his waistband and he got the same numbers on both after a walk. So we feel that him using it this way is okay.
I've also seen reports of people saying it's sensitive and picks up things like wiggling around, driving/riding in a car, etc. I've watched mine and I've not seen it add extra numbers for any of these types of activities unless I was actually moving my feet. It did count dancing if I was moving my feet and stepping around, but if I was just swaying in places or wiggling my hips/upper body it did not count any of that. I've even stood and shook the thing and if I shake hard enough I can get it to count numbers, but I had to do it pretty vigorously.
I bought it for the steps and stairs, so these are the features I use most. I did think the sleep function was interesting, I wasn't getting it for that but now that I am seeing my sleep tracked it has helped me to notice patterns where some days I might not have been sleeping enough. I like how it will still track your sleep as long as you are wearing it even if you forget to set it before you go to bed. If I forget I can just go to the app or website and tell it what time I went to bed and what time I woke up and up pops my sleeping data for that missing night.
The website was a little hard to use at first, it took some learning and just clicking on things to figure out how it worked so for people not proficient in computers they may have a hard time using it. I use the app on my iPod so I use the iPhone version, my hubby has a Samsung Tab 3 tablet so he is using the Android version. They are both different looking, but have similar functions and are pretty simple to use. There are a few things you can not do on the mobile apps that you have to log into the computer to do but it is not too much. Mostly a few setting options and setting goals are unavailable on the apps. I do like how the app will have a battery indicator you can check and the website will send you emails reminding you when it is time to charge.
These both came with dongles and I have both plugged into the computer. When I first set up the second I had to have one of the kids take mine to the other side of the apartment so that it would pick up the new one, but once that was one they are both syncing and functioning just fine on the same computer. As long as the computer is on, our information stays pretty current and if we did want to push a sync to see info we can do that as well. I can not sync mine with my iPod but it is because I have an iPod 4 and it's blue tooth connectivity is not as good as the newer devices so not the fault of this product but rather the fault of my device. My husbands however can sync just fine via blue tooth which is nice if we go on a trip and want to get updated info without carrying our dongles with us, they are small and I would be scared of loosing it!
The wristband for sleep is a good size and made well to change size for different people. We both have larger wrists and it's plenty big with a bit of room to spare. The way it is made with velcro it can easily be sized down to a smaller wrist as well so those concerned with wrist size I think would be just fine. It works on velcro and not buckles, snaps, strech, etc which is sometimes a hassle to get the sizing right on.
There are also options to track your food, calories and other exercise. I do occasionally log other exercise, but often I forget to log food, water and calories. If you are tracking calories the device itself will tell you how many calories you are burning, the website is where you would track weight, food, water intake, and exercise. You can also track some other numbers on the website if you are tracking blood sugar for diabetes, blood pressure, etc. So there are options on the website I don't use. Lastly this device syncs nicely with lots of other fitness websites so if you don't want to use the Fitbit site and trackers you can sync it to another website. It is a process however because somethings you can sync via the Fitbit site/app and others you have to go to the other websites/apps and sync through them. So it was a learning curve on that so again someone with little technology skills may have difficulty with this. Lastly you have a profile on the Fitbit website and you can make it public or private letting your friends see various things. I like having the options to make decisions on each thing. I don't mind strangers seeing how many steps I take each day, but I don't want anyone but friends seeing weight and no one cares what I ate if I was tracking food! These are all settings on the website to make certain things visible and others not. There is also an online community that you can use, but I found it clunky and more annoying than anything. Some of the other fitness websites are better so I rather just sync my info and use those.
Overall I think it was a great decision to buy these for both of us as it's increased both of our fitness. I know I can never get in as many steps as he does right now, but it still allows us to be competitive and also challenge ourselves. I know there are days that I forget it at home and multiple times I'll say things like ohhh man I'm not getting credit for these stairs today. (or walking a lot, etc.) It is also good at showing us how some days we feel very active, but are not as much as we think. And other days we feel like we didn't do much but were super active. We find ourselves parking further out just to try to get a few more steps in, or taking the stairs instead of an elevator just to get more stairs! I am really surprised by how it's changed my point of view on things!
I'm not a fitness guru, I don't have a regular workout or exercise routine, and I don't walk a bazillion steps a day. So don't think this is just for those people or the super obsessive. This is a great little device to give you that extra little motivation that might just be the difference between no activity and some activity!
Similar items that may ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
Reviews with images
Fitbit One and why I changed to the Holistic Wrist (Jawbone Up)
UPDATE: If you'd like to see my review of Jawbone UP24, you can see it here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZEG4YLT0HZ9Y/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm (copy & paste if it won't click)UPDATE: Several people asked me about the Fitbit Flex. I just got one today. I compared it to Jawbone UP here http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CVXEEYIAIR0W/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm (copy & paste link if not clickable)---A couple weeks ago I received my Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker, Black after a few months pre-order wait. I had it two full weeks, got to know and learn it, and lost it swiftly. The fact that I lost it so easily made me decide to try Jawbone Up-- thinking that if I lose my arm, I've got larger issues... My review will be a comparison of these two devices for those trying to decide between the two. Early spoiler: I recommend Jawbone Up over the Fitbit One for most people. UPDATE 3/20: Android app is now available as well as the iOS app. My review is based on the iOS app but I do have an android and will try it soon.Hardware itselfThe biggest frustration I had with the Fitbit One was that I wanted to use it for daytime activity monitoring and for sleep monitoring. Using it for both activities included moving the device from my belt clip, taking it out of the rubber clip, putting it in the wrist strap, and reversing this process each day. It felt like a chore after a few days, and some mornings I even forgot to put it back on my belt after showering & changing. These issues aren't faced with the Jawbone Up because you can leave it on your wrist at all times-- even in the shower. No annoying loss, no annoying moving it from clip to pouch to clip, no forgetting it at home in the morning. The Fitbit met it's ultimate demise after only its second fall off of my belt. It's so light and in rubber, it didn't even make a sound when it left me and met the ground. It was never found. Long live my FitBit One on however many belts it ends up on before it's lost again terminally...Battery Life & ChargingBattery life on the Fitbit One can be as much as 14 days. The Jawbone Up is rated for 10. Both devices include a USB dongle for charging, and charge in about the same amount of time. Both charged fine when I used my iPhone charger to USB for their dongle.SyncingThe Fitbit One bluetooth sync's wirelessly to an iPhone if you want, or to a PC. The fitbit comes with a charging dongle, a bluetooth adapter-- which must be used as it won't work with most or all other bluetooth adapters already built in to a PC. Plan to use up one or two USB slots for the Fitbit One. It's not a constant sync-- you have to initiate the sync if you want it to sync "now".The Jawbone Up syncs by removing the cap and plugging in to the headphone jack of the iPhone. At first this felt like it may be a step back from the Fitbit One, but ultimately it's simpler and I waste less battery having bluetooth activated on the phone all the time. It's simple, works reliably, and you can sync to multiple devices if you want.WearingThe FitBit One is quite small and the rubber belt clip is smooth and small. Many users simply drop the device in the pocket, but I'm not one to let that happen and risk loss-- ironic because I lost it via the belt clip. I also have some belts that it would't clip on, so I found myself doing creative things like clipping it inside my change pocket.The Jawbone Up is basically a bracelet-- and a stylish looking one at that. I found that the fitment guide on the back of the box ran a little large, so I originally bought a medium. After wearing, it felt too tight. I returned it for a large. I have so far been very happy with the large size. I recommend using the print out PDF from the Jawbone site as it clearly marked me as large when the plastic guide on the box made me think medium. They recommend going "up" a size.From a daytime perspective, the wrist band of the Up hasn't bothered me at all, and actually I see it and it reminds me to move! I never saw the Fitbit One, and thus thought about it less often and had fewer reminders. More about reminders in functions/software!I do wear the Jawbone Up in the shower, and have had no issues with that so far. It feels sturdy without feeling stiff. You can manipulate it by squeezing to fit tighter, looser, reverse which side meets which, etc. It isn't a "bendy straw" style where it holds shape. It always holds the wrist shape. The rubber on rubber is what lets it grip more or less. It doesn't feel heavy or annoying.SoftwareAside from the functionality of wrist vs belt clip, the software is really what differentiates the Jawbone Up from the Fitbit One for me. The Jawbone Up software is infinitely more useful, visually appealing and informative for me than the Fitbit One software. The Jawbone software tracks your performance over time and so does the Fitbit One-- but the Jawbone analyzes your data and makes observations-- "Hey you had 2x your normal amount of deep sleep last night-- did you do something different?" and other observations like that. You can also compare your sleeping data to your day's activities. The ability to view, review, and drill down/compare your data is easier/simpler/more automated and more enjoyable on the Jawbone Up than on the Fitbit One.Fitbit supports some more social features-- like sharing to Facebook. Both support having friends in the system who also have the device that you can view/cheer on, etc.As far as food logging goes, I'm not a huge user of this feature yet. What I do know is that the Jawbone Up supports scanning barcodes on food to capture what it is and content. The interface to browse and add food is far more visually appealing in the Jawbone Up than in the FitBit software.About sleep monitoring: I don't know if it's accuracy or philosophy, but from a span perspective both units were accurate. I actively tell them when I am about to drift off and when I'm done sleeping. From there, the data varies. The Fitbit One would say that I woke up some 20 - 40 times per night! Maybe each time I roll over it thinks that qualifies as awake, I don't know. The Jawbone Up rates that much less, but also gives me info on "deep sleep vs light sleep and awake times" which I find more useful than just knowing how many times I was awake. I've found this analysis interesting because some nights I'll feel like I slept all night, but don't feel rested in the morning, and the Up will conclude that I didn't have much deep sleep at that night. That allows me to look back at my day before and contemplate why: too much caffeine too late? Too little exercise? Too much food to late? etc. Helpful data to influence how you live your days.Both of these devices sync your data to a website. I personally rarely visit either of these, and don't plan to, thus my lack of review on that regard. In the iPhone age I only go to a PC when it involves a lot of typing, for the most part.Functions & Added Benefits -- most of my conclusions here are about the Jawbone Up.Fitbit One: It has an altimeter. This is how it guesses how many flights of stairs you've climbed. It also counts dual propeller flights I found accidentally on a recent business trip. If your'e a person who is not interested in tracking sleep or want to spend the least, this device could help you start getting an idea of your day & night activities.Jawbone Up:-A "power nap" feature that utilizes data from your normal light sleep cycle at night to determine optimum number of minutes for a power nap under 30 minutes. You can initiate a power nap by a series of button presses on the wrist band.-An inactivity reminder: The wrist band can vibrate you every so many minutes that you're inactive, and you can configure this in the iPhone app-A wake up alarm, at a custom time and you can additionally have it wake you at "an optimum time around your alarm" depending on your sleep cycleBoth devices allow you to customize your stride or calibrate the distance walked.I'm still only in my first week of owning the UP, and I prefer it over the Fitbit One. To me, the Jawbone Up is more of a "holistic life data device" due to the software and the fact that you can wear it all the time. The FitBit fits more in the fitness data device for me, because of the lack of insight the software provides on the phone and the fact that it isn't as simple and easy to wear all the time. I'm an IT guy who spends too much time in front of computers, a lot of time traveling, and generally not feeling like I am active enough. I wanted these devices to help me improve my awareness of wellness, activity and sleep results. For me, the Jawbone Up was the right answer all along.You might know that a year ago the Jawbone Up was released and recalled within a month. There were some technical reliability issues and the company took the opportunity and almost an entire year to rework the device, refund all customers and let them keep the potentially failure-likely device. They have some impressive videos at their website about how they re-worked the device.Both devices are good devices and neither had any critical flaws. n that, I hope this review may have helped you decide which fits your needs most. I plan to respond to any specific questions below so feel free to ask!Update: I have received a lot of comments that are quite negative about Fitbit's customer service. You might want to browse the comments on that. I lost my Fitbit so I never had a chance to deal with customer service.
Top reviews from other countries
Tiziana Bongiovanni
Il mio fido amico validissimo
Reviewed in Italy on July 22, 2017
Raymond Orloff
The product shipped did not work
Reviewed in Australia on April 18, 2019
Alex
Parfait pour se motiver à bouger, que ce soit pour perdre du poids ou se maintenir en forme
Reviewed in France on September 22, 2014