Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker, Burgundy

I upgraded from the Ultra. You can read my comprehensive review of the Fitbit Ultra at Fitbit Wireless Activity/Sleep Tracker, Black/Blue.

First, I am sold on Fitbit because I've lost over 30 pounds since starting with the Ultra approximately a year ago. I don't work for the company and have received nothing from them for my enthusiasm -- I just find this is something that really works for me.

IMPORTANT Before you read further or miss this: You have to have a phone that has Bluetooth capability for this new Fitbit to sync with your phone. If you're upgrading from the Ultra to this Fitbit One for the sync capability, you'll be disappointed if your phone can't sync. If you've got an iPhone, Bluetooth capability is currently only on the iPhone 5 and 4S. You can still upload your data to the computer with a different phone, but the Fitbit One will not sync with your phone.

How the Fitbit Works: You have a few choices on where to wear the Fitbit (typically waist, pocket, chest pocket or bra), and you keep that Fitbit on you for 24 hours. Whereas the Ultra had a built-in clip, this one has to use the included silicone clip. The upside of this is that the silicone is unlikely to crack, which is something several owners of the Ultra complained about. The downside is that the Fitbit could possibly come out of the silicone case if the case were to get pulled on clothing or some other object. Whereas you used to be able to buy a lanyard to secure your Ultra, in the case of the One, you would only be securing the silicone case and your Fitbit would be lost. Time will only tell whether the silicone case idea is an actual improvement over the Ultra's design.

On receiving your Fitbit, there's a booklet says to charge your Fitbit for 5 minutes. The charge is supposed to last for about a week. When the Fitbit battery is completely depleted, charging is to take approximately two hours. If you're like me, you'll find yourself just popping the Fitbit into its charger whenever you know you'll be sitting at the computer a while. Unlike the Ultra, which used one USB port on your computer, this Fitbit will use two: One is a small piece that communicates wirelessly with your Fitbit. The other is what I believe people are referring to as a "dongle" -- it's a USB with a short cord: You snap your Fitbit into the end, and that's how the Fitbit charges.

I should also mention installing and pairing the device was virtually hassle-free. Since I was upgrading the Ultra, I just synced my Ultra by putting it in the cradle and then unplugging that USB. The instructions for the Fitbit One are clear. You download the software from their web site. Pairing the device with the software on my computer was easy. I was asked what kind of device I was pairing as well as whether I'd still be using the Ultra.

What will the Fitbit One do? The Fitbit One is a very accurate step counter. It also shows calories burned and distance walked. There's a cute (not too girly, guys) flower that you make "grow" the more activity you do. And it tracks your sleep. The included wrist band attaches with a very fine Velcro-type material, making it a perfect size for men and women. This Fitbit One wrist band also has holes in it apparently to help ensure that the band doesn't feel hot on your wrist. Included in the band is a little pocket. At night, you slip the Fitbit into the pocket and press and hold the button, which puts the Fitbit in sleep mode. You have a choice between normal and sensitive setting, adjustable from the web site. When you awake, you just press and hold the button again to tell Fitbit that your sleep time is over.

New to this Fitbit One is a silent alarm function. Basically, you can set vibrating alarms from either the Fitbit web site or from your Bluetooth-enabled phone. When I tried it out while awake, it was a soft little vibrating that I commented was as likely to wake me as "an ant wearing socks, tiptoeing across the floor." But I kept a (somewhat) open mind and still set an alarm for 7:30 a.m., which would give me enough time for an 8-hour sleep. Much to my happiness, I awoke to the soft little vibration on my wrist. My assessment on this is that I know that if I'm particularly tired, sick or know I'm going to get less than 8 hours of sleep, I cannot trust this as I've had to set an alarm across the room sometimes to wake up. If I have to be up early for something important, I will still need to set a traditional alarm. Depending on how deeply you sleep, your mileage may vary.

Once you press the button to indicate you're trying to fall asleep, the Fitbit begins recording sleep data by noting how often your wrist moves. Wrist movement is interpreted as awake time. On the web site, this information is reflected as a sleep efficiency percentage. Now, it's not extremely accurate, because Fitbit doesn't know the difference between your lying there still and your being asleep. However, you'll probably realize soon that if you're lying there, reading a book, just move your hand every one in a while. Later, in the morning, you can adjust your sleep times through the web site to cut off any unnecessary activity at the beginning.

What is Fitbit Not Good at? It's very step-oriented, so that means it's not going to accurately record your use of an elliptical machine, Pilates, weight lifting, rowing machine, swimming (don't get it wet!) or anything else that doesn't result in a typical stepping motion. However, you can manually record these activities on the web site, and it will overwrite the data for that period of time. I am finding that the web site food database is still inferior to other sites like MyNetDiary or Lose It, particularly since those allow scanning of barcodes for easy recording of food intake. However, a happy discovery is that Lose It can sync with Fitbit's web site, so I can record my food on Lose It rather than doing so through Fitbit's site. This is a good time to mention that there are also many other apps that Fitbit has partnered with that will sync your data.

As with the Fitbit Ultra, the Fitbit One will:
---Count stairs climbed (hills count) and translate those into floors. It's just one more way to challenge yourself. On the web site you can earn badges for how many stairs and floors you've climbed. The site also gives you interesting little messages about what that climbing equals, such as "you've just climbed the world's tallest snowman," and if you're the curious type, you can click the message to learn more.
---You've got a clock! Just press a button at your waist and look down to see the time.
---There's a stopwatch. Training for a race? Just trying to beat your previous times? You can use the stopwatch to record an activity.
---Righty and lefty friendly. I'm right-handed, but I like to wear the Fitbit at the left side of my waist. The words were backwards, but I learned that through the web site I could change the direction of the words.
---Give it a name. You have 8 characters to input a name or other info. That's not enough for a full phone number with area code. However, you if you search the Internet for "short email address," there are a number of email address services that would fit that 8-character allotment and allow you to forward any email to your regular email address. This might come in handy if you (heaven forbid) were to lose your Fitbit.
---Friendly little chatter. So you're sitting on the sofa and you realize you should really get up and move your body. You stand up, and a blinked message catches your eye: GO GO GO or Hello! or I LIKE YOU. I found this annoying after a while, and I disabled it through the web site. Through the web site you can actually disable any of the features you don't want to see on your Fitbit.

Is the Fitbit One Smaller Than the Ultra? Yes and no. As mentioned, the One fits inside a silicone clip. You really don't want its slippery little body moving around in a pocket, so you'll be using this clip. With the clip, the Fitbit One is actually larger than the Fitbit Ultra. Without that silicone clip, it is, indeed, smaller. Please check out my photos and you'll see a size comparison.

As I stated on my Fitbit Ultra review, use of the Fitbit web site is 100% free. In fact, you can start using it before ever owning a Fitbit device. That's what I did before my previous Fitbit arrived. The site has an active Community of users trying to be healthier as well as device support. If you have questions about the Fitbit, I think the forum on the web site is probably going to get you a faster answer than emailing the company.

So over a year later, after starting with Fitbit, owning and wearing a Fitbit has been one of the best decisions I've made. I went to a Quantified Self meetup, and one of the users asked why I'm still wearing the Fitbit if it's already established a habit of exercising. The answer is this: The Fitbit allows me to add gamification to something I don't enjoy (exercise!). It challenges me to reach my goals. If I have a period in which I've gotten few steps, I feel an internal nagging that I want to get that number back up where it belongs. It helps me analyze my sleep and see how that affects other factors in my life.

After writing the update on my previous review for the Ultra, I actually DID re-invest in the Premium membership (49.99 on the web site) in order to get the Trainer feature back. I needed some help with goal-setting, and I wanted to be able to download my data in a CSV format. The fact that you cannot download your data without the Premium membership is a small annoyance to me, as I believe you put that data into the site and deserve to be able to download it without paying for a Premium membership. Another disappointment is that the custom trackers that I created through the Premium membership are not included in the CSV download. However, overall, I'm back to finding that Premium membership adds enough value that it's worth it to me. I'll have to reevaluate this when it comes time for renewal (be sure to disable auto-renewal if you don't want to be charged automatically). So again, no, you don't have to pay anything to use the Fitbit web site and get the basic features. The Premium membership just adds some extra perks that you may find helpful in taking your health to the next level.

Has Fitbit been a fast way for me to lose weight? Nope. I lost the 30+ pounds over a period of a year. However, it's been a painless, sane and lasting way to lose weight. I attribute the weight loss to the awareness the Fitbit has brought me. Because I'm more aware of my activity (or inactivity), I just naturally make better decisions on a daily basis. If you're motivated to do so, you could lose weight quickly with the Fitbit by always tracking food intake and energy expenditure. I've found that making a gradual and permanent lifestyle change has been the best for me. I can't wait to see what new goals I'll be reaching for and achieving over the next year!

UPDATE in MAY 2013: Please note that Fitbit now reportedly works with more than just the iPhone. I also wanted to let you know that I'm still happy with the Fitbit and wear it every single day. However, this one has nearly been lost on a few occasions due to the silicone case getting caught on clothing, causing the Fitbit to flip out. I am a very fastidious person who is careful about things (always puts my keys in the same place, etc.), so if this is an issue for me, it may be for others. I wish they hadn't changed the holder, but I understand the need to since the previous version was starting to crack at the stress points. IF this is a big concern for you, I would recommend preordering the FITBIT FLEX, which is one you wear on your wrist. The upside is that you'd have it on 24/7 and can wear it in the shower, etc., and the downside for me is that I don't want to see it on my wrist every day. Hope this helps anyone trying to make a decision. Again, I'm very happy with the Fitbit One, but I am having to be very careful with it to prevent losing it.

UPDATE in DECEMBER 2013: My Fitbit had its first structural failure this month, and I wanted to update you with the problem. The silicone case has a place on it where two pieces are attached. This is the side that slides into your clothing, making it a weak point. One day I noticed the two pieces separating, and I pushed them back together. The other day I pulled my Fitbit out of my pocket and found the small piece was missing. Thankfully, later I found it and will try to glue the two pieces together. That section is a poor design because it's under stress when you remove the Fitbit from your clothing. I've added a picture above showing the two pieces. As far as whether I still love the Fitbit, yes, I do; however, I still think the silicone case is a poor design. There have been numerous occasions where I've almost lost the Fitbit due to it popping out of the silicone case. Hopefully, the company will improve on this design in their next release.

I've had quite a love-hate relationship with activity trackers over the past 3 years.

Over this 3 year period, I've used the Fitbit Ultra, the Fitbit One, the Fitbit Flex, the Jawbone UP, and the Jawbone UP24. And after all of that, I've stuck with the waist-worn Fitbit One. Why? Well, read on, and I'll share my experience with all of these devices over the past 3 years!

The Fitbit Ultra (the first activity tracker I owned) was great. It was pretty basic, but it got the job done. I found it to be pretty accurate and easy enough to wear. But I soon became bored with it. All these new, fancy, wrist-worn, bluetooth enabled trackers were coming out and, to be honest, they just seemed to be a lot more fun and offered features (particularly in their accompanying mobile apps). So, after having the Ultra for a year, I decided to upgrade and try a Jawbone UP.

I loved the Jawbone UP at first. Having it on my wrist (a huge selling point) meant I didn't have to think about it. It was always there; it was always recording my activity. When I woke up in the morning, I just hit the button to stop recording my sleep, went about my day, and then hit the button to start recording my sleep when I got in bed that night. It captured everything (or didn't... more on that in a bit). It even had awesome features like power nap and silent, smart alarms (which I really liked). But unlike my Fitbit Ultra, I never had to worry about moving it to a new pair of pants, or remembering to move it to the included wristband at night to record my sleep. The mobile app for it was (and still is) light years ahead of Fitbit's rather bland and uninspiring layout... the layout of the Jawbone is much more "encouraging" to use (if that makes sense). Plus, the helpful little bits of encouragement it offered me were really motivating. Simply put, the Jawbone seemed to be giving me a much more thorough experience.

One day, however, I decided to wear both my Fitbit Ultra and Jawbone UP to see how they compared. And that's where the problems started.

Periodically checking throughout the day, I noticed my Jawbone was vastly under counting steps in some instances, then vastly over counting steps in others, when compared to my Fitbit Ultra. This was very concerning to me. After continuing this dual tracking for a few days, I was eventually able to figure out what the issue was: the Jawbone UP (and any wrist-worn activity tracker) is a fancy 3-axis accelerometer (just like the waist-worn Fitbit Ultra/One). But worn on your wrist. On your *wrist*. It detects motion. Of your wrist.

That means, if your arms aren't simply swinging at your sides when you move, it's going to be ridiculously inaccurate. On the days I worked (I work with my hands, usually standing in one spot for extended periods of time), the Jawbone UP would record hundreds of steps when I, in fact, had not moved at all. To make matters even worse, it would count very few (or no) steps if I was doing something like carrying boxes or pushing a cart or carrying shopping bags. Some days, it was a wash: the Fitbit Ultra and Jawbone would be fairly close in their total step counts for the day. Other days, the Jawbone UP was off by 20-30% (we're talking 2000-3000 steps) compared to my Fitbit Ultra... not an acceptable margin of error!

And I noticed the problems even when I worked out. My Jawbone UP would consistently under report my steps/distance traveled compared to my Fitbit. I would, say, run a mile on the treadmill and the Fitbit Ultra would be mostly accurate (+/- a few hundredths of a mile), while the Jawbone UP would under report by as much as 2-3 tenths of a mile!

Thus, my Jawbone UP was returned. It was just too inaccurate, despite the convenience of having it on my wrist, the better features, and the far superior mobile app. And yes, it was both over and under counting steps, even after multiple calibration attempts.

Now, you may be asking... how do you know the Fitbit is accurate? Maybe it's the one that's wrong and the Jawbone is right! Well, I decided to fire up a GPS running app on my phone and put the Fitbit to the test. I ran a loop in my neighborhood, wearing the Fitbit Ultra and using my phone's GPS app to record the run. At the end of it, the GPS said I had run exactly one mile. My Fitbit was only off my 3 hundredths of a mile. A very acceptable margin of error, leading me to believe the Fitbit is quite accurate.

Fast-forward a few months, and I decided to give the new Fitbit Flex a try. Again, I loved that it was on my wrist and always there, unlike the Fitbit (which I was still continually forgetting to wear quite frequently). But, as with the Jawbone UP, it would either over or under count steps, depending on the situation (though nowhere near as bad as the Jawbone UP... I think Fitbit's step-counting algorithms are much more refined).

And this, my Fitbit Flex was returned.

Fast-forward another few months and I decided to give the new, bluetooth-enabled Jawbone UP24 a try. Because I really love the Jawbone UP wrist-worn form factor. I really, truly do. I wanted to love it. I tried my hardest to. It's just so convenient having it on my wrist all the time. And the mobile app and features were just so much better. But, as with the original Jawbone UP and the Fitbit Flex, it was ultimately flawed. And returned.

At this point, I snagged a Fitbit One (as I wanted the bluetooth compatibility). It (and the discontinued Fitbit Ultra) are the only activity trackers I've found to be even remotely accurate after repeated comparisons with the wrist-worn alternatives.

So, basically, it boils down to this: the wrist-worn trackers track wrist movement. By definition, unless your arms are constantly swinging at your side when you move and you don't do anything else with your hands (i.e. hold a phone to your ear, carry a box, push a shopping cart) they can't be accurate. Even if you walk with your hands in your pockets, they aren't accurate. They just can't be by virtue of how they work and where they're worn. And it took me trying 3 different wrist-worn activity trackers to realize that.

If either Jawbone or Fitbit could come out with a wrist-based tracker that was accurate when your arms aren't swinging (or they are swinging, but you're not actually moving), I would be all over that in a heartbeat. I much prefer the wrist-worn form factor. And Jawbone offers many more features and a mobile app that is orders of magnitude better than Fitbit's. But wrist-worn trackers are ultimately flawed, and until they can incorporate something like GPS or heart rate monitoring into them, I don't think the wrist-worn activity trackers will ever be accurate.

So, at the end of the day, if you want accuracy nearly on par with that of a GPS: Fitbit One. If you want convenience and more features, but (very) questionable accuracy, go with the Jawbone UP or Fitbit Flex.