Battle of the fitness devices: Week 1

Alright folks, my new Jawbone Up, Nike FuelBand and Fitbit finally arrived. All of them claim to have similar capabilities and promise to help me reach my goals. Now it's time to put them to the test and let them duke it out as to which is the superior solution. So...welcome to the Battle of the fitness devices where I will be spending the next 6 weeks comparing these fitness devices.

My goals

1. Lose 4 pounds in 6 weeks 2. Run a 10k in March 3. Drink more water and stay continually more hydrated

Week 1

After ordering all the devices, Up was the first to arrive. Makes sense, considering their previous market disaster which forced them to pull the product off the shelves. I would expect to get the best service from them the second time around, including fast shipping. The NikeFuel band was next. And the FitBit took over 2 weeks. What's up with the wait? Not good folks.

The set up was fairly easy for all three devices. Up was extremely easy to setup. Just download the phone app, plug in the device to the phone, and go through a set of very simple instructions. Voila...ready to go. The only caveat is that you are required to take off the device and physically connect it to your phone to sync the data. A little bit annoying, but eliminating bluetooth helps reduce the size of the device and increases the battery power, which seems to last the longest compared to the others.

The FuelBand was also easy to set up. Unlike Up, which you can set up using your phone, FuelBand requires you download and install an app on your PC and install new firmware onto the device as well. After both installs, it was easy to get up and going and the wireless synching was nice once you get the device paired with your phone.  The only problem is that the bluetooth feature on your phone sucks away a bit of battery. We'll see if it's worth the convenience of wireless synching compared to Up.

Like the FuelBand, Fitbit requires you to set up using your PC. It was also very easy, although it requires an awkward additional wireless device to be attached to a USB port on your PC. So now I have to carry around the Fitbit device AND a wireless adapter on my laptop. Wireless set up was effortless on my phone, however.

Now that the devices are all up and running, it's time to set up my goals, which include losing 4 pounds and training for a 10k in March. Up and FuelBand failed miserably at this. Neither allowed me to set goals based on weight or exercise. Up makes you set goals based on steps, but doesn't make it easy for you to figure out how many steps equates to what. I had to go online and research elsewhere for that. FuelBand asked you to set your goals based on an arbitrary metric without providing much explanation around it. I get how it allows you to compare your activity to others, but I don't get how it equates to steps or calories burned and how it can help me reach my goals. Example, how does a Fuel goal of 3000 per day equate to my weight loss goal? So, I have been finding that I ignore this metric altogether and keep track of my steps instead.

The biggest gripe I have with the FuelBand is that the phone app doesn't integrate with Nikeplus running app. BIG MISTAKE considering I have a running goal. It's an opportunity loss that they don't integrate with running AND weight loss management. Instead, Nike makes you sign up for a completely different experience that is basically a glorified pedometer...a disappointment, especially since it's the most expensive device.

Also, the FuelBand is the bulkiest device with an over-sized and overly-bright LED display that aesthetically looks dated....and not in a good 80's retro way. Nike could have designed the display to be much more discreet and elegant, which would probably take up less battery power as well.

In terms of wearability, I find the FuelBand the least comfortable. It's the largest of the devices and requires you to press hard to get it to snap together. In fact, the clasp has pinched my skin a number of times and even drew blood. Ouch! Generally, I feel a bit dorky wearing it. Especially when I'm at the gym and use the giant LED display to see my steps. Come on guys, can't you be a little more discreet?

The Fitbit was the only experience that offered me to set up a weight loss goal. Once doing so, all the metrics easily related to my start weight and it made much more sense about what I needed to do to achieve my goal than, for example, an arbitrary “Fuel” metric. The Fitbit community is also much more engaging (for my needs) since you can invite friends privately and set up goals together. The other devices allow you to integrate with Facebook, but who wants to blast their data to absolutely everyone?

Fitbit provides more data visualization compared to the other devices including water intake and weight trends. However, some of the visualizations are built in flash so they don't work on apple devices. Bummer. Up's app does a nice job visualizing more detailed data including sleep patterns broken into deep and light sleep, which I find fascinating but not that useful yet.

So, how do the devices compare in week 1? I’ll be using 4 attributes to evaluate each device throughout the weeks including:

1. Wearability: comfort, style, fit, etc… 2. Capability: features, hardware & battery, syncing, etc... 3. Motivation: does it get me going, keep me going, and help me reach my goals? 4. Simplicity: understandable data, easy set up, easy to read/sync, etc…

So far, Fitbit came out of the gate the strongest. However, wearing it around makes me feel like I'm carrying a small pager. Pretty dorky. Hopefully, their new Flex might be less so. NONE of the devices helped me with my running goal. I had to use a combination of websites to make a plan and will end up tracking my progress with a good ol' pen and paper. I did already win a FuelBand badge, but i still don't know how "25k Fuel points" helps me achieve my weight loss and running goals so I wouldn't say winning it was very motivating. Cute achievement animation though that I played twice.

Stay tuned for next week as I begin collecting more data and (hopefully) inching toward my goals...

Feel the rhythm of your music

Launching on Kickstarter, iMusic BodyRhythm is a wearable device that turns music rhythms into a physical experience. It works with an iPhone app and directly links to the playlists on your iPhone. You can feel the auto-sync beat of the music from your iPhone app, be your own drummer, and you can even shake your phone to feel the "air-drum" beat. When you're done, you can share your playlist with friends. Is this even a good idea? 

Engadget stopped by their booth at CES in Las Vegas this week to see for themselves. "There's a tinge of the As Seen on TVs about the iMusic, where a novel idea falls down in its execution. Naturally it's an early model, but the App doesn't do a good enough job picking out the beats of the song, syncopated and out of time with what you'd expect. On all but the highest setting, it's a little hard to feel the impact -- but maxing it out makes it feel less like a massage and more like randomized physical violence. Still, if you'd like to make a judgement for yourself, we've got the video for you, too." (Engadget)

What do you think about this product idea?

More info on Kickstarter, Engadget Image via Engadget

2013: The Year of the Wearable

According to Forbes (and a growing number of other sources) 2013 will be the year of wearable technology. "There will be no bigger exception to commoditization of devices than wearable technology. Wearables will be the big story of 2013. You’ve already heard about Google Project Glass. Perhaps you also read about competitive offerings from Apple and Microsoft. Accessory designerOakley is an early arrival with wearable glasses that lets skiers see real-time data on their current location, snow and ice conditions, and hang distance of jumps as they careen downhill.

But wait, there’s more—lots more. The FDC recently approved a pill you swallow that will transmit internal medical data to your medical team.  Elsewhere, sensor-embedded tattoos for immobilized patients confined in their homes. Also in 2013, there will be a button-sized computer that monitors your health functions and sends data to health technicians. Nike alone offers five digital sports devices, including shoes that signal when they need replacement. There are numerous competitive offerings from other vendors as well. At Stanford University they’re working on batteries that become part of your clothes.

The gadgets will make big news, but third-party developers who will deliver a new generation of mobile apps for wearable devices to market will foment the real revolution. I predict these apps will ignite a groundswell of both business-to-business and business-to-consumer demands that will get all of us using wearables before the end of 2013." (source)

Is this a trend or here to stay?

If 2013 is the year of the wearable, we have an opportunity to define how these new devices are designed so that they have lasting value to broader consumer audiences. If not, than we'll end up with a pile of short-lived novelty devices. Here are four principles that we can follow to design wearable technology that is wearable, useful and that has lasting value.

More info and images from Forbes, Engadget, BBC News

Battery could revolutionize wearables

Powering wearable devices is one of the big challenges when designing a device that is small and compact enough to wear comfortably. A lot of the bulk is a result of trying to squeeze in rather large battery cells that can carry enough juice to power the device for a decent duration of time. Well, that's about to change. Hot new start-up, Imprint Energy, has created a new type of battery that is flexible and can be screen printed. I spoke with Brooks Kincaid from Imprint Energy at the Wearable Technology conference in San Francisco in 2012 where I learned about his promising new technology. The battery is very exciting for the wearable future. It's extremely flexible and can even hold a charge if a hole is punched through it. I wonder if it could handle seam integration. Now...to just get it to handle the washing machine...

Can't wait to get your hands on it? Unfortunately, you'll have to wait. It won't be available for a while.

More info at Gigaom.

Fitbit introduces a flexible wristband

There's a mountain of new devices being introduced at CES in Vegas this week and it looks like Fitbit is launching a new flexible wristband called Flex activity tracker. Gizmodo just got a few minutes with them to see it in action. Here's what they say about what they saw: "From the look of it, they've basically just reengineered the One, made it smaller, taken out the altimeter and shoved it into a wristband. Double tap the band and a stream of five tiny LEDs notify you of how many goals you've reached for the day. So if you've only hit two of your five goals, then only two LEDs will light up. The band itself seems a bit chintzy but is infinitely adjustable for any size wrist."

Continue reading at Gizmodo. Image source.

Protecting babies from SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a common fear among parents (especially new parents). Cautious parents typically sneak into their child's room to check on their breathing pattern's while sleeping or even co-sleep so it's easier to constantly monitor them. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin created a concept Romper suit to protect against this potentially devastating event. The suit includes an "integrated sensor system could warn parents as soon as their child stops breathing. The cornerstone of the sensor system is a stretchable printed circuit board that fits to the contours of the body, making it hardly noticeable."

How it works

"The circuit board is made of polyurethane, also known as PU. This is a cost-efficient material more commonly used for coating surfaces, as a sealant, or as a cushioning material. 'The circuit board we have developed can be manufactured using routine industrial processes, meaning a high throughput and, consequently, good cost-efficiency,' says Manuel Seckel, scientist at the IZM. 'Furthermore, components can be positioned on it just as precisely as on a standard board thanks to the stability of the stretchable substrate during processing. This stands in contrast to textile-based electronics, where one can expect an offset of up to five millimeters over a half-meter area.'"

Continue reading at Fraunhofer.