Product review Fitbit

Having lost my iHealth activity monitor just as I was getting interested in using it, I ordered a new activity monitor.

This time around, I chose a Fitbit Charge.

I like that the device is permanently mounted in the wristband.  The band is slim and comfortable to wear. The clasp takes a little getting used to.  I hear that some people get skin irritations from the band, but thus far I haven't had a problem.

The Charge measures steps, flights of stairs, distance, calories burned and sleep quality.  Data appears on your device at the touch of a button, or on the app.   The device syncs with the phone via Bluetooth, and even gives you caller ID.  I'm going to have to get used to a vibration on my wrist when I get an incoming call.

I probably should have spent the extra $20 and gotten the Charge HR, which also measures heart rate.  At the moment I'm using a heart monitor app on my phone.

I'm not using the food log on the Fitbit dashboard, so I'm not fully using the calories burned function.  But that's because I've paired my Fitbit with my Weight Watchers tracker, and I'm tracking food and activity at the Weight Watchers site.

My chief complaint about the Fitbit is that the charger cable is not a standard USB cable, it's proprietary.

So far I'm happy with this product.