Gadgetory

hey everyone this is Jim from Jim's review room today we'll be looking at the Fitbit force now this is an activity bracelet that monitors your movement and even your sleep patterns and if you wish I've also done reviews on the previous model the cheaper Fitbit flex and also on the competing activity bracelet the jawbone up now the Fitbit force is the newest and has the most features in the fitbit product line so we'll see what those features are and if it's worth it to spend the additional $30 over the Fitbit flex so without further delay let's get started I purchased the Fitbit force for one hundred and twenty nine dollars at a time of this review and only two colors are available for the Fitbit force both in store and online and approaches mine and slate as it was the only color to store at the time and black is the other option now in the box it comes with the Fitbit force the USB charger bluetooth adapter for your desktop or laptop to wirelessly sync the device and lastly is the starter guide advising to download the Fitbit app to your smartphone or tablet now regarding the size of the Fitbit only two sizes are available through the force but not to worry about the Fitbit has various notches that ensures whatever size wrist you have the band will fit and also on the side of the box also has a wrist measure guide to help you in your purchase there in regards to putting on the band when you first purchase this the notches or holes are pretty tight though and on the first several tries it may be a little bit too snug to snap in the band however over time the holes will stretch a bit and you'll develop your own technique for snapping it in eventually the process will feel natural to you over time the holes does provide just enough tolerance for it to snap in more smoothly and from my testing it will continue to stay secure the rubber material makes it very comfortable to wear all day actually like to wearing this more than I did the jawbone up just for the fact that 90% of the band is thin in just a rubber bracelet now the only computerized part lays behind this protruding piece here in turn this band feels ridiculously light - we're almost at times I forget that I have it on the only time that you would take us out is to charge it with the supplied USB cable and typically the battery does last about seven to ten days on a full charge I personally was able to achieve about nine days the only news is I found here like all the other band that I've used they don't come with a wall charger you have to plug this into your desktop or laptop for charging now going back to the band here the Fitbit force is water-resistant washing my hands in showering daily with asan found no damage to the unit itself and lastly in regards to his physical rundown the band features this black strip here that tells your progress numerically once the side button is pressed now this is something that neither the jawbone up nor the Fitbit flex had with the previous models you had to tap the band and that's would flash to indicate if you're close to your goal of 10,000 steps for that day or not and to see your exact amount of steps for that day you had to pull out your smartphone or tablet each time now what makes the Fitbit force and more intuitive product our steps distance walked calories burned how many floors and your active minutes are all recorded autonomously while still providing a watch feature that tells time so the idea behind this product was simple instead of wearing a watch and a workout bracelet why not combine both so all that information is actually displayed right on the bracelet itself now I have to admit the Fitbit force is very easy to use by again just tapping on that side button from my test the steps are calculated very accurately as I have counted my steps and pace and the floor level is very interesting as well especially for stair climbers out there the force offers a free app for download for either your Apple or Android powered device now most new phones do support bluetooth but ensure your smartphone or tablet does have Bluetooth 4.0 to ensure the force does work now once downloaded and installed everything is now done wirelessly and there's no need to take off the band the app does record your steps and distance walked how many floors you've conquered the minutes you were very active and the calories burned now tapping on any one of them expands its categories on the app this is where I found myself wanting to do better personally I didn't realize how inactive I was now I do work in an office environment and sit in front of a computer most of the day unfortunately so hence my chart looks a little bit weak here but sliding the chart over reviews to break down throughout the day and again you can view burn calories distance and active minutes then because of this chart it was like a reality check for me where I needed to get in better health and like how a pedometer works the Fitbit also monitors our sleep through movement during the night now once I'm in bed and ready to snooze the night away I opened the Fitbit app and tell the band I'm going to sleep as soon as I get up the next morning I told the band I'm awake in a summary chart of my night's sleep displays now throughout the night it tracks your sleep restlessness and how long you were actually up now as I said in my previous reviews it's a great way to monitor if you're getting a good night's rest and if not you can adjust your thermostat maybe adjust the lighting even napping a different and a different mattress and comparing your results to optimize your deep sleep now other features on the Fitbit app include food and drink intake which is a huge plus when it's combined with the food plan built into the app and the system provides step-by-step instructions and how to lose weight by recording your current activity then recording what you eat and I'll let's demonstrate that here now setting up the food plan as you can see after I input my current weight then I would input my weight eventually desired now I'm presented with a plan intensity it's nice to feel though as a system it's kind of like holding your hand throughout this process now regarding the plan intensity for example I can choose the medium intensity plan which advises if I follow this regimen I should lose about 10 pounds by January 22nd of 2014 so after I set up my goals on a daily basis I would just need to record my food intake now I access the food log through the calories eaten category on the home page and simply select a meal of the day again this easily finds the meal that you've inputted for you and one of the downfalls I have to mention though the step meter food diary and sleep log they weren't as detailed as a jawbone up the up actually had a section after inputting your food you can also view the amount of sugar fat and protein taken the fifth bit only recorded calorie intake and for sleeping the up broke my sleep down to light sleep deep sleep how fast I fell asleep in and how long I was awake for the Fitbit force only had the time I was asleep a time I was awake and how many minutes in total I was restless and the information in the up was just a little bit more easier to read and easier on the eyes with more information in general it makes me more of an informed and health conscious individual the last feature which isn't mentioned too much is that you can log-in your physical activity manually such as jogging weightlifting even carrying groceries or auto body work can all be recorded as burn calories now if tapping on the calories burned category on your main home page there that's where you can type in the activity that you performed now the activity provided offers an estimated calories burned by doing such action which will then be calculated once you return to your home page and it's a great way to compare the amount of calories that you've taken versus the calories burn just to balance yourself out to a healthier you so all in all it's real easy to use and the app software does more than just track your steps and sleep which it does automatically as long as you're wearing it with your interaction and commitment you can log in your food and water intake and workout sessions now if you have friends with the Fitbit flex you can compare and compete with your progress within the app now another feature is a vibrating alarm as well and you can set up an alarm and wake yourself up from a vibration on your wrist without disturbing those around you so in my opinion both competing activity bands have their own pros and cons the force and the Flex is a very comfortable and subtle device to wear while the jawbone up was a little bit more of a chunky device and required manually syncing the data however the jawbone up does have so much more to offer in its free app though like more detailed breakdowns of your activity exercise and daily consumption of food and lastly the force for thirty dollars more than the Flex and the force being the same price as the jawbone up though I believe the force is worth it and worth purchasing because of its additional features and I don't have to wear my watch now Mike progress is now on me and vailable without taking out my phone from a jog and now it records my stairs or flights of stairs that have jogged up or down the food plan works great in my opinion and it will work for you as well if you're serious about recording the data on a daily basis so overall the Fitbit force is a great device and on its own merit again it's $130 at the time of this review while the jawbone up is also one hundred and thirty dollars so that's it for my review of the Fitbit force definitely click on the video above to watch the jawbone up review as always please show you support by liking and subscribing to future alerts to new products this is Jimmy from Jim's review room take care everyone bye