BACKLOG
Fitbit & The Zip
I ordered my first fitbit, the classic, on March 8th 2010, each day I wait in anticipation for production to ramp up. Finally on May 18th my fitbit shipped. Sadly my fitbit died a few month later, as I completed my first half marathon. I found out the hard way the fitbit wasn’t water resistant at all. The fitbit also didn’t seem very durable construction wise, but I didn’t exactly wear it as directed. I’m sure that contributed to my original failing. Last year jawbone released their failed entry into the space, with the Jawbone UP shortly after that Nike announced their FuelBand. Each of those items had something the I wanted in the fitbit before making a replacement purchase, Bluetooth syncing to my phone.
The Fitbit Zip is a low-cost Fitbit that tracks steps, distance, and calories burned, syncing the results to your computer or smartphone. The Zip also features a friendly touch display to check your stats, and has a user-replaceable battery that lasts up to six months each time. gdgt
Today, fitbit announced two new products the One and the Zip. Both promise to sync via Bluetooth 4.0/Bluetooth Smart, and both are said to be water resistant (sweat,rain and the like). I really wanted to buy the One, but two things held me back. First, its pre-shipping order status and second the design looks similar enough to the original created a love-hate connection in my mind. While the Zip had one negative in my book, no sleep tracking. I placed an order for my Zip.
If you want to turn fitness into a lifestyle, the One is for you. For starters, it never rests. During the day, it tracks your steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed. Come nightfall, it measures your sleep cycle, helps you learn how to sleep better, and wakes you in the morning. The One motivates you to reach your goals by bringing greater fitness into your life - seamlessly, socially, 24 hours a day. gdgt
UPDATE: after an outing at the gym I put my order on hold. I don’t think I have the same use case for a fitbit I did back in 2010. Going with a product that is less than the orginal may not be a wise buying choice. I will wait and see product review of both the Zip and One before buy.