REVIEWS

Fitbit One Wireless Activity plus Sleep Tracker Review

By Philip Yiga | April 15, 2015

Fitbit One is an All in One tracking device; it will help you track your daily activities and sleep. Data is transferred to your smart device wirelessly so there is no need of using USB cables. If you don’t like the discomfort of wristband trackers, opt for this Clip-on tracker. It is a small device; you can clip it on your belt, shirt pocket, jean pocket and a bra. Being fit all the time is healthy, you should turn it into your lifestyle, because this way you won’t get tire / fade up of working out.

[See price on Amazon….]

For starters, I suggest you take things slowly, don’t rush to burn lots of calories in a small period of time. Much as it is possible, you will burn lots of energy as well and get tired so fast. I suggest you start slowly and increase on the intensity of your workouts gradually. Fitbit One will track all activities during day time and at night it will monitor your sleeping patterns.

PERFORMANCE: 4.4 (This is a pretty good customer rating; it gives me a clear impression that Fitbit One delivers the best results. In this review we shall dig deep into each feature of Fitbit One and see how relevant it is to us)

FEATURES:

Activity tracking (You can track all steps taken, floors climbed, distance covered, calories burned and active minutes per day / week)
Clock + display
Sleep + alarms
Wear + water-resistant (but don’t swim with it)

WHAT FITBIT ONE TRACKS?

Steps taken
Distance
Sleep
Burned Calories
Active minutes

RELATED MODELS:

PROS:

Fitbit One is a great motivational tool:- It will keep you moving, tracks daily steps, calories burned, active minutes, stairs climbed, distance covered and sleep patterns. All this is done by that small fitness tracker….Unbelievable…There is one small feature which keeps me going every time I see Fitbit one and that is growing flower displayed on the screen. Before using this tracker, the flower will be short but as you start getting active, it also grows. Every time I look at that flower, I get motivated to work out even more so that it can grow to its fullest. If you’re used to wristband trackers, Fitbit has taken care of that because the box contains a free wristband which you can attach to Fitbit One and wear it as a wristband watch. The wristband is made out of Velcro material and it has holes in it making it easy to adjust and at the same time these holes allow aeration around the wrist. Included in the box is a little pocket band which you can use at night. When you go to bed, wear that pocket band and slip this Fibit One into the pocket. Make sure you switch Fitbit One to sleep mode, this is how it will track your sleeping patterns, however, you can set the device into a normal / sensitive setting. But when you wake up, press and hold the button to remove the device from sleep mode.

Great Support team:– Fitbit has great customer support, they get back to you in time. If you need a replacement, it will be done in the shortest period as possible without charging you any penny.

How Fitbit Works? – When you buy this new Fitbit One activity/sleep tracker, you will have a few choices on how to wear it. Typically most users clip it on the belt, pocket, shirt pocket and bra. It can stay there for 24 hours, even when you get caught up in rain, you don’t have to change its position because it’s water proof. The other option is to wear it as a wristband. On arrival, the booklet will tell you that you charge this device for at least 5 minutes, that charge will take you for 5 solid days, sometimes it can last for a week, but when the battery gets old, it stops holding power for long and that’s when you need to make a replacement of the battery. Once the battery is full, turn on Fitbit One and clip it on your clothes / belt / wrist. It will start doing its Job. Fitbit Once can sync collected data to any smart device / computer wirelessly.

Silent Alarm:- When it comes to waking up, no one likes a noisy alarm, it irritates you and it also wakes up your partner. Fitbit One has a silent alarm which vibrates from your wrist. Its vibration is not as strong as that of a cell phone, it’s soft and tender. You can set the right time you would like to wake-up using Fitbit website or Mobile Application. Please remember that you have to sleep for 8 solid hours. Failure to get enough sleep might result into health issues.

Perfect step counter:- If your job requires you to sit in-front of a computer the all day, I advise you to walk around your office / building. This improves on blood flow and at the same time it improves on your health. People who sit for long hour are more likely to get health problems. However, as you walk around the office, climb stairs, you need to track those steps and know your daily achievements. In that case, you need this Fitbit One with you because it is a perfect step counter. Challenge yourself by setting daily goals, this will keep you healthy.

Comes with a Clock:- At a glance you might not see the clock and I have seen some users complaining that the device lacks a clock. It’s there, what you have to do is to place a button at your wrist you will see time displaying at the bottom Fitbit One.

Stopwatch:- In my review of Fitbit Charge HR I mentioned that it has no stopwatch feature, when I scrolled through customer reviews, I noticed that I was not the only one requesting for this stopwatch. Good news is that Fitbit has incorporated a stopwatch in Fitbit One. So if you’re training for a race or trying to bit your last race time, give a try to Fitbit One. I know it has some downsides, but judging from its affordable price, I’m okay with what it offers.

Left & Right Hand Friendly:- I’m not sure of you would mind about this, but it’s quite relevant to me. I’m right handed however, I prefer wearing my Fitbit One at the left side of my waist attached on a belt. At first when I did this, words seem to read backwards, however, when I checked Fitbit website, I got directions on how to alternate the directions of words and now it displays everything very well. This is a small feature that majority of you might Ignore, but you’re also like me you will get to this point and learn how to appreciate this small activity tracking device.

Great Motivator:- I might explain this point in different ways, so don’t get shocked if you see me repeating the same point as we go on with this review. When you sit for a long time watching TV, your legs will get tired and the next thing is to stand up and walk around the house…right!!!!….Guess what Fitbit One does, It interrupts you immediately when you stand up and beeps…GO – GO – GO..Seeing this beeping will inspire you and in that way you will improve on your step count and blood flow in general.

Syncs your stats on a daily basis:- This is wireless device, you don’t need to use USB cables to sync data to a computer or smart device. It uses Bluetooth technology to share data across different devices which are Bluetooth enabled. So, if your phone is outdated, I suggest you get one with Bluetooth feature, in that way you will be able to sync / transfer data from Fitbit One to your cell phone. You can easily track your progress because data is displayed on your smart inform of charts & graphs.

Very small and inconspicuous: – Ladies always want to do things without anyone noticing. I’m sure you don’t want everyone at work to know that you’re tracking each step you take; otherwise they might turn it into a laughing matter and end up discouraging you. Fitbit One is small and very easy to hide. For example, you can ware it on your bra and no one will tell that you have it.

Good battery life:- Premium Fitbit fitness trackers like CHARGE HR & SURGE have a battery life of 5 days yet this simple small device has a battery life of 10 days +. May be the reason it has a better battery life than SURGE / CHARGE HR is because it lacks a continuous heart rate monitor which is found on CHARGE HR & SURGE.

CONS:

It is step-oriented:- Much as I love this device, It has some downside. Fitbit One is step-oriented, it will track each and every step you take and I give is a 4/5 rating over that, but once you use an elliptical machine, lift weights, use a rowing machine or swim or any other activity which does not involve stepping motion, the device will not take records for those activities. I’m wondering whey they don’t call it a step tracker, because some physical activities don’t require foot movement.

Very easy to lose:– Many users of this small device have reported that it comes out of the clip. I personally I have not had any issue; however, I have misplaced mine so many times. Fitbit should come up with a tracker on its mobile App, once paired with the device it can track its location in the house / at the office. Sometimes I get late for meetings or work because I have to search for this small device.

Not user friendly:- I talked about a stopwatch and clock, these two relevant features are very hard to find, you have to press buttons to figure out some features. However, when you get things right, Fitbit One can become your favorite activity tracker of all time.

No booklet:- I talked about this when I was reviewing Fitbot Flex. The main reason why Fitbit doesn’t issue out those booklet manuals is because you never read them so the only option you have is to go on Fitbit.com and download a manual for this fitness & sleep tracking device.

[See price on Amazon….]

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH FITBIT MOBILE APPLICATION?

Record workouts
Reward yourself with badges (best way to celebrate a fitness achievement)
Share and compete with friends
Login Food and track burned calories
Check your progress via easy-to-read charts and graphs.

WHAT IS IN THE BOX?

Fitbit One™ tracker (as seen in the picture above)
Charging cable
Wireless sync dongle Silicon clip (this helps in transferring / syncing of data across devices)
Sleep wristband (slip your Fitbit One in this sleep wristband)

SPECIFICATIONS:

Memory:- Fitbit One tracks 7 days of detailed motion data
OLED display
Push the button to cycle through daily stats
Syncing range: 20 feet
Syncing to computers requires Internet connection and USB port
3-axis accelerometer
Altimeter
Vibration motor
Battery life: 10-14 days
Battery type: Lithium-polymer
Charge time: One to two hours
Radio transceiver: Bluetooth 4.0
Operating temperature: -4° to 113°F
Maximum operating altitude: 30,000 feet

CONCLUSION:

I doubt if I have left out any essential information about Fitbit One Activity/Sleep tracker. You can contribute to this post by using a commenting box below this post. Otherwise enjoy your new activity & sleep tracker. Make sure you don’t wear it to a swimming pool or expose it to any wet conditions.

[See price on Amazon….]