Fitness bracelet is a gadget that is gaining popularity and helps to lead a healthy lifestyle by tracking your level of activity. With it, you don’t have to think about counting steps taken and calories burned - the bracelet will take on this function. All you need to do is put a bracelet on your hand, and then look at the statistics and draw conclusions.
Many new products contain additional functionality: measuring heart rate at rest and during training, a smart alarm clock that tracks the phases of sleep, and much more, depending on the imagination of the developers and the capabilities of the manufacturer.
Who needs such a device and why
A smart bracelet is not a device for professional athletes. Specialized and expensive devices for sports, for example, from Garmin, are needed to correctly and as accurately as possible display a variety of parameters that are not needed by an ordinary user.
The main task of trackers (another name for fitness bracelets, from the English trek is the way) is motivation. You can even write with a capital letter - Motivation.
What is a typical office worker lifestyle? Home-work-shop-house. We go to work and to the store by car, and we even prefer to get to the elevator on our 4th or 5th floor. At the same time, we naively believe that we are definitely going through our 10,000 steps a day: while I went for lunch, while I walked around the office, I talked with my colleagues - I must have run into it.
Fitness bracelet dispels illusions and, most importantly, brings an element of the game to such a boring thing as maintaining your own physical form. No wonder the social component of the most successful models is thought out as carefully as possible: competing with friends is much more fun.
How to choose the right tracker for you
There are already a lot of models on the market, especially in 2014, and it’s quite difficult to figure out this variety. Different manufacturers produce fitness bracelets targeted at different audiences. Comparison of analogs can take enough time, so you should focus on the most popular and successful models, among which the leading positions are occupied by Nike + Fuelband SE, Sony SmartBand SWR10 and Jawbone UP24. Consider their main advantages and disadvantages and try to decide which of the models is worth buying as a gift to yourself and your loved ones.
Nike + Fuelband SE - Superbly engineered motivation system
Nike + Fuelband SE fitness bracelet is the next generation of the popular Fuelband tracker, which has been greatly improved and finalized taking into account reviews of the previous model.
The tracker is available in 6 different design options - everyone can choose the option to taste. In addition, a special METALUXE Collection model with golden accents has been released, which goes well with the office style of clothing.
The fitness bracelet has protection against water and dust: you can go to the shower with it, although many are afraid of damaging an expensive "toy" and remove the gadget before taking water procedures.
Compatibility does not cause any complaints: synchronization occurs via Bluetooth 4.0 with reduced power consumption, the device itself is compatible with Android and iOS platforms.
There is a function of "smart alarm": the bracelet wakes you with vibration in the range you set in advance, which increases the chances of waking up in the most favorable phase of sleep.
The average operating time of the tracker without recharging is 4 days.
Target audience Fuelband SE
This fitness bracelet will surely appeal to people with many friends who are interested in technological innovations, or simply active Facebook users who have many virtual friends.
Another Fuelband's target audience is gamers or those who are motivated by a set of conditional fuel points and getting pleasant and beautifully drawn (and sometimes animated) achievements.
Nike made a successful fitness bracelet, reviews of which are mostly positive from people who are focused on social achievements: at your service the whole NikePlus community.
Additional modification METALUXE Collection will appeal to lovers of fashion trends and trends.
Sony SmartBand SWR10 - your constant companion
A novelty from the Japanese giant - the Sony SmartBand SWR10 fitness bracelet - appeared only in April 2014. Sony offers different fitness bracelets, the comparison of which reveals the leader - SmartBand SWR10: this model is the optimal combination of all the necessary functions and price. And the price of the device is really impressive - almost 2 times lower than the competitor from Nike.
The tracker design is designed in a concise style, echoes the design of Sony Xperia smartphones, 9 color options are available.
It is protected from water according to the IP58 standard, but since the device itself is not rigidly fixed in the strap, you should not risk taking a bath or swimming with it. Nevertheless, a fitness bracelet will withstand a walk in the rain or accidental splashes.
The gadget is charged via microUSB, which is very nice: most likely, it will be possible to use charging from a smartphone. Synchronization occurs using Bluetooth 4.0. For many, the smart bracelet’s demand for the platform will become an unpleasant surprise: the device works only with Android version 4.4 and higher, and there is no and is not expected iOS support. If you do not have a smartphone with updated software (for example, the manufacturer has stopped supporting your model), then, alas, SmartBand cannot be connected to it.
Another drawback may be the lack of a clock display function.
Target audience bracelet Sony SmartBand SWR10
The main feature of the bracelet is the magnificent LifeLog application, which is especially valuable for those who implement the principles of time management in their life or just like to collect statistics for analysis. LifeLog not only displays normal activity statistics (counting steps, calories burned, sleep time, etc.), but also collects statistics on your interaction with your phone: how much time you spent on Facebook, how much - while listening to music, which videos you watched, how much made photos, etc. The function “Bookmarks” is especially interesting - by long pressing the button of the bracelet you take a kind of “snapshot”, and the application remembers your place, music, taken picture, sent SMS and so on.
The application is really promising if you approach its use creatively. For example, a novice photographer can set a goal for a certain number of shots per day and track statistics, improving indicators, and from bookmarks that evoke the most vivid memories, you can extract material for creativity: video, music, etc.
Jawbone UP24 - exquisite quality
The Jawbone UP24 Fitness Bracelet is the next generation of the popular Jawbone UP, the most successful model of yesteryear.
The design has not changed much, delighting fans with the same stylish forms and disappointing with the same not-so-convenient charging through an adapter that is easily lost.
Moisture protection has been improved - now the bracelet is not afraid of splashing, but swimming or taking a bath with it is still not worth it.
Compatibility is excellent: the bracelet works great with iOS and Android devices. Yes, and the working time is also pleasing: Jawbone UP24 gives one of the best indicators on the market in this price category - about 7 days.
A "smart" alarm clock works the same as in the previous model: you can specify the start of the sleep time by pressing the key, or the countdown will start automatically according to the preset parameters, and the bracelet wakes up with a slight vibration within the specified time range. The sleep schedule is built using an accelerometer, the principle is simple: the less you toss and turn, the better the quality of sleep.
The disadvantages include the ability to display the current time - the bracelet will not replace the watch .
The target audience of the bracelet Jawbone UP24
First of all, the model will be interesting to owners of the previous version: they are already used to the functionality and usability of the application, made friends with other users, so it is unlikely that they will be attracted to other fitness bracelets. An overview of the updated model can be read “diagonally” - they are already familiar with most of the functions.
Beginners will be interested in other advantages - for example, the ability to integrate the original Jawbone application with other popular programs: RunKeeper, MyFitnessPal and so on. This can be really valuable for those who have used these applications before and do not want to part with the accumulated statistics.
It is also worth considering that the Jawbone UP24 is one of the thinnest and lightest bracelets on the market, which can be important for miniature girls or teenagers.
So which model of fitness bracelet to choose
So, now you know that manufacturers offer different fitness bracelets, you also read an overview of the most popular models. To make your selection easier, check out the small summary table and consider which options are most important to you.
| Nike + Fuelband SE | Sony SmartBand SWR10 | Jawbone up24 |
| Design and ease of charging | 5+ out of 5 (considering METALUXE) | 5 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 (charging via adapter) |
| Water resistant | shower spray | shower spray | shower spray |
| Clock display | Yes | not | not |
| Compatibility and Sync | Bluetooth 4.0, Android, iOS | Bluetooth 4.0, Android 4.4, iOS | Bluetooth 4.0, Android, iOS |
| Alarm clock | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Working hours | 4 days | 5 days | 6 days |
| App Convenience | best motivation | more statistics | integration with other services |
Do you want to use a bracelet instead of a watch? As you can see, only Nike + Fuelband SE has such a feature - take a closer look at it.
Do you already have collected statistics in other applications? Consider purchasing a Jawbone UP24.
Etc. All in your hands. Good luck