Fitbit Flex

SHAKE-UPPERER OF LAZY HABITS

Fitbit Flex

It might look like just another simple activity-tracking wristband, but the Fitbit Flex is a lot more than that

● It looks simple

What with its plain rubber strap, basic colours and tiny, bullet-sized sensor, but the devil, as they say, is in the details. And the Fitbit Flex records every last one of them. It keeps tabs on your activity, the number of steps and floors climbed each day, as well as your inactivity, or sleep to be specific

● It watches while you sleep. 

 The Flex tracks you while you snooze, able to gauge whether you’ve been tossing and turning all night or were sound asleep from the off. You have to manually tell the Flex when you’re getting into bed (by rapidly tapping the bit at the top until it vibrates) and again when your alarm goes off, but each morning it will give you a detailed breakdown of your sleeping patterns which should, in theory, help you sleep better in future. 

● It shakes you awake 

Set the built-in silent alarm and your Flex will start buzzing on your wrist each morning, vibrating you awake while your other half sleeps unawares beside you. The silent alarm doesn’t cancel sleep mode though, which is a bit of an oversight. And while its vibrations are enough to rouse you from slumber, we would have liked if the Flex learned from sleep patterns and picked the optimal time to get you out of bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

● It can be taken apart 

Most of what you see is actually the rubber strap. The Flex’s real smarts lay inside the tiny sensor that’s slotted into the back of the strap. It can also be removed from the wristband, for when you want to track yourself in less conspicuous fashion.

APPY DAYS

The Fitbit Flex is really just a wrist- mountable sensor, the clever bit, that of analyzing your movement, happens behind the scenes. The Flex uses power-sipping Bluetooth 4.0 and constantly syncs to your Android or iPhone (or via cable to a PC or Mac). Once the data is onboard, you’ll be able to set activity goals, monitor weight loss and even track the number of calories you eat each day. It’s social too, letting you make friends with other Fitbit users to see which of your chubby mates is fitter.

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