Fitness bracelet: review, comparison, reviews

Fitness bracelet is a popular gadget that helps you to lead a healthy lifestyle by tracking your level of activity. With him you can not think about counting the passed steps and burnt calories - the bracelet will take on this function. All you need is to put the bracelet on your hand, and then look at the statistics and draw conclusions.

Many new items contain additional functionality: a pulse measurement at rest and during training, an "intelligent" alarm clock, tracking sleep phases, and much more, depending on the imagination of the developers and the capabilities of the manufacturer.

To whom and why does such a device

A smart bracelet is not a device for professional athletes. Specialized and expensive instruments for sports, for example, from Garmin, are needed for correct and most accurate display of a variety of parameters that are not necessary for the average user.

The main task of trackers (another name for fitness bracelets, from English trek - the way) is motivation. You can even write with a capital letter - Motivation.

What is the usual way of life of an office worker? House-work-shop-house. At work and in the store we go by car, and even on your 4th or 5th floor we prefer to get on an elevator. At the same time, we naively believe that our 10,000 steps a day are definitely passing: while I was going to lunch for a while, I was like at the office, I talked to my colleagues - I must have run after all.

Fitness bracelet dispels illusions and, most importantly, - brings the element of the game into such a boring business as maintaining its own physical form. No wonder the social component of the most successful models is thought out as carefully as possible: it is much more fun to compete with friends.

How to choose the right tracker for you

There are already a lot of models released to the market, especially in 2014, and it is rather difficult to understand this diversity. Different manufacturers produce fitness-oriented bracelets aimed at different audiences. Comparison of analogs can take quite some time, so it's worth to 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 determine which of the models should be bought as a gift to yourself and your loved ones.

Nike + Fuelband SE - a well-thought-out motivation system

Fitness bracelet Nike + Fuelband SE - the next generation of the popular fuelcard tracker, largely improved and modified with feedback on the previous model.

The tracker is available in 6 different design options - anyone can choose the option to taste. In addition, a special model METALUXE Collection with golden inserts, perfectly combined with the office style of clothes was released.

Fitness bracelet is protected from water and dust: you can walk in the shower with him, although many are afraid to damage the 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 clock": the bracelet wakes you up with vibration in the pre-set range, which increases the chances of awakening in the most favorable phase of sleep.

The average time of the tracker without recharging is 4 days.

Target Audience Bracelet Fuelband SE

This fitness bracelet surely will appeal to people with a lot of friends interested in technological innovations, or just active Facebook users who have many virtual friends.

Another target audience is Fuelband - gamers or those who are motivated by a set of conditional fuel-points and getting nice and beautifully traced (and sometimes animated) achievements.

Nike made a successful fitness bracelet, reviews of which are mostly positive from people focused on social achievement: at your service is the whole community of NikePlus.

Additional modification of METALUXE Collection will appeal to fans of fashion trends and trends.

Sony SmartBand SWR10 is your constant companion

The novelty from the Japanese giant - the fitness bracelet Sony SmartBand SWR10 - 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 prices. And the price of the device is really impressive - almost 2 times lower than the competitor from Nike.

The design of the tracker is sustained in a laconic style, echoes the design of the Sony Xperia smartphones, there are 9 variants of colors available.

Protected against water by the standard IP58, but since the device itself is not rigidly fixed in the strap, it is not worth the risk of taking a bath or swimming with it. However, a walk in the rain or accidental splashes of a fitness bracelet will stand.

The gadget is being charged via microUSB, which is very nice: most likely, you can use the charging from the smartphone. Synchronization is via Bluetooth 4.0. For many, an unpleasant surprise will be the exactingness of the smart bracelet to the platform: the device only works with Android version 4.4 and higher, and there is no iOS support and is not expected. If you do not have a smartphone with updated software (for example, the manufacturer has ceased to support your model), then, alas, SmartBand can not be connected with it.

Another drawback may be the lack of a clock display function.

Target Audience of the Sony SmartBand SWR10 Bracelet

The main feature of the bracelet is an excellent LifeLog application, especially valuable for those who implement the principles of time management in their lives or simply like to collect statistics for analysis. LifeLog displays not only normal activity statistics (counting steps, calories spent, sleep time, etc.), but also collects statistics of your interaction with the phone: how much time you spent on Facebook, how many - listening to music, what videos you watched, how many Photos made, etc. Particularly interesting is the function of "Bookmarks" - by long pressing the button of the bracelet you make a kind of "snapshot of the state", and the application remembers your place, music, a picture taken, sent SMS and so on.

The application is really promising if you approach it creatively. For example, a novice photographer can set a certain number of pictures a day and track statistics, improving the performance, and from the bookmarks that evoke the most vivid memories, you can extract material for creativity: video, music, etc.

Jawbone UP24 - exquisite quality

Fitness bracelet Jawbone UP24 - the next generation of popular Jawbone UP, the most successful model of the past.

The design has not changed much, delighting fans with the same stylish forms and disappointing with the same not too convenient charging through the adapter, which is easily lost.

Improved protection against moisture - now the bracelet is not afraid of splashing, but to swim or take a bath with it is still not worth it.

Compatibility is excellent: with iOS devices and Android bracelet works great. Yes, and the time is also pleased: Jawbone UP24 gives one of the best performance in the market in this price category - about 7 days.

The "smart" alarm clock works the same way as in the previous model: you can specify the start time of the sleep by pressing the key, or the countdown will start automatically according to the preset parameters, but wakes the bracelet with a slight vibration within the specified time range. The sleep graph is built using an accelerometer, the principle is simple: the less you turn, the better the quality of sleep.

The disadvantages include the ability to display the current time - the watch does not replace the bracelet .

Target Audience Bracelet Jawbone UP24

First of all, the model will be interesting to the owners of the previous version: they are already accustomed to the functionality and usability of the application, have made friends with other users, so they are unlikely to attract other fitness bracelets. The review of the updated model can be read "diagonally" - they are already familiar with most of the functions.

Newcomers will also be interested in other benefits - 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 used these applications earlier and do not want to part with the accumulated statistics.

Also it is worth considering that Jawbone UP24 is one of the thinnest and lightest bracelets on the market, which can be of no small importance for miniature girls or teenagers.

So which model of a fitness bracelet to choose

So, now you know that manufacturers offer different fitness bracelets, a review of the most popular models you also read. To facilitate the selection, review a small summary table and consider which parameters are most important to you.

	Nike + Fuelband SE	Sony SmartBand SWR10	Jawbone UP24
Design and convenience of charging	5+ out of 5 (considering METALUXE)	5 out of 5	4 of 5 (charging via adapter)
Water Resistance	Shower, spray	Shower, spray	Shower, spray
Display hours	Yes	no	no
Compatibility and synchronization	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
Convenience of the application	Best motivation	More statistics	Integration with other services

Do you want to use a bracelet instead of a clock? As you can see, this feature is only Nike + Fuelband SE - look at it.

Do you already have collected statistics in other applications? Consider buying Jawbone UP24.

And so on. All in your hands. Good luck!