Review: Fitbit Ultra Wireless Activity + Sleep Tracker

I am really on a roll lately with products that Verizon Wireless is letting me test (and that I really, really like). The latest is the Fitbit Ultra Wireless Activity + Sleep Tracker.

The Fitbit (as I will generically refer to it from here on) is remarkably small—about the size of a USB thumb stick. But don’t let its size deceive you. What it does is no small feat.

What does the Fitbit do?

At its core, the Fitbit tracks the number of steps you take every day. Sure, there are a dozen pedometers that do the same thing but they aren’t as cool as the Fitbit.

For starters, besides just indicating the number of steps you have taken, the Fitbit also tells you the distance (in miles) you have traveled, the number of calories you have burned and how many flights of stairs you have climbed. It also displays a flower that, depending on the length of the stem and number of leaves, tells you how “fit” you are being on any given day.

The Fitbit also acts as your motivational coach giving you little messages through the day like “HOLD ME”, “LOVE YA” and “SMOOCHES”.

You can also view detailed statistics and colorful graphs of your fitness data by viewing your Fitbit account on the web, which you set up when you first start using the Fitbit. There’s no complicated syncing required either. The Fitbit quietly transmits its data to the receiver/charger you plug into your computer whenever you come within close range of it.

It even works while you sleep

Perhaps the best feature of the Fitbit in my opinion is the sleep tracking feature. At nighttime you put the Fitbit into “sleep mode” and it immediately begins tracking how long it takes you to fall asleep, how long you sleep and how many times per night you are “active”. It then combines all of this data and gives you a sleep efficiency score.