Forgive me if I'm covering charted territory here, but a quick glance through the search feature didn't lead me to a thread specifically for this, nor one that was very recent. As you are all aware, there are a ton of products out in this market and that number is only growing. It seems like there is a product for every single niche, but there are clear favorites (both in the bargain category as well as the high end -- just like headphones and plenty of other accessories).
Admittedly, I haven't researched these in much depth. I did for a while at one time, but it seems like things change rapidly in this market. I have a Body Media (now owned by Jawbone) Fit link armband that I got a few years ago. At the time, it was touted as the most accurate product in the market as far as caloric expenditure (claiming 90%+ accuracy). It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't sleek or subtle, either. The sensor itself is the size of a big watch face and it snaps into an arm band similar to the old ones you used to see when iPods first came out -- also worn on the upper left arm (between the delt and tricep, pretty much). If you were without sleeves or wearing a tighter shirt, it was very noticeable. Again, not a huge deal, but certainly not appealing to the eyes. It also wasn't water resistant, so you had to take it off when doing any type of pool activities and obviously during showers. The latter isn't a big deal, but the former required you to go out of your way to key in activity length and description to estimate calorie burn -- just extra work.
Lately, the majority of products seem to be wristbands. That's obviously a much easier sell in terms of the aesthetics and also just being less of a hassle for something new to adopt. It's like tossing on a(nother) bracelet -- not too hard to get used to.
From some quick reading this afternoon, it seems the caloric expenditure part is still pretty hard to nail down and that's what most of us want them for (though distance traveled, sleep patterns, etc. are all very nice things to have).
So, do any of you utilize a product in this category? If not, why? If so, which one? Why did you choose that particular one? What are the pros and cons you've observed? And what are you most excited to see in the future -- near or far -- that may have already been mentioned as new technology (be it hardware or accompanying software)?
Discuss!
Admittedly, I haven't researched these in much depth. I did for a while at one time, but it seems like things change rapidly in this market. I have a Body Media (now owned by Jawbone) Fit link armband that I got a few years ago. At the time, it was touted as the most accurate product in the market as far as caloric expenditure (claiming 90%+ accuracy). It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't sleek or subtle, either. The sensor itself is the size of a big watch face and it snaps into an arm band similar to the old ones you used to see when iPods first came out -- also worn on the upper left arm (between the delt and tricep, pretty much). If you were without sleeves or wearing a tighter shirt, it was very noticeable. Again, not a huge deal, but certainly not appealing to the eyes. It also wasn't water resistant, so you had to take it off when doing any type of pool activities and obviously during showers. The latter isn't a big deal, but the former required you to go out of your way to key in activity length and description to estimate calorie burn -- just extra work.
Lately, the majority of products seem to be wristbands. That's obviously a much easier sell in terms of the aesthetics and also just being less of a hassle for something new to adopt. It's like tossing on a(nother) bracelet -- not too hard to get used to.
From some quick reading this afternoon, it seems the caloric expenditure part is still pretty hard to nail down and that's what most of us want them for (though distance traveled, sleep patterns, etc. are all very nice things to have).
So, do any of you utilize a product in this category? If not, why? If so, which one? Why did you choose that particular one? What are the pros and cons you've observed? And what are you most excited to see in the future -- near or far -- that may have already been mentioned as new technology (be it hardware or accompanying software)?
Discuss!