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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Trackers | Measuring the quantified self
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Trackers | Measuring the quantified self

Have trouble planning an exercise regimen? Fitness trackers can help you plan a workout schedule and motivate you to stick to it

Nike+ FuelBand $149Premium
Nike+ FuelBand $149

If you’re a runner, then fitness trackers should be on your must-buy list. These can track how far and how fast you run, measure how well you sleep, and log other activities like cycling or playing a sport.

There are two main styles that are popular now, the wristband type trackers that you wear like a watch, and clip-ons. These trackers aren’t readily available in retail stores in India, though some shopkeepers are importing them. The best bet is to buy them online, on Amazon or eBay.

Except for Misfit Shine, all prices are for Amazon.com, shipping charges extra.

Wristbands

UP by Jawbone

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Up by Jawbone $129.99

In terms of design, the UP is the sleekest tracker out there, and can be bent at any point to fit your hand comfortably. It’s really easy to use as well, and includes a daily activity tracker, sleep efficiency monitor, and a silent alarm which vibrates on your wrist. It doesn’t have a display, but connects to your smartphone to display the logs through a free companion app.

A button on one end of the UP lets you toggle between sleep and walk modes, or to log an activity such as playing a game. It’s easy to use, but syncing is a little cumbersome. The UP’s battery life lasts a full week, and it’s also comfortable to wear.

Fitbit Flex

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Fitbit Flex $99.95 (around Rs6,576)

The size of the strap can be adjusted, and it doesn’t have a full display. Instead, there are five lights on the side, and these represent your progress to the day’s targets—all five lights means you’ve walked as much as your goal. Aside from an attractive design, the Flex is a good option for its persistent sync with your phone, and the ability to log non-walking activities, like swimming.

The wireless sync is a really great touch, and it still manages to go almost a week between charges. The sleep-logging function is not exactly scientific, but it’s fun and can encourage you to try and sleep in a more timely fashion at least.

Nike+ FuelBand

Nike came out with a small pedometer you could slip into your shoe to use as a fitness tracker, and the FuelBand was the natural next step for them. It’s fairly thick, with a small LED display to show you the steps taken or calories burned so far.

There’s no food-logging system, so it doesn’t combine exercise and food intake, and it doesn’t have different modes for different types of activities, so it sees an hour of running as the same as an hour of tennis or swimming.

The battery lasts around 10 days, and while the FuelBand seems limited in that it doesn’t have too many extra functions such as sleep logging, it is quite accurate and easy to use.

Fitbit One $85.65
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Fitbit One $85.65

Clip On

Fitbit One

The Fitbit One came out around six months before the Flex, but it has many of the same features. Since it comes with an LED display, you can also see things like step count and calories burned right away, and an added feature is the altimeter, which makes it accurate for calculating the stairs climbed, something the other trackers aren’t as good at.

Couple that with the other Fitbit features such as the sleep monitor and silent wake alarm and it becomes a really good choice. It lacks the persistent sync of the Flex though, and doesn’t have a much longer battery life. Since it costs the same as the Flex, the design really is the main differentiator here.

Misfit Shine

The Misfit Shine is easily the best looking fitness tracker out there. Its all-metal design and magnetic clip are hugely attractive. It’s also a pretty stylish watch, with an included wristband mount. It uses a standard watch cell, and claims a battery life of four to six months.

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Misfit Shine $109.99 (on eBay, shipping is extra)

It is a strange procedure, where you must place the tracker on your phone to transfer the data—it looks cool, but ultimately, inefficient. The Shine gets full marks for style, but in terms of functions, falls a little behind the Fitbit.

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Published: 07 Sep 2013, 12:04 AM IST
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