Fitness gadget Fitbit was a hit at last year’s TechCrunch50, where it created a ton of buzz and was a runner-up for the top prize. Of course, we all know that it takes hardware companies longer to launch than software startups and since last September, Fitbit has been working tirelessly to refine the product, establish distributions channels and tweak its online platform. Now we won’t have to wait any longer, since Fitbit will officially open up to the public on Tuesday. The site you see currently is the beta version and will feature a redesign as well on Tuesday.
So what does Fitbit do? The sleek little device clips onto your clothing and tracks your movement, sleep and calorie burn throughout the day and night. Fitbit, which costs $99, uses the information it gathers about your movement to help you determine how much exercise you’ve been getting and how many calories you’ve burnt. It can also tell you how many steps you have taken and how well you’ve slept, all based on its internal motion detector. By clicking a little button on the device, you’ll see a small blue LED screen that will alternate between the steps you’ve taken, the calories you’ve burned, your distance, and gives you a gauge of how high your activity level is. This is shown via a small flower that will grow as you exercise more (though I’m told that you will be able to switch your icon).
Here’s the really innovative part—the device is wireless so all data gets automatically synchronized to your computer and then the web through a wireless base station, so you don’t even have to plug it in. If you are within 10 feet of the device (it plugs into your computer via a USB cord), the station will sync with your device. In order for the wireless functionality to work you need to install a syncing software that runs on both Macs and PCs. Once synced, you can view your health dashboard online.
The dashboard is fairly simple and organized. You input your age, height, weight, and gender and are given basic info of how many steps you’ve made in a day and a breakdown of how active you are within the day, showing the highs and lows of your activity. The site will even break down particular activities and measure the intensity of workout. In terms of caloric burn and intake, Fitbit will calculate how many calories you burn in a given day, and if you log in your nutritional info, will also compare that to how much your intake was, making it ideal for anyone who wants to lose weight. And Fitbit has made it easy to input any type of food by already integrating the nutritional value of most types of food, cuisine and even restaurant chain foods, which cuts out a large amount of work for you.
One of the features that I find particularly compelling is the ability to monitor your sleep pattern. If you wear the device while sleeping, it will give you a snapshot of your “sleep health.” As you fall in and out of sleep, the Fitbit tracks the movements that your body makes and can tell you how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up throughout the night and the actual time you were asleep vs the time you were in bed. You will be able to see all of this detailed information on your dashboard. And to make sure that the device is comfortable for people to wear during the night, you can slide Fitbit onto a wristband that is provided.
Fitbit’s co-founder and CEO, James Park, told me that when it comes to running and walking, Fitbit is 99 percent accurate in its reporting of steps and 90 percent accurate for caloric burn. But Fitbit isn’t as accurate for other types of activities, like weight-lifting and biking. To mitigate this problem, the online dashboard lets you input exercise types and times manually and Fitbit will calculate how many calories you burned based on health information it has collected.
On Tuesday, the site will be open to the public and all of those individuals who pre-ordered the device over the past year will finally receive their Fitbit. While the site will be the only place you can order the Fitbit, Park says that in Q4 you’ll be able to buy the Fitbit online and in retail stores but declined to name which stores he’s partnered with. Fitbit raised a cool $2 million last October and Park says they are looking to raise more to up manufacturing and distribution channels.
Fitbit will also become more social, letting users form groups where they can compare their fitness goals and activities. The site will also take a page out of Mint.com’s book by letting you compare your activity and fitness with other anonymous people who have similar weight, height, and gender. While using the personalized dashboard is free, Fitbit will soon be rolling out premium paid features such as customized fitness coaching and guidance.
So what’s the competition? There are similar products on the market that offer the same functionality as Fitbit, such as the Philips Activity Monitor or the BodyBugg or Nike/iPod gear (which doesn’t measure sleep patterns). But the beauty of fitbit is in it’s pricing and in its sleek structure. It fits in any pocket and is so small and unobtrusive that it could be hooked into a bra. Both the Philips and BodyBugg products are bulky, making it difficult to wear 24-hours per day. The advantage of the BodyBugg is that it measures calories burn by heat, which is a more efficient and accurate way of measuring calorie burn. Fitbit counts calories via motion, but that’s also why it’s easy to wear.
I wasn’t at TechCrunch50 last year but after seeing a demo, I’m already excited about this product after being frustrated with the limitations of pedometers that I’ve used. The ability to wirelessly connect to the online dashboard takes a lot of the work out of actually making sense of the data. And being able to understand your optimal balance of diet, workouts and sleep is valuable. It seems that Fitbit was worth the wait.
I can see this product going mainstream with the right marketing plan. If they execute this properly, I can see Fitbit going all the way.
Author Leena Rao never reads any of our comments let alone reply. Anybody here seen her replying in comment section??
Me too cool product… WeightWatcher partner anyone?
This seems like an awesome product. I wonder how it will stack up against the majority of “fit” devices.
I ordered mine the day the presented at TC50 last year – I can’t wait to get mine!
Certain rythmic daily activities (e.g., late night acts) mimic the rythmic motions of walking, and could be interpreted as the latter.
Calories are burnt either way… besides you might not have it clipped on during certain late night acts.
You’d certainly be a real nerd to keep this on during those certain late night acts
Why not? It comes with a wristband.
lol, strap it on the wrist above your primary hand when you’re “flying solo,” sit back, relax, and later brag that you just ran 8 miles !!
Amazing. I want one!!!
is it waterproof?
According to the FAQ on their website, it’s water resistant and not water proof. So you can’t use it during such activities as swimming.
Yawn. Just use a mirror to check the progress of your fitness program.
…and just go to the library instead of using Google.
Its hard to check the mirror when you are busy playing World of Warcraft.
and just drive over to your friend’s place to deliver a forwarded sms joke
“…when it comes to running and walking, Fitbit is 99 percent accurate in its reporting of steps and 90 percent accurate for caloric burn”
The 90% caloric burn accuracy is just BS … with a fat B and a huge S. Can they demonstrate that ?
Wow, this sounds really cool.
I totally agree with you.
starting my christmas wishlist. this is in my top 3
Impressive that it can tell you how well you slept. I can understand the walking and exercise data collection. But detecting sleep issues is great.
i’m looking forward to trying this.
Ditto. Just bought one after I read this article. It can be really tough to gauge just how many calories you burn over the course of a day, regardless of what your level of activity is.
The fact that this sucker has 10+ days of battery life is amazing. The only thing I’m not so sure about is having to move the USB base station from my home environment to my work environment. I’d love it if I could just order a second one but they don’t have that option available to them (although I left them a comment indicating that this would be a nice feature.)
Looks pretty slick…I have a Garmin that I use for running and Cycling but I am a gadget freak so I may have to pick this up and give it go.
Yep, sign me up. I already have a heart monitor/calorie counter which calculates of your heart beat so is probably more accurate, however the complete system of uploading your data and monitoring your progress along with the sleep analyzer (I’m a pretty shitty sleeper) I think is great.
I would buy it if it had a way to integrate with something like the precor heart rate monitor for tracking heartrate information when working our, or running. A nifty iphone app that integrated diet / caloric intake would complete the package.
Pure fad! Once the novelty (and inaccuracy) of learning about your sleep patterns wears off, you know you either sleep well or go to your doctor for some ambien…now what….or can it also detect sleeep apnea?
Is this anything but a geeky pedometer? Do I really need a device to measure my activity or how well I’ve slept? If I’m active, I usually can sense how active I am by how much I’m sweating and if I’ve not slept well, I can usually sense that by my level of grogginess in the morning. Beyond that, if I want a tool to measure the intensity of my workouts, there are already a range of devices for that, from the $40 iPod / Nike + device to more sophisticate $400+ Polar heartrate monitors (the $119 Polar FA20 (http://www.pola...straining/FA20/) pretty well matches the functionality of the fitbit and probably tells you the time as well).
I know it’s techcrunch’s job to get giddy about things like this but really, this market has been played out.
Finally,
“…so small and unobtrusive that it could be hooked into a bra”
I’m not sure about most techcrunch readers but I don’t wear a bra … especially when I’m sleeping.
Exactly, the functionality isn’t very exciting, and wearing a usb dongle is obtrusive. Also, I would probably get tired of wearing this for sleep.
A cheaper, less obtrusive, and more reliable indicator of how well you exercise/how well you sleep is taking your heart rate right after waking up.
I have a Polar FA20, better than this hands down…..
As a software developer, i wonder how it will tell when I’m coding and when I’m sleeping, i move about the same amount, for the same time period. I am usually programming in the evening, and sleeping in the day when i can. And with that, I’m already developing low self esteem. – I don’t like this product anymore!
You tell it when you are going to sleep. You hold the little button on it for two seconds to signal that you are going to bed. Then you hold the button again when you wake up. That’s how it can tell when to start monitoring your sleep pattern.
This combines what have previously been a lot of expensive devices. The device I absolutely love for tracking sleep patterns though is a big orange watch called SleepTracker PRO (got it on eBay, don`t remember the name of the manufacturer) with its software that correlates your sleep pattern with your mood and consumption intake (late coffee, wine with dinner, that sort of thing). The bit that I really, really like about that device though is the silent vibrating wake up alarm that — I don’t know how — moves your wrist as if someone was gently waking you by moving your hand around. That with a generic sunriser lamp has given me some of the best wake-up experiences ever.
Louis-Eric — ditto on the sleeptracker watch. It’s a great device. The manufacturer is Sleeptracker.com.
wow! looks awesome and sleek… wish I could try this one.
Not available outside US. Bummer. Guess I’ll just keep being sedentary.
This is something I definitely want. I had become so lazy and gained like 15 pounds in the last 3 years. Thats 5 pounds a year. This will motivate me to do more exercise… I hope.
Is Fitbit waterproof? I swim regularly..and it would be amazing if I can wear it while I am swimming…
No, but the Philips device is.
I was initially intrigued by this idea when it first came around, but then I realized that I don’t need yet another novelty gadget that I wear for 1.5 weeks and then lives in my dresser drawer next to my other novelty gadget. In addition, I’m skeptical of a gadget which can’t measure many forms of exercise, and I’m curious to know how it differentiates between a nap and then 8 hours I sit on my ass in front of a computer each day.
My unvarnished guess (given the size and price point) is that the device itself is probably rather dumb: a few MEMS measuring velocity changes on all three axis and dumping it all in a time-stamped memory, along with a bluetooth-like radio and a battery would fit just right in that clip. The smarts has to be in the desktop software. Theorizing here, but if it uses a three-axis accelerometer when you sleep movement will be on the roll whereas as you sit in an office chair action will be on the pitch and yaw mostly.
Grrr…. I cant order this in Iraq… there is no option for APO ordering… why do companies overlook this opportunity? Me and my Soldiers buy SO MUCH online… but only from merchants that build their order forms to let us. Shame… I might have to have this reshipped from my buddy’s place though… this product will be REALLY useful over here.
Can any TechCrunch writers confirm if this would be available outside of the US. Their website says no but I’m not sure how up-to-date that information is. Also to the person(s) asking, Fitbit is not waterproof and is not meant to record calories burnt via swimming, though I’m sure in the future you’d be able to input the information.
This is a quote from a blog post that James made on 8/11/09:
“Your question on international shipping does bring up an additional thing that we’re waiting on: certifications. Right now, the Fitbit is being tested for FCC, CE (Europe) and IC (Industry Canada) and I think we should have approval shortly.
However, we’re not going to ship to Europe or Canada for a couple months at least.
1. We cannot go into Europe until we have fully researched the implications of WEEE, which covers the European sale of devices with sealed batteries and other electronic recycling issues. Not a huge deal probably, but there’s a bunch of logistical issues that we have to figure out, such as identifying a recycling service, figuring out where you would send Fitbits for recycling, etc.
2. We cannot go into Canada until we have designed bilingual packaging.
3. Inventory is really really tight. We have put in large future orders to our manufacturer, but we have a rather large backlog of US people on our email waiting list and it will take us a while to get through those people first.”
A good addition to this is a very good program I have been using, Food And Exercise Diary (WeightLossSoftware.Com). It is a food diary, medical diary, and exercise diary. Lots of functions.
Two questions:
1) When it will be available in Europe, Spain more precisely?
2) Does it record our dreams? lol
“In terms of caloric burn”
Are they resurrecting a long obsolete scientific theory, or was it just a repeated typo?
http://en.wikip.../Caloric_theory
If fitbit combined their product with the sleep/wake feature of myzeo/axbo then it I’d get one. The two are a perfect match, while one monitors sleep and wakes you up at the optimal time (but doesn’t monitor daily activity), the other monitors physical activity (but doesn’t wake you up). Perfect fit for a complete product.
Clearly a sex toy in disguise.
Again tell me why Apple won’t enter this market – it seems like a perfect fit for an iPod. You run with an iPod, you listen to music and you track calories. Steve, you listening? get this!
… because I don’t sleep with my iPod. You do ?
The new video ipod nano does just this.. it lacks the fancy software though, who knows if an itunes update or app could provide the functionality though. This looks like it may be a more accurate device, but then how accurate are these things anyway? Plus the nano is a video recorder, fm radio and a music player..
And yeah Louis sometimes I fall asleep with my iPod playing..
they are
http://www.appl..._companion.html
Doesn’t this product presume that the data it collects is useful?
With 15 years experience in cardio/weight training, I have to say, this information is close to useless.
thanks I just ordered one!
With the fitness industry growing because of our ever expanding waistline, I think this product will be a hit.
I want one!
I hope this will be available to be shipped to the UK! anyone know if it can be?
It looks impressive!
I’m really glad I read the comments because I was salivating for this product. The comments brought me back down to earth. I wouldn’t believe the accuracy quotes. Using established guidelines, I estimated my heart rate but at times I find myself above 100% (I’m not dead yet). Having used several online food tracking systems, I’ve found them all lacking. Some were great with restaurant foods and prepared foods but many of us who are serious about fitness and nutrition, don’t eat a lot of prepared and restaurant foods. We often avoid big chain restaurants knowing that their food is processed, salty, and full of fat. Can the Fitbit deal with me inputting a whole wheat bagel without a brand name (because nutrition information varies wildly from one product to the next)? Also given the number of fitness & health nuts (presumably the people who would buy this product) who do weight lifting, Spinning, biking, plyometrics, etc instead of only running and walking, the device’s inability to deal with other activities seems like a huge minus. Yes, you can input your information into a web site but I’ve used similar activity tracking sites and they are all imprecise. A major part of their downfall is user input and the very reason for this product is to circumvent user inaccuracy. I’ll wait until real people actually use the product and report their results and satisfaction.
I agree, this is completely limited to walking and running. The market for this seems to be people looking for motivation to start being more active or those seeking a better pedometer.
Accuracy is also a concern, as I don’t see how it can be even 90% accurate without a heart rate monitor. Running up hills or interval training would be totally lost on this device.
Easy to be a critic though, it’s close to being a great product and perhaps they will tweak it after the launch.
I wear the Philips device 24-7, and it’s not “difficult” at all. Sounds like a biased comment there. The major gripe I have with it is that the website sucks, in that I don’t get feedback on how many steps I take per day, and it only ranks me socially on a day to day basis, not an aggregated week or month with my peers (people in my same company).
The device is waterproof, I’ve even taken it surfing. I wear it around my neck on the lanard it came with, and have the option of a pocket, bra, or shoe. I wish the device also told me heart rates for different exercise periods.
Nice! I regularly use an iPhone app for the software half of this. Add in an auto-updating gadget, and you’re the best device for geek health since Dance Dance Revolution.
I like this..will be buying it if it launches here
Here’s the question I’m sure is on everybody’s lips but no one’s had the courage to ask: how does it measure calories burned from sex?
I’m trying to but one online from the site but they alays said check your information, I hope I can see it in amazon US/UK soon ..
They’d be killer if they can get support for a cycling computer too.. but as a first piece of hardware this thing is really intrigueing.
This exists already. It is called The BodyBugg (www.bodybugg.com). It does everything stated in the article. This is now just competition.
I just tried to order one, which their website says won’t be shipped until 10/31 after giving me a week to confirm the order and authorizing the charge.
Believing that my card wouldn’t be charged until the item actually shipped, I went through the order process. The shopping cart told me I had made a mistake and to try again. I did so and got the error message again. This time I changed my address slightly (thinking that was the problem.) No go.
When I called my bank to find out what was going on, they told me that all three charges had gone through. Of course there is no number to call them, so I am out $450 until someone gets around to looking at the problem.
I would not recommend ordering this until they get their shopping cart fixed.
Hi Kris,
We just sent you an email with our contact number. Please call us to resolve this. We want to fix your issue as quickly as possible.
thanks.
James
CEO, Fitbit
There is now a post by James on their blog that they found a bug in the order confirmation system and their credit card gateway and are working on it.
Updated post just added on their blog saying that the confirmation system is now back up.
Following up – they did reply to my E-mail pretty quickly, hopefully all is now well.
Who cares? If you have to count how much exercise you do and how many calories you’ve burnt it means that you already know you don’t exercise enough. Get out and walk, run, swim, whatever. You might even come with me and ride 30 to 60 miles on a bicycle in the weekends.