A breakout session by Michael Kazarnowicz at Quantified Self Amsterdam covering Fitbit One, Jawbone UP, Bodymedia FIT, Nike Fuelband and Basis.

1. ACTIVITY TRACKERS
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10. Nike Fuelband - pros
• Robust. I’ve been wearing mine pretty much 24/7 for 10 months and it
just works.
• USB contact built right in, no need for extra accessories to charge or sync
• Syncs through USB or Bluetooth (iPhone only though)
• Fuel is a relative score, so you can compare with friends regardless of how
athletic you are
• Doubles as a watch
• Social, you can compare and compete with your friends
• You can set your own goal
• Easy to change time zone (when you’re travelling): the Fuelband is set to
the computer’s time zone every time you sync
Thursday, May 23, 13

11. Nike Fuelband - cons
• The wrist is not the best place for an activity monitor.
• You can’t export your data,
• Expensive for what you get, compared to other similar devices
(Fitbit, Basis, Jawbone UP)
• You can only set a goal in “Fuel Points”, which is hard to translate to
any real activity
• No API
• No vibration.This is a huge miss on Nike’s behalf. Having vibration
(alarms, reminders) would have made up for a lot of the other cons.
• Annoying sync on desktop – doesn’t sync in the background and
launches Nike’s website when it ends
Thursday, May 23, 13

12. Fitbit - pros
• Syncs with your computer through USB
• syncs over Bluetooth to iPhone and Android devices
• Logs steps, distance walked and stairs climbed
• You can set your own goals – on a weekly basis (imho better than daily) based
on steps, distance, stairs or weight
• Integrates with Withings wifi body scale
• Has an API so that third parties can develop services, like integration with
Microsoft’s HealthVault or visualizations on notch.me
• Tracks your sleep
• Social, you can compare and compete with your friends
• Invisible if you want it to be
• Vibration alarms
Thursday, May 23, 13

13. Fitbit - cons
• Requires a separate, proprietary USB device to charge it
• Requires a proprietary USB device, separate from the charger, to
sync through USB
• Small and slick – also slippery, especially in dress pants (I lost my
One in a cab once after a wedding). Easy to forget in pants when
washing them.
• Charges you extra to export your data (you need their Premium
service, $49 per year)
• Hassle to track sleep - need the soft wristband
• Confusing process when switching time zones (you have to pair
your device again)
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14. Basis - pros
• Logs more things than any other of the activity monitors:
• Heart rate
• Perspiration
• Steps
• Skin temperature
• Sleep
• Calories
• Very simple interface, showing only time, date, steps, heart rate and calories – the rest is viewed
in the web service after sync
• Very simple to use, no need to push buttons to log sleep for example
• Looks like a pretty low tech watch, so non-geeks needn’t fear it
• Promised an open API so that third parties can build new services for the users
• Syncs with your computer through USB and in the future with your iPhone/Android device over
Bluetooth (apps are not out yet though)
• Helps you set new habits, using tricks from games (RPGs) and CBT.
• You can set your own goals in ways you can’t with the other devices, for example “morning
walks” or “be active at least two hours every day”
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15. Basis - cons
• Needs the proprietary charger/sync cable to charge and sync
through USB
• Must be charged frequently and more often than the other
devices (every third-fourth day for me, depending on usage)
• Takes a while to charge (but it can be charged and used if
you’re not moving around)
• No vibrations for alerts/reminders/discrete wake up calls
• Bad at logging heart rate
• Placement isn’t optimal
• No use for several sensors yet
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16. Bodymedia - pros
• very accurate in terms of steps and calories (heat flux, galvanic skin
response, skin temperature)
• tracks sleep
• tracks everything seamlessly, just power up and go
• syncs via USB to you computer, or through Bluetooth to Android or
iPhone
• Open API
• charges through mini USB
• good battery time
• discreet (if you wear baggy clothes)
• recently bought by Jawbone
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17. Bodymedia - cons
• Requires subscription to work - expensive in the long run
(~80 USD/year)
• few apps (but integrated with Withings)
• awkward to wear if sleeping with someone
• awkward to wear after workout (wet band)
• awkward to wear if travelling (security)
• awkward if you wear slim fit clothes
• US and Canada only (incl. app store)
• App requires iTunes password each time
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18. Jawbone UP - pros
• Great battery time (10 days per charge)
• Tracks steps, activity and sleep
• Timer, nap and reminders
• Vibration
• Sleep phase wake-up
• Simple and intuitive food logging (barcode scanner!)
• Social, can share with friends (can keep certain aspects private too)
• Open API, two-ways (IFTTT integration!)
• withings (in)
• sleepio (out)
• Analyzes data and gives tips and encouragement
• Syncs with both Android and iPhone
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19. Jawbone UP - cons
• Proprietary accessory for charging
• Timeline gets messy when you have 10+ friends
• The button has sharp edges (not cuddle friendly)
• Easy to lose the ‘cap’ on the wrist band
• Placement not optimal for tracking steps
• Other colors than black become dirty
• No display
• Food database sometimes wacky (and support confused)
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20. A look at step accuracy
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22. Heart rate monitoring
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30. Calorie measurement
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33. Read more about all these trackers and
more quantified self at
www.digitalmcgyver.com
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