17 ms·

For Jawbone, Fitbit et al. the hardware has been commoditized, the software has limited utility and the whole 10,000 steps a day seems like a fad. It's incredib

by Wonnk13 10y ago

For Jawbone, Fitbit et al. the hardware has been commoditized, the software has limited utility and the whole 10,000 steps a day seems like a fad. It's incredibly hard to maintain users once the honeymoon period ends. Personally, I'm long on UA, but I still have some lingering doubts about their acquisitions with ConnectedFitness and the their Healthbox or whatever. I'm a pretty competitive triathlete and all of my gear is Garmin or some other niche specialty company. I love it and it works but the market space is limited to athletes like me.

sametmax 10y ago
Ok, I bough a suunto last year, and I have been hesitating between it a a garmin. It's not a big deal, eventually what ever does the job is good enough, I just want to run. But as a geek I like gadget review :) So, why do you prefer garmins ?
imaffett 10y ago
lol... every triathlete is "pretty competitive" ;). My wife and I switch to running and are using garmin vivoactives. The battery life is amazing and works great swimming (no gps) My non-active friends mostly ditch their fitbit style devices after a few months. Its either an apple watch, microsoft band (not joking) or some type of running/multisport watch.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  For a triathlete I am loving my Garmin 735. It's fitness tracker plus run bike swim tracker with wrist heart rate.
- braythwayt 10y ago
  > lol... every triathlete is "pretty competitive” I think the only uncompetitive triathlete is someone who goes for a ride, takes a tumble into a wet ditch, and has to walk their bike back onto the road. Every single triathlete I’ve met has been fixated on gear, performance, and age-group rankings.
- DiabloD3 10y ago
  The Microsoft Band 2 is actually extremely nice. It isn't tied down by being forced to run Android Wear or Apple Watch OS or Samsung Gear, and instead runs "Microsoft Wearables" which is closer in design and lightness to the kind of realtime OS design you see in Pebbles. It has decent battery life (48h claimed, meets the requirement of >24h real world, but not >7 days real world), it is physically small and light, but is also a typical smartwatch. It has the right blend of both being an activity tracker and a smartwatch, but the only reason I won't buy one is it is insufficiently water proof. The only devices that will survive true day to day wear are currently being made by Garmin. Nothing that Fitbit or Jawbone makes is beyond IPX7, and all of Garmin's stuff (coming from the professional competition device pedigree that they do) has actual water rating marks (at least 50 meters, some models exceed that). So yeah, I've been recommending Garmin gizmos lately. Vivofit 3, $99 without heart rate tracking, battery life of a year with a standard coin battery, or Vivosmart HR, $149, battery life of 5 days, has heart rate tracking, both support Garmin Connect, thus every major app and ecosystem.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Fitbits been aiming for the fitness watch market, recognizing that's where a lot of people will go, for some time. Sure they still have simple trackers like the Flex, but the multifunction watches (Surge and now Blaze) have been around for a while.
xchaotic 10y ago
Wondering about the 10k steps. I'm not hitting it everyday, but I feel that if I consistently did, I'd be a fit person with enough activity to be healthy from that angle. How's that a fad? Is there any research showing otherwise?
- suneilp 10y ago
  Apparently, that number doesn't have any real research behind it to begin with. What's being questioned is the seemingly arbitrary number itself, not the concepts, as far as I can tell. Of course getting out and walking is good for your health. Keep it up!
- pacificmint 10y ago
  Of course any exercise is better than nothing, but I think the current thinking is that getting the heart rate up is what matters most. So doing less steps that get your heart rate up would have more effect than more steps without elevated heart rate.
- cyphar 10y ago
  Heart rate is the main thing that matters from a health perspective. The 10000 step thing didn't come from any research, it was probably a guesstimate about how much you should power walk to get your heart rate high enough for a high enough period of time. Personally I've been power walking about 8km a day for a few months, and it's doing wonders. But what's important is the pace and your heart rate (mine peaks at 160, which is okay considering that I'm not running). Oh, and eating well is a must. Personally I don't crave junkfood and shitty soda anymore.
  - tehrei 10y ago
    Tangentially, if you're in the market for a good heart rate monitor, I can recommend the Polar R7. It's chest worn, very accurate and at least for males, completely comfortable to wear. Can't say how it will play with a bra though.

by Wonnk13 10y ago

sametmax 10y ago

Ok, I bough a suunto last year, and I have been hesitating between it a a garmin. It's not a big deal, eventually what ever does the job is good enough, I just want to run. But as a geek I like gadget review :) So, why do you prefer garmins ?

imaffett 10y ago

lol... every triathlete is "pretty competitive" ;). My wife and I switch to running and are using garmin vivoactives. The battery life is amazing and works great swimming (no gps) My non-active friends mostly ditch their fitbit style devices after a few months. Its either an apple watch, microsoft band (not joking) or some type of running/multisport watch.

brianwawok 10y ago
For a triathlete I am loving my Garmin 735. It's fitness tracker plus run bike swim tracker with wrist heart rate.
braythwayt 10y ago
> lol... every triathlete is "pretty competitive” I think the only uncompetitive triathlete is someone who goes for a ride, takes a tumble into a wet ditch, and has to walk their bike back onto the road. Every single triathlete I’ve met has been fixated on gear, performance, and age-group rankings.
DiabloD3 10y ago
The Microsoft Band 2 is actually extremely nice. It isn't tied down by being forced to run Android Wear or Apple Watch OS or Samsung Gear, and instead runs "Microsoft Wearables" which is closer in design and lightness to the kind of realtime OS design you see in Pebbles. It has decent battery life (48h claimed, meets the requirement of >24h real world, but not >7 days real world), it is physically small and light, but is also a typical smartwatch. It has the right blend of both being an activity tracker and a smartwatch, but the only reason I won't buy one is it is insufficiently water proof. The only devices that will survive true day to day wear are currently being made by Garmin. Nothing that Fitbit or Jawbone makes is beyond IPX7, and all of Garmin's stuff (coming from the professional competition device pedigree that they do) has actual water rating marks (at least 50 meters, some models exceed that). So yeah, I've been recommending Garmin gizmos lately. Vivofit 3, $99 without heart rate tracking, battery life of a year with a standard coin battery, or Vivosmart HR, $149, battery life of 5 days, has heart rate tracking, both support Garmin Connect, thus every major app and ecosystem.
dragonwriter 10y ago
Fitbits been aiming for the fitness watch market, recognizing that's where a lot of people will go, for some time. Sure they still have simple trackers like the Flex, but the multifunction watches (Surge and now Blaze) have been around for a while.

xchaotic 10y ago

Wondering about the 10k steps. I'm not hitting it everyday, but I feel that if I consistently did, I'd be a fit person with enough activity to be healthy from that angle. How's that a fad? Is there any research showing otherwise?

suneilp 10y ago
Apparently, that number doesn't have any real research behind it to begin with. What's being questioned is the seemingly arbitrary number itself, not the concepts, as far as I can tell. Of course getting out and walking is good for your health. Keep it up!
pacificmint 10y ago
Of course any exercise is better than nothing, but I think the current thinking is that getting the heart rate up is what matters most. So doing less steps that get your heart rate up would have more effect than more steps without elevated heart rate.
cyphar 10y ago
Heart rate is the main thing that matters from a health perspective. The 10000 step thing didn't come from any research, it was probably a guesstimate about how much you should power walk to get your heart rate high enough for a high enough period of time. Personally I've been power walking about 8km a day for a few months, and it's doing wonders. But what's important is the pace and your heart rate (mine peaks at 160, which is okay considering that I'm not running). Oh, and eating well is a must. Personally I don't crave junkfood and shitty soda anymore.
- tehrei 10y ago
  Tangentially, if you're in the market for a good heart rate monitor, I can recommend the Polar R7. It's chest worn, very accurate and at least for males, completely comfortable to wear. Can't say how it will play with a bra though.