Changing activity trackers
MayTehSporksBeWithYou
Posts: 47 Member
I went to buy a new band for my Bodymedia Link today but was unable to because Jawbone not only bought the company but has decided to kill it completely except for the Activity Manager for people who already have it.
What do I do now? The obvious answer seems to be upgrade.
It seems that since Jawbone bought BodyMedia it has integrated its technology and created the Up3. It has the same sensors (plus some) only it's worn on the wrist. However, it's not available for 8-9 weeks.
Should I pre-order that or consider another option? My strap isn't broken, it's just lost it's elasticity so I could conceivably make it work for those 9ish weeks.
What do I do now? The obvious answer seems to be upgrade.
It seems that since Jawbone bought BodyMedia it has integrated its technology and created the Up3. It has the same sensors (plus some) only it's worn on the wrist. However, it's not available for 8-9 weeks.
Should I pre-order that or consider another option? My strap isn't broken, it's just lost it's elasticity so I could conceivably make it work for those 9ish weeks.
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Replies
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I really like my garmin vivofit. I changed from jawbone up to this one. great move!0
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nathalier71 wrote: »I really like my garmin vivofit. I changed from jawbone up to this one. great move!
Thanks for the response. Have you found it accurate/helpful? Also, does it accurately monitor exercise that isn't steady state cardio? Is there an app so that it can interface with my phone or is the information only displayed on the device?
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Okay, I've done some research and have narrowed my decision down the the Jawbone Up3 or the Basis Peak.
Any thoughts?0 -
The Jawbone (and the Garmin) interface with MFP. The Basis Peak does not.
I am also in the market for a new tracker in a few weeks and the Jawbone 3 and the Garmin Vivosmart (not the Vivofit) are on my short list, along with Fitbit's Charge HR when it comes out. May I ask why you've ruled the Garmin out?0 -
Honestly, I don't like the design and it lacks sensors that sit on your skin.0
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Ah. Well. The thing that concerns me is that the wrist-mounted HR devices have a reputation for inaccuracy. A few people got early release models of Fitbit's Charge HR and I'm not hearing great things about the accuracy of the HR monitor.
But I'm at a stage in my fitness progression where my interest in an HR monitor is more about improving my athletic and cardiovascular performance than in calorie tracking, so accurate HR readings are important to me.
The Mio Fuse has gotten some excellent reviews in terms of accuracy and design, but it's lacking some basic activity tracker functions (no silent alarm, which is a dealbreaker for me; and no sleep tracking, which seems like a bummer) and it doesn't interface with MFP either.0 -
I'm not as interested in the HR monitor as the general calorie tracking. Having sensors that accurately track calories burned is very important to me. Both the Up3 and the Basis Peak both do that via bioimpedence. I'm just not sure I can actually wait the 8-9 weeks for the Up3.0
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I just starting reading because I got a vivosmart for Christmas. I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem. This is not something I read in any of my research reviews but now see a lot concerning this problem when looking it up specifically. Now I am torn. Do I wait for a fix, although I really want the MFP information showing? Or do I go ahead and make the switch to something else while I still have time to return the Vivosmart?0
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I have the Jawbone Up, but it was defective and I'm waiting for a replacement from the company this week. Only using it until the Apple Watch comes out.0
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nbybutterfly wrote: »I just starting reading because I got a vivosmart for Christmas. I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem. This is not something I read in any of my research reviews but now see a lot concerning this problem when looking it up specifically. Now I am torn. Do I wait for a fix, although I really want the MFP information showing? Or do I go ahead and make the switch to something else while I still have time to return the Vivosmart?
I have the Vivosmart and I'm returning it - TOMORROW! First of all, the steps don't sync to MFP and Garmin Connect and Garmin Express (BOTH proprietary programs developed by Garmin) don't exactly play well together. Not only that, but even though I love having the HRM, it doesn't show me how much time was spent in any zone, only an average. I want / need to know the time spent in each zone in order to set goals accordingly. I believe I can live with the Fitbit Charge HR being off by + / -2 or 3 points.
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47Jacqueline wrote: »I have the Jawbone Up, but it was defective and I'm waiting for a replacement from the company this week. Only using it until the Apple Watch comes out.
I won't be using the Apple Watch as I don't have an iPhone and don't plan on ever having one, especially not in the next 2 years as I just got a LG G3.
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Originally I wanted the Charge HR but saw it would not be released until early 2015. In the past few days I have seen you can purchase them now at select retailers. I have not done a lot of research on the ChargeHR due to the release date but know there are some differences between the 2. Overall you still think you will be happier with the ChargeHR?Fantabulosity1 wrote: »nbybutterfly wrote: »I just starting reading because I got a vivosmart for Christmas. I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem. This is not something I read in any of my research reviews but now see a lot concerning this problem when looking it up specifically. Now I am torn. Do I wait for a fix, although I really want the MFP information showing? Or do I go ahead and make the switch to something else while I still have time to return the Vivosmart?
I have the Vivosmart and I'm returning it - TOMORROW! First of all, the steps don't sync to MFP and Garmin Connect and Garmin Express (BOTH proprietary programs developed by Garmin) don't exactly play well together. Not only that, but even though I love having the HRM, it doesn't show me how much time was spent in any zone, only an average. I want / need to know the time spent in each zone in order to set goals accordingly. I believe I can live with the Fitbit Charge HR being off by + / -2 or 3 points.0 -
Fantabulosity1 wrote: »nbybutterfly wrote: »I just starting reading because I got a vivosmart for Christmas. I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem. This is not something I read in any of my research reviews but now see a lot concerning this problem when looking it up specifically. Now I am torn. Do I wait for a fix, although I really want the MFP information showing? Or do I go ahead and make the switch to something else while I still have time to return the Vivosmart?
I have the Vivosmart and I'm returning it - TOMORROW! First of all, the steps don't sync to MFP and Garmin Connect and Garmin Express (BOTH proprietary programs developed by Garmin) don't exactly play well together. Not only that, but even though I love having the HRM, it doesn't show me how much time was spent in any zone, only an average. I want / need to know the time spent in each zone in order to set goals accordingly. I believe I can live with the Fitbit Charge HR being off by + / -2 or 3 points.
What I'm hearing is that some people are experiencing up 30% variance from a trusted device they've compared to. That's not 2 or 2 bpm.
Some people are getting a 2-3 bpm variance, and I agree that is more than acceptable. But I don't like the risk, for me.
I also agree that Garmin has been getting a bad reputation lately with interoperability issues and a kind of slack attitude towards fixing those issues.0 -
nbybutterfly wrote: »nbybutterfly wrote: »I have the Vivosmart and I'm returning it - TOMORROW! First of all, the steps don't sync to MFP and Garmin Connect and Garmin Express (BOTH proprietary programs developed by Garmin) don't exactly play well together. Not only that, but even though I love having the HRM, it doesn't show me how much time was spent in any zone, only an average. I want / need to know the time spent in each zone in order to set goals accordingly. I believe I can live with the Fitbit Charge HR being off by + / -2 or 3 points.
Originally I wanted the Charge HR but saw it would not be released until early 2015. In the past few days I have seen you can purchase them now at select retailers. I have not done a lot of research on the ChargeHR due to the release date but know there are some differences between the 2. Overall you still think you will be happier with the ChargeHR?
The deal is not so much that the Charge HR is available at "select retailers" as Fitbit has done a "soft launch" with a very small shipment going to various dealers. When dealers run out, they run out until the hard launch sometime next quarter. For what that's worth.
Given so many questions I have about the accuracy of the device, I'm more than happy to wait a bit to gather more feedback from the early adopters LOL.
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MayTehSporksBeWithYou wrote: »I'm not as interested in the HR monitor as the general calorie tracking. Having sensors that accurately track calories burned is very important to me. Both the Up3 and the Basis Peak both do that via bioimpedence. I'm just not sure I can actually wait the 8-9 weeks for the Up3.
Just to be clear, you do understand that there is no consumer device in existence that "senses" your actual calorie burn, right? All these devices sense ... other body stuff. Like movement or heart rate or skin temperature or body composition or hydration or electrical impulses on the skin etc. And those data points go into a proprietary "secret sauce" algorithm that the manufacturer has that guesstimates a number it calls "calorie burn." Depending on your actual body, how much it varies from their standard models, your own personal health issues, your personal body chemistry in general and whatever chemical state your body is in at any given time, what kind of exercise you tend to do, etc., different devices are going to be more or less accurate on their "calorie burn" guesstimates than others. But they are all just guesses. Better guesses than you and I will make about ourselves, but guesses just the same.
Also, "bioimpedance" is kinda known to not be terribly accurate or consistent. It's a great directional pointer for body composition, but tracking small variances via bioimpedance is not something any consumer device is very good at. Hence the scoffing you'll often hear around here regarding home bodyfat analyzing scales (because they too use bioimpedance).
Just sayin'.0 -
nbybutterfly wrote: »I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem.
It's worth highlighting that most weeks MFP has a synch problem with one or other of the services that operate with it; Fitbit, Garmin, MapMyFitness are most common. Generally it seems to be an MFP problem rather than the other end.
fwiw Garmin Connect worked for me all this week after an MFP issue over the previous couple of weeks.
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MayTehSporksBeWithYou wrote: »I'm not as interested in the HR monitor as the general calorie tracking. Having sensors that accurately track calories burned is very important to me. Both the Up3 and the Basis Peak both do that via bioimpedence. I'm just not sure I can actually wait the 8-9 weeks for the Up3.
Just to be clear, you do understand that there is no consumer device in existence that "senses" your actual calorie burn, right? All these devices sense ... other body stuff. Like movement or heart rate or skin temperature or body composition or hydration or electrical impulses on the skin etc. And those data points go into a proprietary "secret sauce" algorithm that the manufacturer has that guesstimates a number it calls "calorie burn." Depending on your actual body, how much it varies from their standard models, your own personal health issues, your personal body chemistry in general and whatever chemical state your body is in at any given time, what kind of exercise you tend to do, etc., different devices are going to be more or less accurate on their "calorie burn" guesstimates than others. But they are all just guesses. Better guesses than you and I will make about ourselves, but guesses just the same.
Also, "bioimpedance" is kinda known to not be terribly accurate or consistent. It's a great directional pointer for body composition, but tracking small variances via bioimpedance is not something any consumer device is very good at. Hence the scoffing you'll often hear around here regarding home bodyfat analyzing scales (because they too use bioimpedance).
Just sayin'.
Yes, I understand this. Please do not treat me like a simpleton.
However, these additional readings are more effective at giving accurate calorie burn estimates than other trackers that are only based on height/weight/activity.
I have been using a BodyMedia Link for a couple of years now and would continue to use it if it were still supported.
Jawbone UP3 has integrated BodyMedia's technology after acquiring the company so I believe I'll purchase from them.-1 -
Fantabulosity1 wrote: »I want / need to know the time spent in each zone in order to set goals accordingly.
You do appreciate that zone training is only meaningful in seriously high performance training. You'd be using a grown up device, not an overgrown pedometer.0 -
I got a polar loop and HFM for Christmas , only a couple of days but I do like. I have looked at all of the trackers but narrowed my search to those with HRMs. Good luck, there is a lot out there0
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »nbybutterfly wrote: »I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem.
It's worth highlighting that most weeks MFP has a synch problem with one or other of the services that operate with it; Fitbit, Garmin, MapMyFitness are most common. Generally it seems to be an MFP problem rather than the other end.
fwiw Garmin Connect worked for me all this week after an MFP issue over the previous couple of weeks.
Thanks for the information. Not having ever had a device like this or even heard of anyone really discussing the ins and outs I did not realize this is a somewhat common occurance. While I do not like hearing it is a problem that does help me to know I should just wait for a solution instead of jumping the gum and returning what I have to get something different. Thank you0 -
nbybutterfly wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »nbybutterfly wrote: »I was very excited and setup everything immediately only to find it will not sync to MFP as it states. It is supposed to connect and even appears to but none of the information connects over between the 2. These was very important to me and sounds important to you as well. MFP says they are working with Garmin to fix the problem.
It's worth highlighting that most weeks MFP has a synch problem with one or other of the services that operate with it; Fitbit, Garmin, MapMyFitness are most common. Generally it seems to be an MFP problem rather than the other end.
fwiw Garmin Connect worked for me all this week after an MFP issue over the previous couple of weeks.
Thanks for the information. Not having ever had a device like this or even heard of anyone really discussing the ins and outs I did not realize this is a somewhat common occurance. While I do not like hearing it is a problem that does help me to know I should just wait for a solution instead of jumping the gum and returning what I have to get something different. Thank you
Sadly it's all to common. I had a Fitbit prior to my VivoFit. Fitbit constantly had issues connecting to MFP. It would work great for awhile and then some issue would pop up that would cause the 2 sites not to communicate properly. Sometimes it was only a day or 2. Sometimes disconnecting/re-connecting fixed it. Sometimes it lasted a week or more.
It sucks, but I just do my best to work around it.0 -
MFP has a Jawbone UP Bracelet group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/13420-jawbone-up-bracelet
I have an UP24. Your UP total burn is your TDEE—way more accurate than any online calculator. When you connect your accounts, MFP compares your UP burn to your activity level, and adjusts your daily calorie goal accordingly.
The UP has an idle alert—I call it my "lazy alert." It buzzes whenever you sit still for too long. (You tell it the frequency & which hours of the day you want it to go off.)-1 -
nbybutterfly wrote: »Thanks for the information. Not having ever had a device like this or even heard of anyone really discussing the ins and outs I did not realize this is a somewhat common occurance. While I do not like hearing it is a problem that does help me to know I should just wait for a solution instead of jumping the gum and returning what I have to get something different. Thank you
Frustrating when it happens. I use a Forerunner 310XT for running and cycling, most of my sessions burn at least 600 calories, regularly in the order of 1000. Not being able to synch makes a big dent in my forecasting.0 -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/activity-monitor-accuracy-fitbit-jawbone_n_5516156.htmlMayTehSporksBeWithYou wrote: »MayTehSporksBeWithYou wrote: »I'm not as interested in the HR monitor as the general calorie tracking. Having sensors that accurately track calories burned is very important to me. Both the Up3 and the Basis Peak both do that via bioimpedence. I'm just not sure I can actually wait the 8-9 weeks for the Up3.
Just to be clear, you do understand that there is no consumer device in existence that "senses" your actual calorie burn, right? All these devices sense ... other body stuff. Like movement or heart rate or skin temperature or body composition or hydration or electrical impulses on the skin etc. And those data points go into a proprietary "secret sauce" algorithm that the manufacturer has that guesstimates a number it calls "calorie burn." Depending on your actual body, how much it varies from their standard models, your own personal health issues, your personal body chemistry in general and whatever chemical state your body is in at any given time, what kind of exercise you tend to do, etc., different devices are going to be more or less accurate on their "calorie burn" guesstimates than others. But they are all just guesses. Better guesses than you and I will make about ourselves, but guesses just the same.
Also, "bioimpedance" is kinda known to not be terribly accurate or consistent. It's a great directional pointer for body composition, but tracking small variances via bioimpedance is not something any consumer device is very good at. Hence the scoffing you'll often hear around here regarding home bodyfat analyzing scales (because they too use bioimpedance).
Just sayin'.
Yes, I understand this. Please do not treat me like a simpleton.
However, these additional readings are more effective at giving accurate calorie burn estimates than other trackers that are only based on height/weight/activity.
I have been using a BodyMedia Link for a couple of years now and would continue to use it if it were still supported.
Jawbone UP3 has integrated BodyMedia's technology after acquiring the company so I believe I'll purchase from them.
The extra sensors supply very little increase in accuracy, according to that study. Less than 1%.
Having owned both types (BodyMedia and Fitbits), I really believe that the accelerometer supplies the vast majority of the data to both, and the skin sensors are there mainly as a marketing tactic to get people to feel like it's a high-tech medical device that warrants a monthly fee and/or a higher sales price, not just a fancy pedometer.
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