The vast majority of you have at least one new years resolution to do with fitness or health. To do more exercise, eat less carbs or stick to a new fad diet. With the powers of Apps and mobile phones there are no excuses when it comes to using fitness tech – heavy price tags or complex syncing systems leave the tech only to the select few. Fitbug is the new kid on the block promising to take on the likes of Nike Fuelband with a simple and affordable product. Elysium takes a hands on look at what the Fitbug Orb has to offer.

 

The Look

 

The first thing you notice is the size of the Orb, a tiny discreet device that you can wear on your wrist, belt or around your neck. Perfect if you are looking to avoid the questions of the little device or want to use it as a conversation starter.

 

The Setup

 

 

The device includes an easy to use registration pack for the Fitbug website and details of the App to download to your iPhone or Android device. While our Orb took sometime to actually connect and sync via the Bluetooth we eventually got a connection, which doesn’t need to be reconnected at any point.

 

The App

 

 

The App itself is simple – just as you need it. There is a target, which is set after a week of KiK (personalised digital coach) monitoring your activity. There is also a sleep function on the Orb, which monitors your sleep pattern – having tested the device on a number of situations it is very accurate.  The app keeps you updated on your daily progress in respect of “steps” and “active steps” an easy and functional measurement, which you can easily influence. These are also converted to calories for ease. You will need your measurements at the start, height weight etc. While you can update these on the website, the App wont let you directly overtype your weight to show reductions – we hope this will be updated in the next app update. Overall, an easy to use app that is functional and easy to interpret.

 

Motivation

 

 

Fitbug’s assistant KiK sends you a weekly e-magazine that includes plans for your diet and motivational articles to help you achieve your goals. The beautiful thing about the Fitbug Orb is the simple link between movement and meeting targets, since reviewing the item we have consciously sought to meet the daily targets by walking more or going to the gym and working out with the device on. The achievement of seeing you exceeding your target is a great feeling – the rewards mount up to give you a weekly view of achievements – pushing you to do this more and more.

 

Conclusion

 

The Fitbug Orb is an excellent tool that encourages you push yourself more and be more active to achieve goals. The actual app and the results also sync to the My Fitness Pal App that provides a complete package of dietary intake and calorie burning.  The Fitbug is also competitively priced at only £45, in comparison to the other fitness wearable tech; the Fitbug takes the lead – certainly helpful when looking to achieve results in the New Year.

 

You can obtain more information about the Fitbug Orb from the website: www.fitbug.com/uk/orb