I finally succumbed to the Nike marketing machine and got a fuelband. I’ve been trying it for the past couple weeks and have mixed feelings about it overall.
I’ll start with the things I like about it:
- It is an awesome looking watch. Both retro and futuristic.
- Competing against your Facebook friends is cool.
- Gave me that extra little boost to work out everyday.
Things that need improvement:
- Too hard and too clunky for basketball. If I can’t wear it during my main activity it’s kind of pointless. This also becomes an issue typing on a keyboard. I would love to see it get to the point of being like the Livestrong bands.
- Not great at tracking some things. Cycling and weightlifting barely register because there isn’t much wrist movement.
- Only water resistant, not water proof. For $150 dollars I think they can afford to seal things up.
Future features I’d like to see:
- GPS to track runs
- Heart rate monitor
- Basic alarm & sleep tracker (like Jawbone Up)
Right now the fuelband is a glorified pedometer but in 5-10 years I see it morphing into a must have wellness tracking device. I’m excited to see all the developments in the tech wellness space this year.