Fitbit Ultra Tracker review (the other learning technology)

Last time we talked about the 'other' learning technology on the horizon : tracking devices. We also discussed how the most mature products used by the 'quantified self' movement at this stage are health related. Well, today I'm reviewing such a device I've been using for the past 6 months : the Fitbit.

What is it and what does it do?

The Fitbit Ultra Tracker is a small but elegant device that tracks the number of steps you take, the number of stairs you climb and the time and quality of your sleep. The device itself costs 99 US$ at the time of writing and syncs up wireless via a USB base station to a beautiful website that has nice reports on your statistics, but allows you to add even more tracking such as your food intake, weight or blood pressure, and adds gamification tactics and social elements to the mix so you'd actually learn from your data and start living a more active and healthy life. At the very essence the fitbit tracker is an advanced pedometer. But it is one that does more than just counting steps (stairs, sleep and a website that tracks other statistics if you enter them) and that kept up with the times (syncs with your account in the cloud, has reporting, allows for sharing with other people, setting goals and earning badges, has an open API so other applications can make use of it, etc).


In the box you get the tracker itself (comes in blue or plum - guess the color I bought :-) ), the USB base station to send the info to your cloud account and to recharge the device (needed about every 4-5 days). You also find a plastic holder to clip the device to your clothes. I advise to use it as the Fitbit might fall off otherwise, and I also advise to turn the plastic holder around so the Fitbit is actually on the inside of your pocket just in case it would slip off. Lastly you'll find a wristband to place the tracker in when you go to sleep.

The tracker itself is not only stylish, but could not be more simple in design: it has one button. Click it to get the data on your steps, stairs, sleep and general activity data (in the form of a flower). When you go to sleep, press and hold, and do the same when you wake up. Fitbit will then calculate the hours of sleep, and track the periods you were awake (when moving a lot). It is a very basic form of sleep tracking, but the total duration is pretty accurate, as I also have a more advanced Zeo sleep tracking device to compare with and both measurements are pretty aligned.

The associated website is where it all comes together: you can set daily goals (they recommend 10000 steps a day), earn badges, see all the statistics and reports of your data, connect with other users in a leaderboard to add the social motivational element, etc. You can also manually log food intake, weight, blood pressure, or add custom trackers. For food chains in the US you can actually just find 'Burger King Whopper' and it will know the calories associated. I'm using the free account, but for about 50 US$ per year you can also upgrade to the premium version of the site with some more capabilities, none of which I actually missed in the base version.

How good or bad is it?

This is one of the best selling devices in the Quantified Self world at the moment, and there is a good reason for it: it works, it is affordable, it is mass market ready. As said, the device without the plastic holder to attach it to your clothes might slip off easily. Otherwise, you won't notice it is there actually. When you get near your computer it automatically syncs up the data. Overall I find the whole experience well designed. The website's look and feel is very easy and contemporary. But they also send you emails when you earn a new badge, or with your weekly summary so you keep being motivated and involved. And that is the key to make it work: just having a device that shows you numbers doesn't actually make most people change to a more active and healthy lifestyle. But by adding the weekly summaries, badges when you reach new levels, friendly reminders when you were inactive, adjusting your goals and comparing with your friends it does work. In our new office building I'm now actually taking 'the long walk' from the parking to the office instead of the shortcut, just to get the extra steps :-) .

To be honest, I'm a lazy tracker. I like my tracking to be as automated as possible, so I only tried out the food journal a couple of weeks because ... well, it is a manual process and takes some time and attention. But to be true, it goes really quickly as they have a big database with all kinds of foods in there already.

I can also report the support is fast and excellent. After 5 months something went wrong with the device by accident and it was replaced at no extra charge.

What I also like very much is that they get the world is open, so they made their platform available for other applications to tap into via an API while still making sure that privacy is ensured and we can control who sees what data. One of the third party applications that uses this API is for example the experimental visualisation tool SparkViz to make artwork out of your daily steps:

Just today I synced up my Withings scale measurements (I'll review it later) to the Fitbit platform. Now you should know that Fitbit has itself just released their own scale that sends your weight, BMI and fat% to your account so they are now in kind of competition with the Withings scale. Maybe that is why the link to sync with Withings has gone of their weight tracking page and they make it really really hard to find! (naughty, naughty!) But for those who want to, I found the link, it is : https://www.fitbit.com/weight/withings#.

Where's the learning?

The Fitbit is a great device to really personally experience the power of 'self-knowledge through numbers', which is the slogan of the Quantified Self movement. Continuous tracking focuses our attention on what matters to us, and does it over time. That's what we need for learning, not a one time light bulb. It is also the most personalized form of learning possible as it deals with our own data, but we can share it with others (including health coaches, doctors, our jogging friends, family, etc) to add the social motivation that is one of the success recipes of the Weight Watchers for example. And it provides continuous and immediate feedback, triggering a fast learning loop. Speaking of learning loop: as an advice for learning first set a baseline, then just change one thing in your lifestyle and see what the effects are. (For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator.)

Fitbit tracking might not seem like Technology Enhanced Learning as much as an e-learning course does, but I'd argue that the impact of using this device and website at the one hand or a typical e-learning course on healthy habits at the other hand, will clearly crown the Fitbit as winner.
At a minimum, the Fitbit is a great way to appreciate the dynamics of 'learning through tracking', and falls into the category 'healthy mind in a healthy body' which links us up nicely with the upcoming Olympics in London :-). It also showcases what is important in future 'learning by tracking' projects : design it well, open up the platform, add engaging and social features, help people make sense of the data and set goals, ...

In summary, I give the Fitbit a 4.5 / 5 star rating. They would have gotten a 5 if they hadn't decided to childishly limit the countries where they ship to (and more importantly the iTunes app store where you can download the associated apps) to only a few countries.