Fitbit Charge Wireless Activity Wristband Review

FitBit Charge is a high-performance wristband that delivers all-day activity tracking, real-time fitness stats and Caller ID right on the wrist for people who want to step up their everyday activities to improve their overall health.

Fitbit Force, reinvented, Charge is ideal for people looking to track everyday activity to take their fitness to the next level, displaying all the most important stats in real-time on your wrist.
Fitbit Charge features:

• Accurate tracking of steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and floors climbed
• A bright, OLED display showing time of day and real-time stats
• Automatic sleep detection monitors sleep quality using motion analysis to understand sleep and wake times; also features a silent, vibrating alarm
• Caller ID to helps users stay connected to incoming calls; the wristband vibrates and shows the caller’s name or number when a smartphone is nearby
• Exercise tracking to easily record workouts, see real-time exercise stats and have summaries appear automatically on the Fitbit dashboard
• A high-quality, water-resistant, comfortable new textured wristband design with an improved clasp
• Up to 7 days of battery life

There are a few software updates available, including a new feature called Challenges that lets you go head to head with friends throughout the week, weekend or daily. And of course, the smartwatch-like alerts are particularly handy, which show you who's calling or texting via a message that pops up on the display. The device vibrates each time this happens too, so you don’t need to reach for your smartphone to see who’s contacting you. +1 for not being rude at dinner. However, you can’t respond to notifications like you could with a smartwatch. All of this is forgivable of course, because first and foremost, the Charge is a fitness tracker.

The Microsoft Band, another new fitness tracker, packs all the notifications you’d ever want onto its device, but as a trade-off: It’s far bigger and noticeable than the Charge, which is also softer to the touch. I have tried a number of fitness trackers including Jawbone (regular, not 24), FitBit Flex, Garmin VivoFit and even Microsoft Band. I think this is the best. Here's how I would compare the 4:

 Jawbone - I liked the Web site, the silent alarm and the battery life, but that's about it. The biggest issue I have with many bands including this one is how bulky it is. Of course, the manual syncing also is annoying.

 FitBit Flex - it has the silent alarm, automatic syncing and you forget about it during the day because it is not very bulky. But it lacks the impressive display of FitBit Charge.

 Garmin VivoFit - I liked the display and the lack of bulkiness, but the app was awful. You also couldn't see it at night, nor did it feature a silent alarm.

 Microsoft Band - if you could jam the functionality of the Microsoft Band into the Fitbit Charge, you would have the perfect tracker. The problem, however, is that the Band is very thick and you have to flip it over to read the display. The clasp is on top and the display under your wrist. It reminded me of my 4th grade math teacher who always checked his watch by flipping it over.

FitBit Charge - looks great, silent alarm, bright display, accurate, double tap for important information. You don't notice it's on your wrist which is one of my main prerequisites for fitness trackers. One feature I think is pretty cool is the goal achievement silent alarm. So let's say you want to walk 10k steps per day. Once you do, the band buzzes and when you look at the display, you are heartily congratulated for your accomplishment. The other cool feature is if you hold the button, you tell the tracker you are in "activity" mode. A timer begins and the distance you cover is tracked. Perfect for a run. Fitbit API will provide access to the all-day heart rate and GPS data from these devices.

Fitbit Charge is available now on Fitbit.com for $129.95, and you can find it in retailers nationwide. Charge debuts in black and slate colors, with blue and burgundy coming soon. Fitbit Charge HR will be available in early 2015 in black and plum for $149.95, with blue and tangerine colors coming soon. And Fitbit Surge will also be available in early 2015 in black for $249.95, with blue and tangerine coming soon after.

We’ll have lots more on Fitbit Charge this week and all next month, and stay tuned for more in-depth looks at Charge HR and Surge in the coming months!