Fitbit Charge Review (New Fitbit Product to Replace Fitbit Force)

Fitbit Charge Review New Fitbit Product to Replace Fitbit ForceI’m a die-hard Fitbit enthusiast, and used the original Fitbit Force for ten months until it fell apart and I regretfully returned it under the company’s product recall. However, after getting in the groove of tracking steps every day and finally reaching the point where I’d average 10,000 steps a day, I couldn’t stand not wearing a fitness tracker! Was going to wait and order the Fitbit Charge HR next year to get a more secure wristband that worked like a watchband, but couldn’t hold out that long… I ordered the Fitbit Charge ($129), a new product that essentially replaces the Fitbit Force, from the Fitbit site. It arrived in less than a week and is working fine. It was surprisingly easy to load the software for the new tracker from the website, which seamlessly added the Charge info to the online dashboard without losing data from the previous ten months’ Force activities. That was an unexpected treat — thought I’d have to start from scratch again.

The Charge looks very much like the Force, except the plastic band is slightly textured (which I assume is designed to prevent rashes that caused the recall of the original product), seems a little wider and has a more rigid shape to the top of it.

The band has two prong fasteners now (instead of one on the Force) to press into holes on the other end. They appear to be metal instead of plastic. I’m not impressed with the new prongs; I lost the Fitbit the second day I wore it (maybe the prongs weren’t in the holes securely; everything is super-stiff when it’s new). After a fevered half hour of searching, I finally took off my shirt and shook it and found that the Fitbit was up my sleeve. (Whew!) Apparently it had brushed against something.

**Update: Have been wearing the Fitbit Charge all day, every day for nine months now** and haven’t had trouble since then, and am careful to be sure both prongs are securely hooked. **I discovered a fabulous, inexpensive accessory to keep the clasp from opening and the Fitbit from falling off, and wearing it has really helped.**

The computer syncing and online dashboard work well, like before.

The new product has several features the Force didn’t have:

1) It tracks hours of sleep automatically, so it’s no longer necessary to press a button when you go to sleep and when you wake up

2) It syncs to a smartphone to display caller ID (a function I don’t use because I’m not a cell phone person; can’t tell you how that works)

It’s a great product, and I still love using it.

Other Fitbit Posts:

To read posts about my other athletic activities, see:

 

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36 Responses to Fitbit Charge Review (New Fitbit Product to Replace Fitbit Force)

  1. I’m getting this new product then. It sounds good.
    Sayid Mansour recently posted…immunitymma.com – The Immunity CourseMy Profile

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  3. Carolann says:

    that cool! I use my Samsung 5 which has a health center built in. All this technology my gosh I adore it!
    Carolann recently posted…Wednesday’s Gadgets and Tech Toys Wishlist – Part 2My Profile

  4. Pingback: Fabulous Fitbit Accessory to Keep the Clasp from OpeningThoughts, Tips and Tales

  5. Hi There–

    Just responding to your post on the “Learn to Blog” FB site and letting you know that I will be linking to your post as part of my “Workouts for Busy Moms” series tomorrow, 3/7 at 6 a.m. Hope you can stop by to see all of the other great articles!

    Amanda
    http://www.queenofthelandoftwigsnberries.com
    Amanda @ Queenofthelandoftwigsnberries recently posted…If You Give a Child a Book–Series by Laura NumeroffMy Profile

    • blogqueendiane says:

      Great! Thanks so much. Just checked it out — and am going to send the link to my Zumba instructor for her Facebook page. Very interesting!

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  12. Mandy says:

    I have a Fitbit one and a charge, and when I have lost or misplaced my Fitbit, I use Find My Fitbit, which is an app. It’s been incredibly helpful when I misplace my device-I have found it in the laundry pile and even out in the yard.

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