Fitbit or similar ...

[Narcisus]

My 12 year old ( girl ) has decided she needs one of these for Christmas ... I don't rea;;y want to spend 100 quid because I have a feeling it will probably be a fad or be left somewhere :-)

I have a feeling that the way it interfaces with her phone maybe the main attraction... Vibrating when she has messages etc.

Anyone recommend anything. Have looked on Amazon etc but its a bit of a minefield ....

[Sheets Tabuer]

I can recommend not getting a fitbit, the quality is shocking and mine used to break or tear the rubber from the device every few months and I'd send it back and get a replacement.

After being ground down by sending them back I decided after the fourth time in a year sod it I can't be arsed.

[Narcisus]

Sheets Tabuer said:

I can recommend not getting a fitbit, the quality is shocking and mine used to break or tear the rubber from the device every few months and I'd send it back and get a replacement.

After being ground down by sending them back I decided after the fourth time in a year sod it I can't be arsed.

Great thanks for that ! Off the list !

[PeetBee]

My 11 year old has the Fitbit Charge 2 - it's a much better product that the old Charge/Charge HR
The strap is easily and cheaply replaced (currently have a leather strap on it)

The link to the phone for notifications is one of the things he really likes, but also the silent alarms you can set have been useful.
Might be a gimmick, but he's still keen on it several months later. Although myself and Mrs Bee having one each probably helps!

Challenging him to hit a higher step count on a recent trip to London made the usual "I'm tired" or "are we there yet?" moans disappear which to my mind made it worth every penny!

[RizzoTheRat]

Does she have mates that use them? The big thing with activity trackers seems to be the social media aspect, comparing your daily step counts and activities with your mates, not necessarily a bad thing as it gets them out doing stuff, but does mean she'll want to be on the same system as her mates. Agree about the poor quality of Fitbits though, I know so many people who've had to send them back for replacements.

[Gargamel]

Narcisus said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

I can recommend not getting a fitbit, the quality is shocking and mine used to break or tear the rubber from the device every few months and I'd send it back and get a replacement.

After being ground down by sending them back I decided after the fourth time in a year sod it I can't be arsed.

Great thanks for that ! Off the list !

The perils of a sample of one.

I have a Fitbit, I use it everyday, I run with it, has phone alerts etc - never had a problem in 18 months of everyday wear.

Mine is a Blaze

My kids have them too, but they aren't great at charging them for when they really want them...

[Narcisus]

Just been looking at this one :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MUDU6BU/ref...

Only £23 and can also get different colored straps so a bonus..... Seems to have decent reviews and at the price .....

[deckster]

Narcisus said:

Just been looking at this one :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MUDU6BU/ref...

Only £23 and can also get different colored straps so a bonus..... Seems to have decent reviews and at the price .....

So you reject the best-known brand with millions of satisfied users because one person said the quality wasn't great...and start looking at cheap no-name Chinese knock-offs. Ooookkkaaay.

I am generalising and perhaps unfairly pre-judging that particular item, but I would be very surprised if that a) worked very well, and b) worked at all for more than a month.

[Narcisus]

deckster said:

So you reject the best-known brand with millions of satisfied users because one person said the quality wasn't great...and start looking at cheap no-name Chinese knock-offs. Ooookkkaaay.

I am generalising and perhaps unfairly pre-judging that particular item, but I would be very surprised if that a) worked very well, and b) worked at all for more than a month.

Always one on every thread I suppose .... Did you not read my OP ?

[Riley Blue]

We each have a Mi-Band 2, it should do what you need:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=m...

[deckster]

Narcisus said:

deckster said:

So you reject the best-known brand with millions of satisfied users because one person said the quality wasn't great...and start looking at cheap no-name Chinese knock-offs. Ooookkkaaay.

I am generalising and perhaps unfairly pre-judging that particular item, but I would be very surprised if that a) worked very well, and b) worked at all for more than a month.

Always one on every thread I suppose .... Did you not read my OP ?

Of course I did. Perhaps we just have a different mindset, but there's no point in buying your daughter something which is likely to break or not work...either get her something decent, or get her something else entirely.

Here's a tip: when looking at Amazon reviews, ignore the 5* ones as a lot of the time they're paid for, and lot of the rest of the time they're irrelevant (case in point: of the four 5* reviews on the front page for the one you have linked to, two of them just say 'bought as a present, haven't tried it'). The 1* ones are much more likely to be real reviews and when you get 150 people all saying 'rubbish, broke after a week', 'hopelessly inaccurate', 'doesn't pair' and suchlike you soon get a feeling for what you're actually getting.

I'm sure you can get something half-decent for less than £100, but trawling the bottom of the Amazon barrel is a quick route to disappointment in my experience.

[Narcisus]

Riley Blue said:

We each have a Mi-Band 2, it should do what you need:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=m...

Perfect thanks for that :-)

[barryrs]

Sheets Tabuer said:

I can recommend not getting a fitbit, the quality is shocking and mine used to break or tear the rubber from the device every few months and I'd send it back and get a replacement.

After being ground down by sending them back I decided after the fourth time in a year sod it I can't be arsed.

Agreed.

Fitbit kept sending out used items as replacements that looked like they had been found in a skip.

4 knackered fitbits in 2 years so far so the wife has ordered a TomTom.

[RizzoTheRat]

deckster said:

Here's a tip: when looking at Amazon reviews, ignore the 5* ones as a lot of the time they're paid for, and lot of the rest of the time they're irrelevant The 1* ones are much more likely to be real reviews and when you get 150 people all saying 'rubbish, broke after a week', 'hopelessly inaccurate', 'doesn't pair' and suchlike you soon get a feeling for what you're actually getting.

You make a good argument against Fitbits there Although to be fair most people slagging them off for always breaking are talking older models, no idea if the newer ones are better as the Mrs and her mates that used to use them have all got fed up with constantly sending them back and given up.

[tenohfive]

Riley Blue said:

We each have a Mi-Band 2, it should do what you need:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=m...

I had one, it was fine. But it's not a Fitbit. I don't say that as either an endorsement of Fitbit or a knock on the MiiBand, but it's for a kid where image is probably playing a bigger part than functionality. So I'd find out why she wants it and what she intends to do with it. If she just wants her steps and (basic) smartphone notifications, it'll do the job nicely. As others have said though, there's a whole social media side to these things. One brands offerings won't talk to another most of the time. So if that's the main reason for wanting one then you're better off getting either a Fitbit or nothing. Better than looking tight (not my opinion of you, just thinking of the playground.)

[Narcisus]

Agreed. Don't think that comes into it yet. She's not the kind of kid that's wanting an iPhone or a particular bit of kit if her mates has it.

She understands that sometimes she just can't have the latest or greatest and has always been grateful for what she gets which is great plus it's a Christmas present so can't go asking her about it.

I've ordered the Chinese knock off with a few extra coloured bands. For £30 it's not much money down the drain if she loses interest.

If she uses it then I'll look to upgrade.

Thanks all. I'll update with how it goes :-)

[AlexC1981]

I bought the Mi-band 2 last week. It cost £24.50 delivered from an ebay UK seller.

The official Mi-band app gives you call and text alerts, but there are third party apps which let you receive notification alerts from other apps on your phone such as Facebook. I have been using the Tools & Mi Band app for the extra notifications.

I only bought it because I wanted a cheap band that would work in conjunction with the Sleep as Android app, which I have been using to track my sleep. I have ended up wearing it all the time because all the alerts are really useful. I was forever missing calls and texts through not noticing the phone ringing. I use a battery monitoring app that pings a notification when my phone gets to 80% charge. I only charge my phone up to 80% to help extend battery life. Having that buzz through on my wrist means I always know when to take it off charge.

[Riley Blue]

AlexC1981 said:

I bought the Mi-band 2 last week. It cost £24.50 delivered from an ebay UK seller.

The official Mi-band app gives you call and text alerts, but there are third party apps which let you receive notification alerts from other apps on your phone such as Facebook. I have been using the Tools & Mi Band app for the extra notifications.

I only bought it because I wanted a cheap band that would work in conjunction with the Sleep as Android app, which I have been using to track my sleep. I have ended up wearing it all the time because all the alerts are really useful. I was forever missing calls and texts through not noticing the phone ringing. I use a battery monitoring app that pings a notification when my phone gets to 80% charge. I only charge my phone up to 80% to help extend battery life. Having that buzz through on my wrist means I always know when to take it off charge.

We use the same third party app as you and find it really useful as my O/H works in an office where she can't use her mobile so I send a text which 'buzzes' on her Mi-Band and she sneaks off to the stairwell to phone me. I have it mainly to monitor heart rate as I'm on medication but we both wear them 24/7

[Easternlight]

I bought one of these a couple of months ago, Just to see how bad it was really.
But it isn't its just fine, does everything a fit bit would do for £16.
The apps nothing special but never mind it works.
https://www.banggood.com/ID115-PLUS-Heart-Rate-Mon...

[alorotom]

I went from

Fitbit flex, to
Apple Watch Gen0, to
Fitbit flex, to
Mii2

And the later is by far the best even though I only paid about £19 delivered BNIB and sealed

I really rate mine and when the wife’s Fitbit Charge (I think) expires it’s being replaced with Mii2 as well