You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Fitbit's freshest fitness fob, the Flex wristband, may not be the most comprehensive activity tracker on the market, but it does deliver quite a bit of bang for your buck, as we discovered during our review. The company's latest gadget is set to compete with the Nike FuelBand and Jawbone Up, but at $100, it's more affordable than either of them. A single Benjamin buys you step, distance, calorie and moderate-intensity cardio time tracking, with wireless Bluetooth 4.0 syncing to Android and iOS apps. It can also keep tabs on your snoozing habits, including how long and how well you sleep, offering up tips should you need to make some tweaks. There's also a vibration alarm that'll shake you awake without disturbing others. Fitbit Flex is available through major retailers and at the source link below -- for an up-close work at how it works, be sure to check out our full review.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: Fitbit
We have truly entered the era of the quantified self. Editorials are shouting it from the rooftops, technologists are snickering "I told you so" and you, dear consumers, are just eating it up. If there's some sort of personal metric you'd like to monitor and view in a pretty little chart, there's a product out there to help you do it. Now, that doesn't necessarily reflect a mature market rather than a fleeting fad. But we'll say this: companies both big and small are offering a number of products for this growing niche and some have built their entire portfolio around a lineup of personal tracking devices. Fitbit is obviously one of those companies and, with the One, Zip and Aria WiFi scale already on the shelves, it's got a pretty robust set of options for those looking to turn their entire lives into a collection of infographics. With the Flex, though, it truly rounds out its offerings with a wearable band in the style of the Jawbone Up and Nike FuelBand.
There are, of course, a number of differences between all of these products -- not the least of which is price. At $100, the Flex undercuts its most direct competitors by at least $30. There's also support for Bluetooth 4.0, which delivers wireless syncing on both Android and iOS. The question is, does the Flex deliver enough at that price point to make it a clear choice?
Filed under: Wearables
You know what they say, right? You can never have too many fitness trackers. After coming out with two health monitors back in September, Fitbit is back with a third product, the Flex -- a waterproof wristband seemingly designed to compete with the Jawbone Up. (In PR speak: "Fitbit understands that one tracker does not fit all.") Like other Fitbit devices, it counts calories, steps taken and distance covered (but not flights climbed). It then automatically sends that data to a personalized website over Bluetooth. You can record your food intake, too, but you'll have to do it manually using either the website or one of the company's mobile apps.
The Flex tracks your sleep quality as well, but the approach here differs from other Fitbit products: whereas the Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip have a key you can press to enter sleep mode, the Flex has no buttons at all, so your only recourse for logging sleep is to use the app or website. We have to say, that sounds like a bit like a case of form over function: the Up can detect when you're sleeping, as can the pricey new Basis band. The good news is that the battery life seems decent: Fitbit says the Flex can last between five and seven days on a charge, and that's despite having a Bluetooth 4.0 radio inside. For comparison's sake, the Jawbone up is rated for up to 10 days but then again, you have to plug it in every time you want to sync, and the cap covering the charging piece is easy to lose. So, that's something to keep in mind. In any case, if you prefer the wristband form factor and want something less expensive than the Up, the Flex costs $100 and is up for pre-order today, with shipments expected to begin sometime in the Spring.
Filed under: Wearables
