Fitbit recently started shipping their units. I am dying to get my hands on one.

They were the runner up in 2008 at the yearly TechCrunch50 dot com start up venture capital competition for tech companies. One or both of the principals worked at CNET.

I wish they let people sell this thing on ebay or become dealers because even though I have never seen one, I would probably be a darn good salesperson for them!

The pre orders from way back when are being sent out right now and they are backordered until January 31, 2010. I'm putting in my order now!

Here's a video with the designer and it tells what it does. This youtube video was made back in 2008 and it took longer than they expected to get all the bugs out of the prototypes. www dot youtube.com/watch?v=oW3JRr9PIHg

I don't buy it!
It's totally inaccurate and bases it's results on a guestimated measure. Just exercise and eat right!
I use Jillians book for workouts and *********** workouts
I track my diet using a pen and paper - not counting calories, just writing down everything I eat.
So far weight loss success -15lbs!!!
Whoooooo

Of course, Angie, is right and this isn't something that anyone really needs but I love stuff like this, I love having as many possible different ways to measure how I'm doing, I find that if I'm not lighter, the loss usually shows on the measuring tape and if that fails my body fat percentage changes. But as almost everything is twice the price here in the UK as it is in the US, I guess I'll be sticking to my pedometer, weighing scales and spreadsheet for a while yet.

Such gadgets obviously aren't required for weight loss, but for a lot of people, they do help make the journey easier and more fun. Bodybuggs, for example, have helped a lot of people better understand their bodies and the calories in/out equations that guide their loss.

Seems like a new, neat addition to the pack!

I watched the video and checked out their website, but I'm a little confused about what it does and how it works...does it base everything on the accelerometer, or is there also a hr monitor/heat sensors, like a body bugg? How does it tell when you wake up at night? What happens when you get in a car? I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake...

It's not really needed, but it looks awesome. It also not only helps with weight loss, but it fulfills our need for technolgy at the same time lol. I'm not against something like that just wish I would have came up with it because they are going to make loads of money.

I feel that if I'd ever had the gotten round to thinking about things as sensibly as this, I wouldn't have a house full of rubbish gadgets that I don't know how to use.

Boy, that gadgets sounds cool! I have a bodybugg, and I love it. I don't care what anybody says, I think that my bodybugg is a terrific psychological tool for me, and it really motivates me to be active every single day, because when I am not active, I get visual evidence of that fact. Trust me, when you upload your data, you don't want to see that you burned 1,600 calories for the day, which is what I see on days when I am inactive. So, whether the bugg is accurate or not, I can say with 100% certainty that it motivates me to move more.

Now, this little device sounds better than the bugg for a multitude of reasons. First of all, it is small and inconspicuous. If I had the money, I would get this thing for just that reason, because my bugg is this big, hulking thing that I can't hide if I am wearing short sleeves and shorts. Second of all, the website is free. I really resent having to pay for the bodybugg website, because their food database is beyond lame, the site itself is slow, and their customer service is literally non-existent. You call the customer service, and you get a message and nobody will call you back. With all the money they are making off of us bugg users, you would think that they could hire a few people to answer the phones when you have a problem.

At any rate, this little device might give the bodybugg some much-needed competition, so that maybe they might be more motivated to keep us bugg users happy. So, that is another plus.

I read lots of reviews about the Fitbit in PC magazines, and here's what I learned.

It relies on the accelerometer, no heat sensor. It's very small, and several reviewers lost theirs within weeks - it doesn't seem to want to stay put. Because it relies on the actual gadget moving, it doesn't track all exercise - if it's on your bra you need to move your torso, etc. Think of it as strapping a Wii remote to your body - if you don't move the remote, nothing happens.
It determines waking up by how much you move, so if you toss a decent amount it will tell you you didn't sleep. Most of the reviewers stopped using it after a few weeks because we're creatures of habit, and typically do the same things over and over again, so they decided they could use data from previous days over and over again.

The reviews were still pretty good for it, based on pricing and the gadget factor, but I'd personally rather spend the money on a Bodybugg or GWF for more accuracy and the fewer amount of issues that come with a product that's been around and tested for a while.

thanks bacilli!

I have heard that there are more companies designing these types of devices, so maybe there will be more competition out there shortly.

I am with the person who said she resents paying for a BB website. This device includes the website. However, on the video they said that they might make a second tier of advanced features for paid subscribers.

BTW, BB is on sale in the Costco dot com website. My friend said her coupon book is selling it for the next few weeks for $180. S/H may or may not be included. I think it's a website only item. I also don't know if it's the BB #3 which I would assume it's a current one.

BB being on sale on Costco dot com also makes me wonder if BB is coming out with a new and improved BB for January, 2010 when everybody and their brother start their workout programs and diets.

Another poster commented about how easy it is to lose the fitbit device. That's something to keep in mind too.

I actually have only seen one person with a BB on b4. She wore it as a badge of honor. I think unless I'm going to a dinner party, I wouldn't mind having someone see it either and would be happy to explain what it is to people who asked. She was happy to explain it to me and I was glad for the information from a 'real user' of the device.

I can't remember if BB monitors sleep or not. That's definitely important to me.

Lastly, a lot of the reviewers got the Fitbit for free most likely to review it. I wonder how many of them would have purchased it if it weren't given to them to review, thus not lose it.