FitBit One: Helpful Tool or Big Brother-ish Intrusion? Beth Snyder September 23, 2012 Extras I am totally on the fence on this one. On the one hand, it would be nice to track the exercise I get during any given day in order to find ways I can improve my habits and overall health and well-being. On the other hand, I am not convinced that having a device track every single thing I do isn’t just a little too much like living in Ira Levin’s Perfect World. Because even though I love technology and all the accompanying gadgets, I have to admit I am at heart a bit of a Luddite. I’m not convinced having a computer somewhere know absolutely everything about me is necessarily a good idea. What we have here is The One from Fitbit. It’s a little gadget about the size of a pager (remember those?) that you can clip to whatever you’re wearing. It then acts as an altimeter, pedometer, and several other types of -ometer to keep track of how many stairs you’ve climbed, how many steps you’ve taken, how far you’ve walked, how many calories you’ve burned, and the amount of quality of your sleep. If the clip doesn’t thrill you, it also has a wristband so you can wear it that way. It isn’t waterproof, but it is water-resistant. Which means you can’t wear it while swimming, but shouldn’t panic about a sudden rainstorm. The idea is to keep this thing on you 24/7 in order to discover how lazy (or not) you’re being. It can send updates to your PC (Windows XP or above) or Mac (OS X 10.5 and up), as well as iPhone 4, 4S and 5. If that isn’t enough devices, it will also work with 3rd generation iPads and 5th generation iPod Touch, and soon it will be compatible with some select Android devices as well. Its battery is supposed to last 5-7 days without a charge, and it connects via Bluetooth. It even has a vibrating alarm, so you can discreetly be reminded of whatever you need. Why would you want all this? To be healthier, of course. Once you see how you spend your day exercise-wise, you can make changes for the better to improve your physical fitness. Most of it is what you know already, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but if you have a readout of just how lazy you’re being right in front of you, it should be easier to make changes for the better. I’m still not convinced, but I am intrigued. Fitbit One comes in black or burgundy, and will run you $100.00 US. Source: Red Ferret Share This With The World!