The BodyMedia Fit Core armband is a product that elicits mixed feelings in me. I have used the device daily for 3 weeks, alongside a Fitbit Ultra activity monitor. I don't think it is necessary to have 2 competitive products side-by-side to do a useful review, but these 2 products side-by-side brought the products' differences into sharp focus as I used both. At a very minimum, a reviewer should actually use a product before reviewing it.
In terms of accuracy, I believe both products have advantages. The BodyMedia Core armband, in my opinion, seems to provide more accurate data on calorie burn, because it is using galvanic skin response and temperature data to calculate it. On the other hand, Fitbit Ultra was usually very close in its calorie calculations that are based on activity level (as measured by accelerometer) and duration. I believe both products accurately measure steps (both are accelerometer based). Sleep data was also pretty similar between the 2 devices. Fitbit Ultra also measures floors via its built-in altimeter, which the Core armband does not. Advantage to Fitbit there. I like the wireless syncing of the Fitbit vs. the cable hookup of the Core armband. Advantage to Fitbit there too.
Here are some specific hits and misses with the Core armband:
Pros:
Small and reasonably unobtrusive: The medium-size armband was just small enough for me (I'm small-framed and about 120 lbs). I kept the device on for the recommended 23 hours per day. Most short sleeved shirts covered the armband, unless I was stretching or the shirt had very short sleeves. The profile of the device is quite narrow, so it doesn't bulge beneath sleeves noticeably.
Accurate: While I had no absolute to compare accuracy against, I did have another activity monitor (Fitbit Ultra) on when using the Core armband, and most activity reports were very close between the 2 devices. (Here are some examples: (Jan. 30: Core 6702 Steps/FBU 6522, Core 1676 calories/1614 FBU; Feb. 1: Core 6972 steps/FBU 6879, Core 1765 calories/FBU 1672, Core 7:12 sleep/FBU 7:18)
Reports: The Activity Manager web page lets you generate PDF reports for the data it gathers. This is a premium feature that comes at no extra charge.
Cons:
Pricey: While the concept of affordable varies from person to person, to me anything over $100 is grounds to seriously weigh benefits vs. cost. This device is well over that price target, which makes the benefit burden for it even higher. I did not find its performance to greatly exceed the Fitbit Ultra's in any particular area, which makes its 50% greater purchase cost kind of hard to justify.
No way to view data on device: The Display device is a separate purchase, about 50% of the cost of the armband itself. This gets to be a pretty expensive way to monitor activity, very quickly.
Subscription only: This is perhaps the most egregious of the flaws. To charge a premium price for a device, not include a means to view data on the device (that's another purchase), and then to require a monthly charge to view the data collected ... it's very clear that the primary function of the device is providing a continuing stream of revenue for BodyMedia. It seems egregious because, again, by comparison, Fitbit is able to provide both local viewing of stats (data collected) AND free web access to basic data. (Fitbit does have a Premium service, but provides the basic web access at no charge.) And while BodyMedia provides more information on its Activity Manager web site, it IS charging for it. They really need to consider a reduced version of their Activity Manager that is accessible for free.
No silent mode: I sat for 2 hours at the symphony one evening, afraid to move lest I trigger a tone sequence from the Core armband. The tones let you know when it's registering readings or not. I can put my phone into silent mode, but not my armband. Next time, I have to leave it home.
Web access can be dicey: I was not able to access the Activity Manager (where you view your data on their web page) at work. I contacted their Technical Support, and was informed that their web site requires ports 80 and 443, and that many companies block these ports. Not cool. If you're going to charge a premium subscription price for us to access our own data, please make sure we can actually ACCESS it.
Bottom Line:
If you don't mind the premium price and required subscription service to view your data, then the Core armband IS a quality product that does provide accurate data such as steps, calories burned, physical activity duration, and sleep duration/waking, as well as some pretty cool PDF reports. Some people may find the armband preferable to a little clip-on device. Personally, I find that the Fitbit Ultra provides the information I need, at a lower cost and with no required subscription fee. Now, if BodyMedia freed up access to the data as Fitbit does (meaning, for free, no charge), then I would find that the 2 products would offer more competitive features for their respective prices. But Fitbit Ultra would still win in price per performance.
Before I bought this product, I read all the reviews on Amazon and had a few concerns. I bought it anyway and have been nothing but happy. My concerns were as follows:
1) There were some lousy reviews about customer service. I have had no problems whatsoever. I have addressed a question to customer service twice and received timely responses and effective fixes both times. I think it's possible that they took the feedback to heart and have improved.
2) There was at least one review that criticized the velcro on the strap; the instructions are very specific that you should use the velcro to set the initial size but, from then on, just use the elastic to pull it down your arm and off. It works, it's reasonable, and there is no wear and tear on the velcro.
3) There were some comments about accuracy; honestly, these mostly made me laugh. Yes, the Bodymedia product shows that I burn fewer calories on the elliptical than the elliptical says. It's not the Bodymedia device that is incorrect; those machines are notoriously incorrect and there has been no testing on them. There is no doubt in my mind which one to believe.
My observations:
1) Wearing the armband has given me a much better idea of what activities burn more calories--it's not always what you think. I had been choosing the elliptical over an exercise DVD I have based on my perceived calorie burn (and not losing weight when I thought I should). Now, I know that the DVD gives me a much more effective workout and the weight is coming off.
2) It is motivational. I like to see the numbers go up. I like to beat my personal best. Maybe I should take the stairs. Maybe I'll get up from my desk once and hour and walk around the office. No, I don't mind going to the basement to get the sippy cup you left there...
3) It's not magic; you will not lose weight by wearing it. It's still hard work, but you get to see tangible results moment to moment. It's motivating and sustaining, but it won't work without lifestyle change.
Buy BodyMedia CORE Weight Management System Now
This is my second full day wearing the Fit Core. It was simple to set up, infact it was easier to set up then to take out of the hard plastic packaging! It comes with a one month free subscription and I purchased a 12 month suscription (it was cheaper per month). I have worn the Fit Core twice to bed and I don't even feel it's there. I wear it up to 23 hours a day. I barely notice it while doing my everyday activities. Occasionally I do swim and since this device is not water proof I cannot wear it while I swim, but that's no big deal. I have lost 40 pounds since October 2010 on my own. I recently hit a plateu which is why I bought the Fit Core. I am currently 157 pounds and am 5'2". Size 12 pants and Medium shirts. I was obsese (size 16 pants and XL shirts) and now just overweight according to the BMI. I would like to be in the normal range. I would like to weigh 125. I set up the Fit Core for a 1 pound weight loss per week. Which means I need to burn an extra 3500 calores a week, which is to have a deficit of 500 calories a day. I just plug in the device to the computer and it pulls up the BodyMedia website and quickly uploads my information. I also log in all the food I eat. If you cannot find a certain food you can add it. Although I will find adding the foods I eat this Thanksgiving a challenge since I am not preparing the meal. Oh well, I can roughly guess the calories in a few slices of turkey and a spoonful or two of gravy, etc. On most days I will not see this as a problem since I know the calories in the foods I eat. Some people have said on the reviews for the Fit that the sensors on the device irritate their skin. I have sensitive skin and have no problem. Although I want to say be careful when taking off the devise. Do not rip it off! Gently work it off because it sticks if I am sweaty. I find the armband comfortable and the right size for me. I like that the Fit Core tells me how I sleep. I had a rough night last night coughing and it showed when I was up. Plus, when my toddler came in and woke me up. Very neat! I like looking at the graphs and understanding what activities really burn calories. I just love the fit Core and can't wait to drop all the extra weight!
Read Best Reviews of BodyMedia CORE Weight Management System Here
The BodyMedia Fit CORE would be a weight loss tool that I could recommend, if we lived in a vacuum and there weren't competitive products in the market.
I'll begin by reviewing the device itself. The unit is composed of a small, white plastic measurement center that easily pops in and out of a plastic shell connected to a soft Velcro armband. The white measurement part has a light that flashes green or orange/red and has a micro-USB port that is hidden when attached to the plastic armband shell. The back of the measurement center has two oblong metal plates, each with one pea-sized bump and ten tiny, spiky bumps. Once the white piece is loaded in the armband, it is meant to be fastened to the upper, outside part of your non-dominant arm. And this is where the fun begins...
The CORE device should be wrapped somewhat tightly around your arm, but you should still be able to slide a finger or two between your arm and the band. Finding the right amount of tightness is key. Once the metal plates are up against your arm, the CORE will calibrate itself and chirp after a couple minutes, letting you know that the device is now recording your measurements. If the contact between your arm and the metal plates is too loose, the device will beep and stop recording data. Too tight, and it'll hurt your arm. It's an annoying game that you'll constantly play all day long. I would forget about the device for several hours at a time, but then it might get sweaty or itchy and I would fuss with it. The biggest downfall of the device is trying to wear it under a long-sleeve shirt. Since my button-down shirts have moderately tight sleeves, the CORE is constantly being pulled down my arm during the day due to the friction between the sleeve and the armband. Getting the armband back into position with long sleeves on is also a challenge because it's difficult to re-adjust the Velcro strap. Finally, wearing the CORE for 22-23 hours a day caused noticeable skin irritation, itchiness, and even very mild pain. On my third day with the device I developed a 1 centimeter diameter blister on my arm. I don't know if that was from an allergic reaction to the metal pads, or it was due to sweat build-up underneath the device. Either way, it wasn't good. I wiped down and cleaned the metal pads every night, but it didn't help prevent skin redness and constant blemishes.
In order to sync data with your computer, and ultimately upload the data to the BodyMedia website, you have to plug the white central CORE unit into a USB port on your computer. Transfer only takes 1-3 minutes, depending how many days' worth of information needs to be sent. The activity recordings are all analyzed on the website, where steps, burned calories, and sleep can be broken down into binned hour groupings. It's not bad, and it does give you an idea of your activity levels and where you can make improvements. The idea and organization are executed to an extent that you can definitely track and improve your fitness levels with this tool. However, after a brief free trial period, BodyMedia charges $7 per month to continue to use the website. Without the website you're left with a pretty expensive paperweight around your arm. Additionally, a credit card number must be linked to your account before your free trial period can begin.
So even though the BodyMedia Fit CORE does what it claims to do, I can't recommend the product in good faith to almost anyone. Why? Because this same idea is executed so much better by competitor products, namely the Fitbit. The Fitbit can be worn on your clothes, so it doesn't aggravate your skin. The Fitbit is cheaper. The Fitbit's normal website functions are free and data syncing is wireless. Plus, the Fitbit has a built in screen so that I can track my calories, steps, and stairs right on the device. With the BodyMedia I have to buy an accessory wristwatch-screen to see my steps and calories burned, or I have to turn on my computer, get out the USB plug and upload my data just to see how active I've been on a random Tuesday. With the Fitbit, I can see that I only walked 3,000 steps so I better go get another 2000 before I go to bed. The BodyMedia takes 15 minutes for me to see that from booting my computer, syncing, and going to the website.
The BodyMedia claims that the direct metal-pad contact provides its main advantage; highly accurate readings. Well, I wore the CORE and the Fitbit together for a week. Here's the CORE daily calories, steps, sleep time (efficiency) and then the corresponding Fitbit calories, steps, and sleep time (efficiency):
2592 / 4644 / 5:11 (90%) 2481 / 5937 / 6:02 (99%)
2801 / 6053 / 4:39 (89%) 2508 / 6894 / 4:56 (100%)
2688 / 5138 / 0:00 2429 / 5942 / 5:22 (100%)
3625 / 5957 / 4:32 (90%) 2446 / 6599 / 4:35 (100%)
2527 / 2621 / 7:08 (90%) 2346 / 4286 / 7:38 (98%)
2831 / 7163 / 7:31 (92%) 2658 / 7711/ 7:40 (98%)
2750 / 6272 / 5:33 (86%) 2671 / 7498 / 5:22 (95%)
2710 / 5024 / 5:33 (86%) 2448 / 5346 / 6:16 (99%)
2813 / 6591 / 4:34 (79%) 2560 / 7195 / 5:32 (91%)
As you can see, the CORE always estimates 100-300 more calories burned than the Fitbit, but the Fitbit records 700-1500 more steps each day. I've tested the Fitbit can I can vouch that the step counting is 99% accurate. But I don't have the expensive physiological equipment to test true calorie burn. I'm guessing the CORE is more accurate for calorie counting, but I have no way of knowing. Sleep can be inconsistent as well. The user hits a button to tell the Fitbit when you're about to goto sleep, but one of the CORE's advantages is that it "knows" when you fell asleep. Except it says I got fewer minutes of sleep than the Fitbit (which I know isn't true on certain nights) and on one night the CORE didn't even register any sleep time even though I was in bed for 5.5 hours.
So what does it all mean? Well, I can only recommend the CORE for two types of people. First, for the person who is eating frozen microwave meals every day and can literally record their EXACT amount of calorie intake, the BodyMedia might to a better job managing the calorie in versus calorie burn ratio on a daily basis. Second, if you do not do any cardio running activities but you do lift weights on a regular basis, I imagine the BodyMedia will do a better job of tracking true daily calorie burn than the Fitbit. Other than that, the Fitbit can do everything else in a more convenient fashion and the website's standard features are all free. Therefore, 2 stars for the BodyMedia Fit CORE it indeed does what it claims to do, albeit it in an expensive, inconvenient, and literally painful way.
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PROS -measures temp and sweat as well as activity, calculates calories, extensive website
CONS -monthly subscription required, no stand-alone use, more costly than other alternatives
There are many activity monitors out there with various collections of features. What is special about this one is it measures temperature and sweat as indicators of metabolism, as well as measures of motion, so it can capture data that a pure activity monitor could not. The question is, does this result in significantly different information that other activity monitors? Other than that, it is a souped up pedometer. Unfortunately, there are two kinds of things which I don't like about this item:
-cost issues involving the subscription business model and price
-feature issues, or available for less cost.
I will explain these below:
A big problem with this activity monitor is that you have to *hand over a credit card number* before you can even try it out. They do provide three months free, but that is only *after* going through setting up an account and providing your credit card info. Obviously, you cannot try it out anonymously because you have to put in lots of personal identifying information first. But also, after trial period, you have to keep paying for it in order to use the website, while other monitors provide a free account at their websites (e.g. FitBit). You cannot look at the data collected without using the website (or buying an add-on display currently ~$70 -why doesn't it just have a display built-in?), so the device is useless until they have your credit card number. I would urge the company to seriously rethink this approach.
This product is useless without being on the internet. It requires manual syncing by cable -a problem if people who travel, for whom a self-contained solution that works offline would be better. (There is a more expensive model which has bluetooth for linking to a smartphone; also Fitbit has wireless automatic sync.)
Measuring temperature and sweat along with motion could provide more refined metabolic information than a pure activity monitor, but I wonder how well this is calibrated. But this ought to be more accurate when I hike hills, better capturing my activity level than a pedometer (unless the pedometer is designed to capture 3D motion, like FitBit Ultra).
Other than the temp & sweat sensors, the kinds of measurements which this device makes are available in many less expensive items. If you know how to use a spreadsheet (or even just a logbook), you can skip the website account and instead for just $20 you can get a pedometer that collects the essential info (e.g. Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer which I got after reading an article which rated it as one of the most accurate) or an "exercise data watch" (many available on Amazon from about $25 on up), and then do the calorie calcuations and data graphs yourself.
In spite of its good features (5 stars), this choice has ongoing expense and objectionable trial policy (1 star), so I'm averaging them and giving this 3 stars.
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