Gamification of life with the Fitbit Flex

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Earlier this year, Jenny got a Fitbit Zip (http://www.fitbit.com/uk/zip), it’s
basically a pedometer, but with the added cool-factor that it can synchronise
over Bluetoooth with your computer (and some mobile devices), so that you can
see statistics about your daily step count, active times of the day, etc. all
online.

Fitbit also introduces a gamification side to this, allowing you to earn badges
for step “milestones” and beating personal bests, and the like.

When she first got the Zip it sat unused in a drawer for a while, so I decided
to give it a go. I used it for a couple of weeks, and I found that the
gamification made the act of walking more interesting, and made me want to walk
during occasions when I would otherwise take the bus, or something.

After seeing how much fun I had with the Zip, Jenny ultimately decided she
wanted to use it, so I had to give it back, and then spend a little while
without the thrill of getting badges for walking.

After a while I decided to buy my own fitbit.

I thought the Zip was cool, but it’s the low-budget end of the products that
Fitbit sell, so I had a look at their other current products:

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/by%20default%202013-10-03%20at%2014.27.53.png]

After mulling over the features of each device, I settled on the Fitbit Flex
(http://www.fitbit.com/uk/flex).

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/Image%202013.10.03%2014_33_24.jpeg]

The Flex is worn like a watch. It would be cool if it functioned as a watch as
well, but sadly it doesn’t. It does, however, function as a vibrating alarm,
which I’m sure will be an interesting/discrete way to be woken up
(maybe I’ll update this post with more on that later).

Unlike the Zip, the Flex doesn’t have a LCD display, rather it has 5 white LEDs
that blink in a particular way to tell you what it’s doing. When you double-tap
the Flex the LEDs come to life to indicate your progress towards the days goal
of 10,000 steps (1 LED for 20%, 2 for 40%, 3 for 60% and so on). When the Flex
is syncing
(with your compatible bluetooth-enabled mobile device, or to PC/Mac via the dongle),
the first and fifth LEDs light up together.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/Image%202013.10.03%2014_45_39.jpeg]

It’s painfully simple
(https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/918527-understanding-your-flex-tracker-s-display),
and very nice.

One thing that I like about Fitbit is the online dashboard you get, which shows
you the breakdown of your activity through the day, calorie usage
(and consumption if you can be bothered to track your food and activities), and
distance travelled through the day.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/by%20default%202013-10-03%20at%2014.41.02.png]

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Published October 03, 2013

Generated from the original post:
https://blog.omgmog.net/post/gamification-of-life-with-the-fitbit-flex/


Max Glenister is an interface designer and senior full-stack developer from
Oxfordshire. He writes mostly about front-end development and technology.

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