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The Orb is a released activity tracker from the United Kingdom - based company Fitbug , and it tracks your steps pick out , distanced travel , calories burned and sleep . The name may sound standardized to Fitbit , another popular fitness tracker , but that equipment fare from a California - establish company . The main merchandising head of the Orb is its low-cost price : At $ 49.95 , it ’s about half the terms of theFitbit Flexand $ 10 cheaper than the Fitbit Zip . The Live Science testing squad picked the Orb as our " Best for the Money " tracker for two intellect : there are more fashion to wear the Orb than many other trackers on the market , and users receive emails and notification with tips that provide you with import behind the information that the gadget track , as well as suggestion for improving your health . I wore the Fitbug to test it out — here ’s what I found .
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
The pros of the Fitbug Orb include its affordable price , the many shipway to wear the gimmick and weekly forward motion paper .
The sting of the Fitbug let in its lack of a projection screen / user interface on the twist itself , the requirement that you put the battery in yourself and the unfitness to set your own action destination .
Design / Comfort : 6/10
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There are more ways to wear the Fitbug Orb than for any of the otherfitness trackersI’ve tested . you may put it in the wristband that ’s admit and wear it on your wrist , confiscate it to your belt / waistband with the clipping ( like a pedometer ) or utilize the provided laniard to wear it around your neck . The fellowship also intimate putting the Orb directly in your pocket , or clipping it to your underclothes , if you ’re so disposed .
I found the Orb comfortable to fag out . The bracelet has several size circumstance , so I could set the strap to fit snuggly around my wrist . However , the whack cartridge holder was a little bulky — I chance that when I used it , I could often see the eyeball bulging out from under my clothes . But still , the clip was utilitarian to outwear the gimmick while I was running ( and less concerned about my appearance ) .
The Orb uses a lithium battery , which you have to put in yourself by using a coin to wriggle launch the back of the twist . This requires some sweat . The battery will save you from having to recharge your machine every week or two ( as is the case with many other activity trackers ) , but it will eventually require to be replaced after about four to six months , according to Fitbug . renewal batteries cost $ 1.50 .
The gadget caterpillar track sleep , but unlike other tracker — such as the Fitbit Flex and theJawbone Up — the Orb does not have an alarm .
User - Friendliness : 6/10
The Fitbug Orb is evenhandedly user - friendly , but it could use some improvement . The gimmick itself is moderately simplistic , with a single release and a Inner Light that tells you what modality the gimmick is in . Because there is no screen or interface on the Orb , you ’ll need to use the Fitbug app ( which is available for iPhone and Android ) to see your activity data .
The Orb syncs wirelessly with the app when you push down the button once .
The app shows your day-after-day bodily function — including total step , aerophilous steps , distance move and calories burned — as well as your activity history ( over the last calendar week ) , hours of sleep and sleep timber . A monthly calendar lets you go back and review your action for any point in the past .
The app uses a colour computer code to indicate your progress toward your fittingness goals : grey for " keep try out , " aqua for " aerobic steps come across , " dark-brown - yellow for " total steps encounter " and magenta if you exceed your activity target . The color - put one across system is prissy , but the colour do n’t follow an intuitive chronological succession ( like violent , yellow and green , for exemplar ) , so I had to remind myself continually what each color represented .
The Orb had some trouble tracking my slumber . To put the gadget into Sleep Mode , you push the push three times , but when I did this ( and saw the confirmation of the light flashing five time , indicating the gadget was indeed in Sleep Mode ) , it still seemed to register no data . I think my gimmick was defective , and the society was quick to air me a unexampled Orb .
I by and by realise that I might not have die Sleep Mode right after waking up , and this may have been the source of the trouble . You need to urge the button again when you come alive , and confine it down until the light jiffy . But should neglecting to do this really allow the gadget to " lose " all the sleep data from the Nox before ?
Value of Information : 8/10
The Fitbug excels at offer substance to the entropy it tracks . Through your Fitbug account , which you produce during setup , you could take a health - assessment questionnaire , which asks about your dieting , water and alcohol aspiration , and stress tier , as well as other query . Fitbug say you not only whether your habits are in line with recommendations , but also what you may do to improve .
For case , I was very honest and tell Fitbug I use up only about two portion offruit and vegetablesdaily . Fitbug secern me the commend tier is nine to 13 luck , and that eating more fruit and vegetable can bring down my risk of stroke and heart disease . The app also suggested , " Start off by adding at least one surplus parcel a Clarence Day to your dieting , " and provided a linkup to Fitbug ’s formula Word of God .
Fitbug does not give you an bodily process goal right away ; it waits until you ’ve been using the gimmick for a week . Then , it will provide you with a personal object for total steps , aerobic stone’s throw andcalorie intake . It recommends you endeavor to meet your action targets five time a week . For sleep , Fitbug commend you get between 7.5 and 9 hours .
Enjoyment / Inspiration : 6/10
I found the Fitbug Orb inspiring . When you first signal up , Fitbug will e-mail you each twenty-four hour period for a week , explicate the features of the program . After that , Fitbug emails you once a workweek with a progress report of how you did in term of reaching your targets . With these advance reports , Fitbug provide you with a reason to keep using your tracker .
Fitbug also uses a smiley - look system to depict your progress , which is a cute feature . When you upload nutrition information to your account , an emoticon changes from a distressing brass to a glad face .
I care that the Orb countersink my activity goals for me , but if you wanted to gear up your own goals , you ’d be out of luck .
Although you may place your advancement to Facebook , the Fitbug app does not have a direction to directly compare your bodily process with that of your friends , as the Fitbit app does .
