Fitbit Charge, aka the Fitbit Force resurrected: a solid fitness band you should wait on
Smartwatches
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Fitness trackers have advanced.
Can the Fitbit Charge keep up.
I'm Scott Stein.
And this is a Fitbit Charge.
It's here on my wrist.
It's a $130 fitness tracker.
Now last year, we loved the Fitbit 4. So, it was one of our favorite fitness bands of the entire year.
And then it disappeared.
It was pulled off the market because of band irritation on people's wrists.
That was recalled and now all of a sudden it's back and it's been reinvented as the fifth bit charge.
Basically it's exactly the same in terms of feel for the most part but it has some improvements.
The band actually has a better clasp, so it clips on your wrist and holds on much tighter than before.
I lost the last one so it's nice to have.
Uses the same charger as the Fitbit Force, and it's got the same type of oled display here so it's going to show you step count, miles, estimated calories, and stairs climbed.
It has a barometer too.
A few features that we were waiting for on the Force that never arrived during its run when it was out are call notifications and automatic sleep tracking, both of which are available here, and they work as you'd expect.
If a phone come, phone call comes in.
It buzzes on your wrist.
And if you go to sleep, yes it will know when you go to sleep, for the most part.
And show you how many hours.
It works pretty well.
But what this doesn't have is heart rate tracking.
Keep in mind, early 2015 there will be a FitBit Charge HR for $20 more.
That will have heart rate tracking built in.
You probably would want to wait for that.
And $130 is a lot to pay for a basic fitness band that's really looking at how many steps you walk.
You can get more for less at the other competitors.
I'm Scott Stein.
And, the Fitbit Charge works well, just not as spectacular as it used to be.
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