Wearable tech is all the rage these days.
Fitbit and Jawbone recently launched new digital wristbands that motivate you to stay active.
These devices track how many steps you've taken in a day, how many calories you've burned, and the distance you've traveled.
The Fitbit and Jawbone stand out from other fitness bands by tracking your sleep. The devices then help you to figure out how to wake up more rested. An added bonus is the vibration motor that can silently wake you up from sleep so you don't disturb your partner.
Both the Fitbit Flex and Jawbone Up have their positives and negatives. But which one is better and why?
The Jawbone Up has the best battery life.
The Fitbit Flex's battery is said to be in the five to seven day range. In my experience, I got about five days of use before I had to recharge.
The Jawbone Up is said to last 10 days. So far my device is at 75% after two days and the app tells me I have eight days left. I spoke with a more experienced Up user who told me that she typically only gets about five to six days of battery on a charge.
Winner: The Jawbone Up wins this round simply because it doesn't sync with your phone via Bluetooth, which saves on battery.
Score: Jawbone: 1, Fitbit: 0
The Jawbone Up has a better smartphone app.
The Fitbit mobile app is available for iPhone and select Android phones. It provides useful information about how many steps you've walked, distance, calories burned, your sleep cycle and even tracks how active you've been. The app is easy to use and works as you would expect it.
The Jawbone Up's app just looks better. It's more visual, provides more information, and is easy to use.
Winner: Jawbone. While the Fitbit app isn't bad, the Jawbone app wins for its better design and more features.
Score: Jawbone: 2, Fitbit: 0
The Fitbit can sync with your phone wirelessly.
The Jawbone has to be plugged into your phone whenever you want to sync it. That can get annoying and there is a huge chance you'll lose the end cap, which covers the headphone jack.
The Fitbit syncs wirelessly several times a day. You basically don't have to do anything and your data is stored either on your computer or smartphone.
Winner: Fitbit takes all the work out of having to sync your data.
Score: Jawbone: 2, Fitbit: 1
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