out with the old…

Irony: a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.

In a beautiful twist of situational irony, less than 24 hours after sharing the news that my Fitbit reported that I had taken 2,655,566 steps in 2014, that same Fitbit promptly decided to function no more.

What at first appeared to be a low battery issue quickly became a flat line situation. No charger or adapter, nay, not even the paddles of life could bring light to my now dark device.

Readers with keen memory will recall that my Fitbit had another dramatic exit back in August. First the vibrate function died. Then, as I was trouble shooting that issue with Fitbit, my battery stopped charging altogether.

They agreed to replace the device, and a few days later I received a shiny new one.

While that customer service certainly deserved a round of applause, when this replacement unit died Friday evening I had a decision to make. Should I go through the replacement process again and hope for a better result – or – should I take this opportunity to try something new?

I chose door #2.

Based on my friend Sam’s recommendation, I decided to look at the Garmin Vivofit. A quick search on the interwebs revealed that a local retailer was selling it for $99 (reg price $149), so I wasted no time in getting to the store and snapping one up.

If you’re keeping track, I’m now on my third brand of fitness tracker.

During year one I used the BodyMedia Fit (the armband worn high on your upper arm). I loved it; it was by far the most accurate for tracking exercise and calorie burn. But it was an eye sore. No disguising that puppy.

For year two I moved to the Fitbit Flex. I burned through two of those bad boys in < 11 months. I liked the added features, like sleep tracking /analysis, as well as the less obtrusive wrist placement. On the downside, a battery life of ~5 days meant frequent charging. This was a definite drag, especially when both of the Flex units I owned started getting finicky in the charging department (this went on for months with each unit).

And finally, in year three, I’m using the Garmin Vivofit. I’ve only had it since Saturday night, so I can’t do a proper review yet. Here’s what I can tell you though, it’s year-long battery life alone makes it a giant improvement over the Fitbit.

I will definitely miss the silent alarm (a gentle vibration on your wrist at your wake up time), but I’m less likely to punch a hole in the wall every week as I try to wiggle a cord to coax it to charge my device. Nope, I won’t be missing that.

I’m in Atlanta for the week, and this is a heads down, real work kind of trip, so it will be a true test of my #Janathon resolve (which is still going strong, by the way). Wish me luck.

p.s. My niece is still killing it, too! #ZeroDaysOff

Get moving,

xoxo nancy