Tiny Fitbit personal health & fitness device monitors and motivates

Earlier in the month we wrote up a Christmas Gift Guide for those interested in improving and monitoring their health and fitness. In the guide we included an innovative little device called Fitbit, which promises to monitor everything from the steps you’ve taken and the calories you’ve burned to the amount of deep sleep you’ve had. Up until now the gizmo has only been available in the US, but luckily it’s popped up on Firebox just in time for Christmas.

Fitbit is a similar device to Jawbone’s UP bracelet, as it acts as a personal monitor throughout the day. However, the Fitbit is probably much more appealing to most of us, as you don’t have to wear it on your wrist all the time, it’s about the size of a pack of chewing gum and you can just clip it to your clothing and leave it there. There’s a chance this makes it less effective, after all we assume a bracelet would be much better at tracking your pulse, but if it means we’re more likely to wear it then it wins over the UP bracelet every time.

Fitbit contains an advanced accelerometer, which can track your steps, the calories you’ve burned and the type of sleep you’re getting. However, it’s not just a monitoring device, but it’s a motivating device too. That’s right, if Fitbit thinks you’ve been sitting down for too long it’ll tell you to get moving! Don’t worry, a scary army drill sergeant won’t leap out and start shouting commands at you, but Fitbit’s glowing screen will display messages like “come on” and “vamos” to keep you on the right track.

Obviously the Fitbit needs to be paired up with something so you can view, track and learn from your data. You can upload all of your information to www.fitbit.com or get the dedicated app for your phone to make the whole process even easier. From there you’ll be able to set goals, track progress, view your BMI and much more. So Fitbit is far more than just an advanced pedometer, it’ll get you moving, tell you how well you’re doing and even give you a bit of motivation when you’re feeling lazy!

Available from Firebox.com for £79.99 and you can choose from two different colours, black/blue or black/plum.