Fitbit Flex is currently retailing for S$129. It was launched in Singapore last year on the 29th May 2013.

Fitbit Flex is a wireless activity tracker that tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. It is also able to track your sleep quality (how long/well you sleep, how many times you wake up). It also has a silent wake alarm that gently vibrates to wake you at your desired time.

The Fitbit Flex is the third fitness band that I owned. I have the Jawbone UP (S$189.90) and Nike FuelBand (US$149 = S$190) as well.

Among the 3 fitness bands, the Fitbit Flex is very similar to Jawbone UP in terms of features and the lack of a display and hence I have switched to using my Fitbit Flex instead of the Jawbone UP. I thought of wearing 3 fitness bands, but it looks way too weird.

Personally, I prefer the Fitbit Flex instead of the Jawbone UP, partly because I own the Fitbit Aria weighing scale and I want to consolidate my fitness data into a single ecosystem.

Fitbit Flex - Packaging Front
Fitbit Flex – Packaging Front
Fitbit Flex - Packaging Side
Fitbit Flex – Packaging Side
Fitbit Flex - Packaging back
Fitbit Flex – Packaging back
Fitbit Flex - Packaging Side
Fitbit Flex – Packaging Side
Fitbit Flex - Packaging
Fitbit Flex – Packaging

The default packaging includes the Flex tracker, 2 wristbands (small and large), wireless sync dongle and charging cable.

Fitbit Flex - Packaging Contents
Fitbit Flex – Packaging Contents

One advantage that the Fitbit Flex has over the Jawbone UP is that it can sync wirelessly via Bluetooth (Bluetooth 4.0) and it saves you the hassle of taking off the band, plugging it to your phone to sync and wearing it back again.

Fitbit Flex - Charging Cable
Fitbit Flex – Charging Cable
Fitbit Flex - USB Head
Fitbit Flex – USB Head
Fitbit Flex - Charger Head
Fitbit Flex – Charger Head

You can also sync wirelessly to your PC/Mac using the wireless sync dongle that is included in the package. For Jawbone UP, you can only sync via your phone and for Nike FuelBand you can also sync with your PC/Mac using the provided USB cable.

Fitbit Flex - Wireless USB Dongle
Fitbit Flex – Wireless USB Dongle

Since the Fitbit Flex doesn’t have any buttons, to activate the sleep tracking mode, you just have to tap on it rapidly for 2 seconds and your Fitbit Flex will vibrate and display two slowly dimming LED indicator lights (first and last LED).

If you want to switch back to the activities tracking mode, you do the same and your Fitbit Flex will vibrate and flash all five LED indicator lights three times and then display a spinning light pattern.

There are five white LED indicator lights on the Fitbit Flex to let you know the process towards your daily goal. Each light represents 20% of your goal. To see the process, just tap twice on it.

I tried to take a picture of the LED indicator lights but I couldn’t because it goes off very fast.

Fitbit Flex - Tracker
Fitbit Flex – Tracker
Fitbit Flex - Tracker
Fitbit Flex – Tracker
Fitbit Flex - Wristband
Fitbit Flex – Wristband
Fitbit Flex - Wristband Tracker Slot
Fitbit Flex – Wristband Tracker Slot
Fitbit Flex - Wristband Strap
Fitbit Flex – Wristband Strap

When choosing a Fitbit Flex, you do not need to worry about sizes because the packaging comes with both small and large wristbands with adjustable buckle. The Fitbit Flex’s wristband is slightly more difficult to wear as compared to the Jawbone UP or Nike FuelBand because of the buckle.

Fitbit Flex - Wristband Buckle
Fitbit Flex – Wristband Buckle
Fitbit Flex - Wristband Buckle
Fitbit Flex – Wristband Buckle

Setting Up
Setting up the Fitbit Flex is pretty straightforward, I got it and and running within 10 minutes!

Fitbit Flex iOS App - AccountFitbit Flex iOS App - Setup Device
Fitbit Flex iOS App
Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 1Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 2
Fitbit Flex iOS App
Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 3Fitbit  Flex iOS App - Step 4
Fitbit Flex iOS App
Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 5Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 6
Fitbit Flex iOS App
Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 7Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 8
Fitbit Flex iOS App
Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 9Fitbit Flex iOS App - Step 10
Fitbit Flex iOS App

Fitbit App
Similar to Jawbone UP, the Fibit app is available on both iOS and Android.

A nice touch by Fitbit that I personally like is the push notification that will be sent to your phone at night telling you how many steps you have left to reach your daily goal. My daily goal is 10,000 steps. Also once you reached your goal, your Fitbit Flex will vibrate letting you know you have done it!

Fitbit iOS App - DashboardFitbit iOS App - Steps
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - DashboardFitbit iOS App - Distance
Fitbit iOS App – Dashboard
Fitbit iOS App - Active MinutesFitbit iOS App - Calories
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Active Minutes
Fitbit iOS App – Active Minutes
Fitbit iOS App - WeightFitbit iOS App - Sleep
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Lean vs Fat
Fitbit iOS App – Lean vs Fat
Fitbit iOS App - Calories
Fitbit iOS App – Calories
Fitbit iOS App - Weight
Fitbit iOS App – Weight
Fitbit iOS App - Sleep
Fitbit iOS App – Sleep
Fitbit iOS App - FoodFitbit iOS App - Search Food
Fitbit iOS App

The Fitbit App does include the ability to record our daily food intake but it is kinda useless to us (Singapore) because the food database is limited to the United States.

Fitbit iOS App - Search FoodFitbit iOS App - Food Plan Step 1
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Food Plan Step 2Fitbit iOS App - Food Plan Step 3
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Food Plan Step 4Fitbit iOS App - Food Plan Step 5
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - WaterFitbit iOS App - Friends- 7 Day Steps
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Friends - MessagesFitbit Flex iOS App - Account
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - SettingsFitbit iOS App - Settings - Main Goal
Fitbit Flex iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Settings - WristFitbit iOS App - Account - Goals
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Account - AlarmFitbit iOS App - Account - New Alarm
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Account - Advanced SettingsFitbit iOS App - Account - Advanced Settings - Food Database
Fitbit iOS App
Fitbit iOS App - Account - Advanced Setting - UnitsFitbit iOS App - Account - Advanced Setting - Sharing
Fitbit iOS App

Fitbit.com
In terms of web interfaces, Nike+ has the best looking web interface (no surprise here). Fitbit has a pretty decent web interface while Jawbone doesn’t even have a web interface for it’s UP.

Fitbit.com - Dashboard
Fitbit.com – Dashboard
Fitbit.com - Dashboard - Calories Burned
Fitbit.com – Dashboard – Calories Burned
Fitbit.com - Food
Fitbit.com – Food
Fitbit.com - Activities
Fitbit.com – Activities
Fitbit.com - Weight
Fitbit.com – Weight
Fitbit.com - Sleep
Fitbit.com – Sleep
Fitbit.com - Badges
Fitbit.com – Badges
Fitbit.com - Settings
Fitbit.com – Settings
Fitbit.com - Fitbit Flex Settings
Fitbit.com – Fitbit Flex Settings

Conclusion
The Fitbit Flex is extremely lightweight (13g) when you compared it with Jawbone UP (23g) or the Nike FuelBand (32g). Because it is lightweight and less bulky when compared to the rest, it is extremely comfortable to wear it to sleep.

I tried wearing the Jawbone UP to sleep but it is just too uncomfortable for me because of the weight and the design of the wristband and hence I only tried it once.

The official battery life on the FitBit Flex is stated as 5 days, but I managed to get 7 days of battery life maybe because I sync it with my iPhone once a day only. The Fitbit Flex is able to store about 30 days of data on the device itself, so you need to sync it at least once a month.

If I have to choose just one fitness band out of Fitbit Flex, Jawbone UP and Nike Fuelband, I would choose the Fitbit Flex!

Fitbit Flex - Wearing It
Fitbit Flex – Wearing It
Fitbit Flex - With Jawbone UP & Nike FuelBand
Fitbit Flex – With Jawbone UP & Nike FuelBand
Fitbit Flex - Wearing It With Jawbone UP & Nike FuelBand
Fitbit Flex – Wearing It With Jawbone UP & Nike FuelBand
Fitbit Flex
Fitbit Flex