I almost pulled the trigger and ordered it from US since there was no concrete date on India release, very last minute I checked the fitbit website and there was this sweet link "Buy from amazon.in".. Wow.. I was in cloud 9 literally and pre-ordered it directly.. Got delivered today (07/07/15) as promised..
Review dated 07/07/2015 after tinkering with it for like around 6 hours or so..
Out of the Box..
Packaging is frugal and efficient, may be a bit too minimalistic that it leaves you wondering whether something is missing :) . Only 3 items are there in the box (Fitbit Charge HR, a charging cable, and a dongle). There is no material available, such as a list of instructions, in the box which explains the setup process. I was confused for a moment there, just a note which is printed in multiple languages that notes the URL for the setup process is provided. Based on the device you use to access the URL, it will point out to the relevant app store. I tried from my iPad Air2 and Xperia ZR. Picked the phone for the setup process since it will be the main companion device.
Setting Up.. (May be better to do the set up process using a PC rather than via Bluetooth)
First step is it asks the Android or iOS app as per your device to be installed. My wife is using this, she could easily pair it with her Xperia ZR without any hitch. There is a software upgrade available, and you just cannot use the band in any meaningful way without it being installed. I opted for the setup using the paired device. The download and install went almost 80% before it got interrupted. I thought I did something wrong, retried the process, again using the bluetooth paired device, same story update failed for a couple of more times before it was successful. It takes around 15 minutes for the upgrade process every time you try it, so be patient. I remember reading about this issue while reading the review in the Google Play Store, as per the reviews the process works smoothly when connected to the PC. I think I should have just done it via the PC.
Once the software upgrade is done, everything just runs smoothly. It syncs perfectly, you can see the stats already starting to move around. You can set up the notifications from phone, silent alarm, goals and all the other stuff.
Charging..
Device comes out of the box partly charged. There was sufficient charge for the software upgrade and the setup process to run, but soon the low battery message flashed in the mobile screen. The vbox says charging time is 1 - 2 hours and charge stays for 5 days. Sounds about right since, it got charged from around 10% charge to full charge in around an hour or so. About 5 day charge, it is too soon to tell.. Will update the review once then..
Color..
Picked the Plum colour. It is a slightly darker and subtle kind of plum colour. Looks pretty natural.. Happy with the choice of color.
One quirk that we noticed..
All the other readings looked perfectly fine, but when my wife covered like around 50 stairs, the charge HR still showed the count as 1. At first we were not sure why, but it seems the count is shown as number of floors, then that is about right. No problem there. :) (Updated)
Why to opt for Charge HR against Charge..
- Obvious reason is the presence of heart beat monitor. If you need it, its a no brainer, go for Charge HR.
- Practical reason that actually tilted the scales for me, is the strap and locking mechanism. Charge HR has a traditional watch kind of strap which works perfectly, and absolutely zero chance of accidentally opening up. Charge has a different locking mechanism, it looks good and trendy but it looks like it could pop open easily and reviews have shown that it actually does that sometimes.
| Manufacturer | Fitbit |
|---|---|
| Country of Origin | China |
| Item model number | FB405BKL |
| Product Dimensions | 20.83 x 2.11 x 1.14 cm; 22.68 g |
| ASIN | B00N2BW2PK |
