Fitbit Aria – A scale with WiFi? Oh hell yes.

Aria Scale

Hopefully final calendar week yous caught my comparison between the Fitbit One and Nike FuelBand equally devices to help measure out your activity. In addition we're hoping you lot joined our Fitbit grouping, where you tin can besides win a prize (nosotros but hit 200 members!).

As nosotros go on our Fitness Month here at Mobile Nations, nosotros'll go on to explore how technology can assistance improve our health. Today, nosotros're talking most a scale. Yes, a matter to measure your weight and this is by far the oddest "review" I've had to do.

The Aria scale (made past Fitbit) ties in nicely with their One fitness activity tracker. Think of it every bit the other half of the equation. The scale is not cheap: information technology goes for $130 on Amazon, which concluding we checked is hella expensive for something that may depress yous every day yous utilise information technology.

Just my young man tech geeks, this scale has Wi-Fi. And so is it worth information technology? Read on to get my respond.

Hardware

Fitbit Aria Scale

What makes the Aria so compelling are three main features:

Loftier quality build
Congenital in Wi-Fi
Convenience

In all honesty, the Aria calibration feels like it was built by Apple or Nokia. It has a articulate Gorilla Drinking glass-similar layer that is cool and smoothen (peradventure besides cool for early mornings in the winter,ahem) and looks like art. The bottom of the calibration is a rugged, thick plastic where the 4 AA batteries (included) are stored.

The scale itself weighs well-nigh 5lbs, making it one of the heavier scales you'll come across. That's okay though because if we had to give the Aria a rating for build quality information technology would be an like shooting fish in a barrel 'A'. It'southward just really top notch.

It syncs to the deject!

Surprisingly setting upward the Aria is easy. You simply download an app to your PC or Mac that is on the same Wi-Fi network every bit the calibration. You so turn on the scale and you lot utilise the app to sync to and program the Aria. Once information technology'due south configured, yous don't demand your PC on anymore to use it. This procedure took about 3 minutes and was super simple to walk through.

Wi-Fi here is important because it means every fourth dimension you footstep on it, the Aria will sync with your Fitbit account, including your weight and Trunk Fatty (BF) composition, where information technology will and then calculate your body-mass index (BMI).

It'south a brilliant way to keep rails of your weight without having to manually enter it into the site. You but step on it, it weighs y'all and and so in about 20-xxx seconds it syncs to your business relationship with the new info. Needless to say, it'southward odd at first but really geeky absurd.

Up to eight users can take advantage of the scale and you merely assign their weight to a name/account on Fitbit. Every time you step on the calibration, it "guesses" who yous are based on the weight and BF readings. If on the odd chance it doesn't get your name right, you lot tin can tap to cycle through the available names until your account is recorded.

Wait, what is BF?

The Aria measures your Body Fat (BF) via Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). Think of it equally a balmy current that measures your resistance ergo your body density and from there, your estimated body-fat (based on historic period, gender, summit and weight) is calculated.

The idea hither is that weight itself is not always a good indicator of fitness. For example, musculus bacteria than fat pregnant a weightlifter could counterbalance more than someone who is overweight and out of shape. Likewise, if you lot first lifting weights and running ofttimes, you could actually lose fatty but gain musculus, which will maintain your weight or even increment it. Simply if you're just going by weight in pounds/kilograms, yous could exist misled.

That's why just "losing weight" should non be a goal and why measuring BF is such a practiced idea.

Having said that, computing BF via BIA is significantly debated as to its accuracy. The preferred method is to use calipers or a h2o displacement examination—unfortunately those either become technical (with room for error) or are not practical, hence the rising of BF-scales.

My personal opinion is that while BF scales may not be 100% accurate they are better than cypher. Sure, variables like how hydrated y'all, how much nutrient you ate, whether your feet are wet and time of 24-hour interval tin all throw BF results. But the thought here is over a long plenty fourth dimension of using it, you volition take a ballpark figure of what your BF range is and how much information technology is increasing or decreasing.

For instance, since I've been doing heavier cardio my BF has gone from 17.8% down to as low as 15.3% in 30 days. My caliper exam and simple "mirror exam" reflect that every bit accurate fat loss (meanwhile my weight has maintained due to muscle growth).

The trick here is to use the scale consistently—record the aforementioned time, everyday nether the same conditions. Sure the actual percent may not exist accurate merely y'all should be more than concerned with the longer term percentage change and management -that is what matters.

Putting information technology all together

One time that info is synced to your Fitbit account, you can and so access it online and become running graphs of your progress. You can likewise see your BMI (body mass index) which is another tool to measure out fatty composition. Once again, information technology too suffers from body-type bias and doesn't accurately reverberate muscle, just as previously mentioned you should be concerned here with trends, not former accuracy.

The info tin can then be used to set "goals" within the Fitbit system. Basically you see what yous weigh and you lot enter in what you desire to weigh. The program then figures out how many calories you tin eat based on your activity level recorded using the Fitbit One. If you go for a run and elevator some weights, your portioned calorie intake goes upward. If you lot're inactive, it stays the aforementioned.

For me, this is probably the #1 reason to use Fitbit. Log your foods, log your weight, log your activity and set a fitness goal. I do wish you could set up a BF goal instead of just weight but for most people, they probably go hand in mitt. [Edit: Y'all tin can set a BF goal]

Toss in the Fitbit Companion app (unofficial) for Windows Telephone and it'southward a swell system, for sure.

Wrapping it upwardly

I've had BF scales in the past (from Tanita) and the Aria is just as accurate. That means, in my opinion, you're not paying extra for that feature and y'all can save between $80-100 to get the same thing from another company. That'due south non something to castor off lightly.

No, the value hither is in laziness and quality. Laziness since this app does the job of recording your weight to your account and quality in terms of "it's a hell of a overnice scale". Nosotros're non sure how a scale should look only this ane is not embarrassing to have on your floor.

Does the laziness affair make information technology worth $130? For myself, yep. I honey the convenience of having information technology auto-synced and my information recorded. It ways in two months I won't have to "gauge" if my weight is really lower or higher ("Look, what was it again…?") as I can merely use the Fitbit site to compare. It also ways I tin can go a running comparison to see if my "diet" changes are working.

Not everyone will see value in that and that'due south totally fine. Only for a motivator and a "smart" system, the Fitbit Aria (and One) philharmonic is quite powerful. Whether or not you want to allocate $130 for something similar that is another question. But do call up of this every bit a lifestyle change and lifestyle commitment - something that volition terminal years.

The scale works and works well. Setting information technology up was a cakewalk and Fitbit delivered on their promise—no more, no less. As to the value we'll leave upward to you to make up one's mind but in terms of excellence, this 1 passes.

For more info: http://world wide web.fitbit.com/aria

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Larn more than.

New report reveals Microsoft's future AR strategy; HoloLens 3 is dead

Oh Dear

New written report reveals Microsoft's time to come AR strategy; HoloLens three is dead

Business Insider has today published a follow-upwardly study with more details about Microsoft'due south canceled HoloLens three augmented reality headset. The partnership with Samsung is said to include a headset with a gear up of screens inside, powered past a Samsung phone in your pocket.

Keeping it affordable

Review: Surface Laptop SE is the new standard for K-8 Windows PCs

Starting at just $250, Microsoft's first foray into affordable laptops for the education market is a winner. With a gorgeous design, fantabulous thermals, and a fantastic typing feel, Microsoft would practice right to sell this directly to consumers equally well. Let'south but hope Intel can brand a better CPU.

The most fashionable fitness trackers you can buy

Style forwards

The nearly fashionable fitness trackers yous tin can buy

There's no dubiousness about information technology, you can exist fashionable even while you're sweating buckets and getting steps in. There are plenty of fitness trackers out in that location that don't look similar typical fitness trackers at all.