In April, I switched from a Fitbit Zip (it is basically only a pedometer that you clip to your clothes) to the new Fitbit Inspire HR. This one has all the bells and whistles--heart rate, sleep, exercise tracking. But it's been a little difficult to transition.
The first difference is that the Zip runs on a regular 3 volt battery so no charging required. If the battery level gets too low, I just swapped it out and kept going. The Inspire is chargeable. Allegedly it has a 5-day battery life, but the most I've ever made it was three days, but I usually charge every other day because I'm one of those people who has to fill up early.
I also struggled to get used to having something on my wrist. I haven't worn a watch since the early 90s. It took a while before this stopped being annoying. The Zip just clipped onto my pocket and mostly stayed out of my way. The Zip was also virtually invisible inside my pocket while the Inspire is out there for the world to see. With it's silicone band. I thought about buying a leather band, but...
The two features I thought would be cool leave me wondering how accurate they are. For example, the heart rate monitor told my my Beats Per Minutes was 121 while I was sitting. That made me go OMG! and put my fingers to my neck to try to time my pulse. It was not 121 BPM. Later that same day, I'm working out and I can feel my heart throbbing and the heart rate monitor read 89. Um, I don't think so.
The sleep monitor has also shown me asleep when I know I was awake or vice versa. I wonder if being still and trying to fall asleep confused it?
The other frustration is that it will nag me for 250 steps an hour. That's not bad because I tend to sit in one position for too long and this helps. The frustrating part is that the app won't record all my accomplished hours. This is apparently a known bug that hasn't been fixed in a really long time because people have been complaining about it on the Fitbit forums. The other thing that's frustrating is that the device doesn't always nag me when I don't get my steps in for that hour and then I've messed up my perfect day because I lost track of time. Why doesn't it nag me every time?
I do, however, really like being able to tell it I'm on the treadmill or using the weights. The only quibble here is why isn't there an elliptical option? I spend half my gym days on the elliptical. One time it self-identified the equipment, but other times it's labeling the elliptical as running.
One other annoyance is that when I turn my wrist to look at the device, the screen doesn't always light up. I often have to prompt it. Except at night when it's dark in my bedroom, I'm trying to sleep, move my arm and the damn thing lights up like Times Square at New Year's Eve. Gah! There's also a laser light on the bottom that is really noticeable in the dark.
I bought the lavender color and like that since it makes the information on the screen look slightly purple. The band seems secure, an issue I know others had with some of the earlier models of other Fitbit devices.
Overall, I do like the Inspire although it's not perfect by any means. I'd give it a qualified thumbs up.
