Gadget review: Fitbit Ultra

Gadget manufacturers are realising that any gizmo that makes the early morning jog more palatable or resisting that custard doughnut a trifle easier, is going to prove popular.

The Fitbit Ultra is one such gadget, box fresh from the USA – but can it really help you shed a few pounds?

The Fitbit is comprised of two parts. The device itself which resembles a finger sized-paperclip, and the Fitbit website. The device contains a built-in accelerometer, altimeter, step counter and calorie counter and is both wireless and rechargeable.

The idea is that you clip it onto your belt, trousers or running shorts and it keeps track of all of the energy you expend during the day. Then, whenever you get within 15ft of the recharging base station (which is plugged into your PC), the Fitbit automatically syncs all of this data to the web. Sounds simple? It is and it works.

There are funky little features like a growing flower on the Fitbit screen that represent your sprightliness and various other “atta-boys”, to keep you motivated.

The problems come when you realise what the Fitbit can’t do. There’s no heart rate monitor for one, so calorie stats are at best an educated guess. You’re also expected to manually log what food you’ve eaten during the day and the calories in each meal. The Fitbit App and website are also highly US-centric so whilst Hershey’s Peanut Butter Cups are a simple click, entering the details for a Crème Egg is a fiddle.

As a rower, there was no easy way to log my work-outs – the Fitbit claimed I’d barely moved! Walkers and runners are catered for well, but quite a few other sports are ruled out.

The sleep tracking functionality almost redeems the Fitbit, but for £80 I’d rather have a cheap heart rate monitor and a sports watch, rather than a glorified pedometer which forces you to spend ages in front of your PC.

• £79.99 from www.amazon.co.uk and www.firebox.com

click here for www.fitbit.com