Hands-On: Nike+ FuelBand Exercise Monitor

I warranted 628 Fuel points on my sunrise run today.

What's a Fuel point? It's an capricious metric of how ample a runs, walks, skips, jumps, or does flattering ample any other wake up whilst wearing Nike+'s FuelBand exercise monitor, that went on sale Wednesday. Wired initial covered the FuelBand in January, but I've outlayed the final 24 hours using it, and whilst it looks adorned on the wrist, I'm underwhelmed by its functionality relations to other products in the wearable exercise guard space.

If you outlay your day fidgeting at your table and on foot around the office to jaw line with co-workers, you'll see your Fuel measure way up on this lean band's LED display. But if you outlay your day sharpened hoops, carrying out interlude workouts, and running stairs, the accelerometer in the rope will result in your Fuel measure to skyrocket.

If so inclined, you can share your Fuel figures on Facebook and Twitter to completely upset your friends. Now, it's probable that people who use Nike+ will have a few thought of what you've been up to, and the open reports you send to amicable media do display your every day totals for steps, calories, and distance.

But the principal timeline chart that shows your Fuel points could leave observers perplexed. Nike defines its indicate network as "a measure of wake up … distributed the same for everyone," and that's excellent and dandy, only as long as everybody knows what that means. The Fuel indicate scale is Nike's own exclusive system, and whilst it's related to calories burned, it's not an attention standard.

Nike is selling the FuelBand to athletes, but the shoe firm already has several more absolute examination monitors in its lineup. The Nike+ SportWatch GPS, that Wired reviewed final July, lets you come together the Nike+ community, but adds a GPS and a foot pod to help follow stretch and map routes, and will even couple with Polar heart-rate monitors. Meanwhile, Nike's SportBand pairs with that same foot pod and archives pace, distance, time, and calories. With the collection forthcoming in at $199 and $59 respectively, the $149 sell cost of the FuelBand starts to look a small high for a simple accelerometer-based wrist band, despite a like one.

So do not design the FuelBand to reinstate your examination GPS. That said, whilst the rope doesn't add a lot of features, it's still a resolutely in vogue wrist accessory. Its shade LED display is a review starter, and in figure and size it resembles a Livestrong Wrist-let more than a dive watch.

Bling reason aside, any major FuelBand owners will be more meddlesome in every day wake up totals, and it's gratifying to see calories burned, stairs and Fuel points raise up. When you attain your every day goals, you'll pick up "achievements," but do not design any minute data about your workout.

The FuelBand pairs with a giveaway iPhone app, that will sync to your Nike+ account in real time around Bluetooth. There's moreover an Android app in the works, but we haven't had a luck to try out possibly square of software. Stay tuned for a full review, and if you've had the luck to try out the FuelBand yourself, let us know what you thought in the comments.