By Bernardo De la Cruz
I got my Fitbit just 2 years ago. I wanted a way to maximize my efforts at the gym and be encouraged about staying active. For the most part it works, but only if you have a slight guilty conscious and above else a bare minimum not to be an average American stereotype (to put it nicely: chunky body that doesn’t move much).
It worked pretty well for a while, but of course despite being the type to take care of devices, mine got chipped and broke. The Fitbit Company sent me a new one due to the circumstances and I tried again. But of course I screwed it up by bringing it into the sauna, not thinking about the glued rubber that makes up the band. It wasn’t so bad but of course eventually it broke off and I had to buy another one.
This time I was really careful, avoiding water at any cost aside from my own sweat and I tried to avoid hitting my device against any hard surfaces.
But of course that only lasted a few months and it was ready to pop out again. Despite being careful I had to get a new one. Now I’m not the most demanding of active people, so why do my Fitbits (I have the HR Charger) keep breaking on me?
Maybe I’m being cheap and buying the most popular one that seems fair in price, as opposed to the latest one that costs way more for such little upgrades. But it does look sturdy, so that’s a thing.
That’s just an annoying factor to consider when buying such devices, how much punishment they can handle. The Fitbit Charger HR can’t handle the wear and tear of active people the way the company claims it can. My current model is a replacement that I got after I purchased my 3rd one. If I had combined the money I used to buy all 3, I could have bought an Apple Watch.
Now am I telling you to avoid the Fitbit? Of course not, I think it’s a much needed device that will at the very least tell you you’re not as healthy as you should be physically. And that’s a wakeup call most of us need. Though maybe when my Fitbit rubber breaks I may just get the upgrade and see how that works out.
Bernardo De la Cruz, es graduado en Computación y Tecnología en Pace University y es asesor de Westchester Hispano.
Sala de Redacción/Westchester Hispano
Publicado el 13 de Agosto, 2016