Wearable Technology for Ninjas

Wearable fitness technology is hotter than ever right now and will probably be on the wish list of many people this holiday season. PC Magazine did a review of the most popular wearable technology bands and compared the various features of each. They then ranked the fitness wrist bands that they reviewed. Here's what they found:

1. Fitbit Flex
   Price: $99.99
   Pros: Excellent battery life. Accurate. Comfortable, light, stylish. Includes silent vibrating alarm. Interchangeable bands available in several colors. Bluetooth and NFC-enabled wireless syncing to smartphones. Great Web experience.
   Cons: Limited display of information on device. No altimeter.
2. Jawbone UP24
   Price: $149.99
   Pros: Thin, sleek, comfortable activity tracker. Measures deep sleep and light sleep. Connects with many other apps for sports, health, and calorie-counting. Beautiful app.
   Cons: Requires a smartphone. Sleep mode not automatic. Very basic calorie-counting features. Ends of band don't sit flat. No display. No altimeter. A bit pricey.
3. Runtastic Orbit
   Price: $119.99
   Pros: Measures steps, distance, calories burned, and sleep. Excellent display. Waterproof. Includes two wristbands and one clip case. Apps available on Android and iOS.
   Cons: No food-logging or calorie-counting component (though integration with MyFitnessPal is planned for a future update). No stair tracking. App doesn't track weight. Heart-rate monitoring isn't supported. Requires a smartphone.
4. Garmin Vivofit
   Price: $99.99
   Pros: Comfortable wrist-worn activity tracker. Monitors steps, distance, sleep, calories burned. Syncs to computer via USB ANT+ stick and Bluetooth Smart-enabled phones.
   Cons: Not particularly stylish. Doesn't count stairs climbed. No natively supported activities other than walking and running. Must actively enable sleep mode.
5. Nike+ FuelBand SE
   Price: $99.00
   Pros: Sporty, sturdy, and comfortable design. Displays time, steps, calories burned, and "fuel" on band. Wirelessly syncs over Bluetooth. Neat group features. Lets you isolate and name special activities. For iOS and Android.
   Cons: Slightly pricey. Doesn't track distance, stairs climbed, heart rate, skin temperature, or sleep. No auto-detection for specific activities. "Fuel" is murky in meaning. Mobile app exhibited some bugs.

No matter what kind of fitness band you choose, get active and stay active year-round!