Looking to improve your lifestyle? UK MNers needed to try The Orb from Fitbug - worth £50 NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

We have been asked by the team at //fitbug.com to find 50 UK MNers to try The Orb fitness tracker. We're looking for Mumsnetters who are keen to track their fitness levels everyday, those who are embarking on a new fitness plan (maybe trying to lose post baby weight), and those who just want to try out this product.

Fitbug says: "The system sets you personal targets each week for steps and food, helping you improve your lifestyle at a rate you can gradually adjust to, so it’s not a hardcore exercise regime or a diet that you do for a short time, but a way of improving your habits for the long term."

See here for a brief overview.

The Orb is iOS and Android compatible - but check the list of compatible Android handsets here: //www.fitbug.com/connect

If selected, you'll be sent The Orb to try for a few weeks and so long as you add feedback as required you will be able to keep the product. There are no ongoing costs to worry about. You will also be able to download the Fitbug app and get more info on the Fitliving site: www.fitbug.com/uk/fitliving

In addition, all MNers who are selected will be given access to one-to-one support at Fitbug for their new gadget, should they need it.

If selected, you will be sent the Orb at the middle of August, and asked to try it for around a month. We're looking for feedback on a thread on Mumsnet twice: once on first impressions, on opening/ first use - on set up/ why you wanted to take part, etc. and then at the end of the month on your overall experiences with it, what you liked about it etc. The second feedback will be early - mid September. Please only apply if you're able to take part and add feedback at these times.
Please also note that Fitbug may use your feedback comments on their website and social media channels, as well as elsewhere.

If you'd like to take part, please add your details here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/JJS297S
We will be in touch with selected MNers ASAP. If you're not selected, please keep an eye out for the feedback thread, as there will be an extra chance to win Fitbug products.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

[rookiemater]

Ok yay so I now have it set up on DH's i-pad, have also downloaded the app on my old apparently non compatible i-phone so we'll se if that works.

Not looking forward to food logging - i find MFP tedious enough compared to the WW app so I will try to link them.

So far I'm not massively impressed. I can measure steps using my omron pedometer which cost around £15 and my heart rate and calorie count using my heart rate monitor, I'm hoping that the sleep mode thing will be useful.

[Dutyfree]

I'm still waiting too...

Hopefully tomorrow!

[littleducks]

I got hot pink.

Tried to set it up today on my phone (S4) using the Android app. A bit of a disaster tbh. The screen won't show all the options and I end up getting stuck.

Hope it gets better. I was really looking forward to this.

[littleducks]

I keep getting this:

[YeGodsAndLittleFishes]

inculcate the first time mine came out of sleep mode, it flashed green 5 times (I think). The second day it didn't work and the light just stayed on for a bit when I pressed the button. The third day it also went on for a bit when i pressed it, but it did come out of sleep mode at that point (or could have been because I got out of bed again around that point.)

I'm going to need week to get used to using this.

Chopsthe Duck thank you! I am trying it...so that connects the websites-viewed-on-the-phone but doesn't affect the fitbug app. Have tried syncing and added food to MFP before and after to see if it works.

[YeGodsAndLittleFishes]

littleducks could be because phone battery is low, or not in range of wifi?

[littleducks]

Thanks for the suggestions but Im in the same room as router (MNing on phone) and phone is plugged in charging

[NellVarnish]

affafantoosh and Michelle - latest update from Customer Service below via email:

Unfortunately these devices do not have Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy. Your iPhone is a 4 and your iPad is a 2. The dongle which I have sent you will allow you to upload on a PC or a Mac computer.

So I'm being sent a dongle too. My phone is actually a 4s which was one of the compatible ones on the original questionnaire to apply for the trial. I might be wrong my brain is scrambled from trying to set the thing up, but I'm sure it didn't ask any questions about Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy.

This is something the Fitbug team might want to look at I think, as if I'd been an ordinary customer buying one on the internet using an iPhone 4S, I'd assume compatibility and not even think of the Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy part.

Maybe it's written in the small print somewhere.

Anyway will let you know when the dongle arrives and how that goes. Seems to defeat the purpose if you can't just press the button on the Orb to update steps etc., though and have to faff around with a dongle and a laptop /PC.

These are constructive comment by the way, MN and Fitbug, not me moaning much.

[NellVarnish]

Btw is there an Official Feedback Thread yet or are we to carry on commenting here?

[heymammy]

I agree Nell that they need to look at this, it turns out my ipad3 is not the right model number to be compatible with Fitbug . I'd have been pretty peeved if I'd paid £50 for it, ordered it online (where it just says compatible with ipad3) unpacked it, started setup...

[HeySoulSister]

Mine still not arrived, but I've emailed MN and fitbug are looking into it for me

[SherbertDip]

mine hasn't arrived yet either

[Chopstheduck]

Mine didn't track sleep last night neither. Seems that if you don't manually turn it off, it doesn't work. I got up for the loo, must have turned it off, and no record. Maybe next time I will leave it in bed

[rookiemater]

Mine didn't track sleep - which is a tad annoying as it's the only feature that would have been additional to my existing pedometer and the ability to track calories through MFP - feel so bad, I wanted to love this product as it was free, but I'm just not getting it.

[mnistooaddictive]

yesterday I had a massive number of steps which I very much doubt is true! Something like 7km which I think I would have noticed! Don't know if it picks up steps when I drive?

[BiggerYellowTaxi]

You're all making me feel a teensy bit better that I didn't get picked. Thanks

[rookiemater]

mnistooaddictive - I use a pedometer and the fit bug is recording way more steps than that. Although today I have apparently not walked any, despite my pedometer recording 387 so far .

If you read upthread there is a way to adjust stride length, but it didn't work for me.

[HellonHeels]

I've got mine now! Brought it to work to see if I can get it set up when I take a break.

Must admit I am dreading it a bit after reading some of the reports on the set up woes.

[HellonHeels]

Initial impressions:

Looks a bit flimsy, sorry. I got the white one which looks as if it's going to get very grubby looking quite quickly. I like the variety of ways to attach it to yourself but I'm not convinced about the little strap - not certain that would record steps properly.

My set up process worked fine; I have done the health questionnaire (a bit simplistic unless you are starting from zero on knowledge of health issues).

Haven't looked at the food tracking yet. I use the weightwatchers tracker so learing another system might be an effort but I'll have a go when I'm back from hols next week.

I really loathe watching videos so the video support for set up and use is a major interest-killer for me. Maybe I am just not a visual learner. Anyway it's working OK so far without having to watch any videos!

I used my PC to set it all up, would have been fiddly on the phone but the app appears to be working fine so far. I'll clip it on and see how I do on the way home.

[Chopstheduck]

mine crashed earlier, and went back to zero steps today. I think it lost the mornings data, because I have been on my feet for most of the past 7 hours but it reckons I have only done 122 minutes of walking.


TBH I am at the point now, where if I had paid for it, I would want my money back.

[rookiemater]

Managed to get the sleep data through DH's i-pad. My ancient ye olde i-phone is not compatible, but managed to log steps yesterday so I thought it would be ok. Sleep data seems a bit rubbish - it logged the hours I had switched to sleep mode and said my sleep was of 99% quality, which seems unlikely as I was up once in the night to go to the loo, and also moved around a bit.

I did manage to adjust my stride though using the i-pad and that was easy. However I would say I'm fairly average at 5ft6 so it seems weird that the default setting is for a very small stride.

Is there an official thread to report our feedback on mumsnet?

[YeGodsAndLittleFishes]

I used the stride adjuster thing for my run today and it seems to have worked ok. It took a couple of goes to turn it off as I kept getting a green light and had to press and hold longer for an orange light. Seems to be updating better now.

It does seem to be quite a lot of faffing about, but will stick it out for the full month at least to get a good overview.

[MimsyBorogroves]

My sleep is still odd. It says I woke up at 10 today (I woke up at 8) - it has me "briefly" waking at 8 but going back to sleep. I must have been very relaxed doing breakfast

I'm getting sent another as the firmware won't update, and think I'm getting a dongle too as I'm on iPad mini and iPhone 4s - both of which I thought would work when I signed up.

I also don't think the pedometer is accurate in the slightest.

[NellVarnish]

Did you see the other thread in Product Tests for first impressions? Left some feedback earlier. Hope my dongle I hate that word, sounds DIRTY arrives soon.