(Updated Oct 8 2013, lost Zip; vs iPhone 5s)
(Updated Mar 7th 2013)

My life is 8+ hours on a desk every workday. I got a treadmill 6 months ago but find myself often with excuses not to stand on it but rather in front of the computer in my den most of the nights. I crossed shopped the Fitbit one and decided to buy a pair of this Fitbit Zip for me and wify two weeks ago. I got to say, this idea works wonders. Nothing motivates me better than keeping a little score of myself. Now I know I walk 4k~5k a day and I spend ~30 minutes everyday at home to walk that extra couple miles to get my 10k steps. Already lost 2 lbs. My wife hits almost 12k a day and I don’t know if I’m able to catch her soon.

Let me tell you why the Zip is perfect, rather than a pedometer, or the better Fitbit One model:

1. It IS a pedometer that is zero-maintenance! That is the single most important feature. It has no buttons and requires nothing from you other than keeping it on yourself. It auto-resets to zero at midnight and constantly syncs data online. Old school pedometers need to be reset and recorded manually, enough for lazy people like me to stay away.

2. It syncs with my iPhone 4s using the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 (by the way a very new, high-tech mode) about every 40 minutes or every time when I fire up the Fitbit app. Again nothing is needed from me. This single handedly beats all the Nike band, Jawbone Up or the old Fitbit where you need to plug in something to sync. One thing to note: the iPhone Fitbit app does not sync to the Fitbit Zip in the background by default, just remember to go into its settings and turn it on. When on, the app doesn’t need to be in the front. You don’t even see the Fitbit in the Bluetooth device list. Everything just works.

3. No charging cable. This is the key feature that makes me proud of my decision away from the Fitbit One. It’s just one less hassle to deal with, one less routine to remember to do. Being lazy as I am, I will probably forget to charge the Fitbit One’s rechargeable batteries every once in a while and grow excuse not to exercise. Again the CR2025 coin battery for the Zip lasts several months (not tested yet for obvious reasons but it’s still full after 2 weeks on mine) that’s basically forever in today’s tech gadget language. These batteries are for a 5 pack on Amazon so cost isn’t an issue.

So all in all, Fitbit Zip is a glorified pedometer but one that can be clipped on and forgotten without any hassle of clicking, charging or syncing. It’s truly changed my lifestyle as a lazy person. Highly recommended.

Oh by the way, I don’t understand the negative reviews on the battery door: I opened and installed the battery on two Fitbit Zips within 3 minutes, using the provided tool (really a plastic quarter). No problem whatsoever. Could it be a bad batch of devices those people got?

March 7, 2013, update on battery life: it’s been exactly 4 months since beginning of December and one of our Fitbits shows the “Low Battery” sign today with a notification on the iphone as well. I looked up Fitbit’s website and this means it has 25{60f78fc10f9d225dae0ba0255c415eaf093f5a3220b43cdf3df82aaf7b5f9e5d} battery life left. A flashing battery sign will mean changing it immediately and I’ll wait till then to do it. This is after average use of 12k steps a day.

Oct 8, 2013. We lost one of the Fitbit Zips after wearing it everyday for 10 months. Still worth it for the price imo but too easy to lose might be the biggest complaint I have against the Zip.

Meanwhile, we also upgraded our phones to iPhone 5s, which has the M7 motion coprocessor. It’s basically a free Fitbit inside your iPhone: it keeps tracking and stores your steps in the past 7 days, period. There is no on/off button for this function and it has negligible battery drain – sounds very good on paper. There are already several apps that can tap into M7’s memory and display the step count for me. But I’d like to comment that the iPhone 5s seems to underestimate my steps. I wear my iPhone in a belt clip holster all day, plus my Fitbit Zip in my pant pocket. The iPhone would show 8,000 steps while Fitbit shows 12,000, or only 3,000 steps while Fitbit 5,000. I did a quick comparison by walking while holding both (not recommended, safety first!) and it seems that the Fitbit is the accurate one and iPhone’s M7 processor missed lots of steps going up and down on the staircase. I’ll be keeping my Fitbit Zip.

I remember the carefree days of the Tamogotchi, where a tiny LCD face told me about personal responsibility, and more importantly, the tragedy of neglect. Oh no, my tiny LCD creature is sickly, for I have forgotten to eliminate its foul, digital waste! Oh no, I have starved yet another ducklike beast near to death due to my incompetence as a plastic bauble owner.

The Fitbit Zip has many Tamogotchi-like qualities, with one major difference: when its simplified emoticon face shows disgust at you, it is because you have failed yourself.

Many a lazy Sunday have I woken up from a pleasing, decadent afternoon nap, to see the little guy judging me from his silicon throne: “:P” Oh god, I thought. I could have been wandering aimlessly around my house, probably between my couch and fridge.

And yet, post-workout, he feeds me his genuine, electronic glee at my activity: “:D” YES. Finally. The callous but potent validation that keeps me motivated to continue plodding through my otherwise dreary life.

Because I clip him to my bra strap, he is literally a demon that sits on my shoulder. One time, furious at his intercession in my otherwise sedentary lifestyle, I yelled, “Are you happy now, you little a**hole?” My boyfriend thought I was referring to him, and we had a fight. (-1 star.)

But seriously.
+ Good motivator, great online support.
+ I haven’t had the battery case problems reported elsewhere.
+ Convenient, and easy to remember to carry around.
– Cat thinks it is a toy, sometimes steals it.
– Registers steps accurately, but an hour of Zumba is disappointingly low compared to an hour of walking.
– May cause internal strife at home.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT WORK FOR FITBIT, NOR IS THIS A PAID REVIEW.

I am employed by a major US Cell Phone carrier (Desk Job) and the FitBit Zip made our list as “Accessory of the Month” in February. I had wanted one since August, so I finally picked one up. Now my hopes were not all that high, I have used pedometers before (they usually vanish into the nine hells of the laundry room) and to be honest don’t do much to inspire me and usually make me self conscious because you can HEAR them chime when you move.

No such Issue, I clip it on my bra with the display facing in, and it doesn’t even disrupt the line of my clothes. Vanity satisfied, the price tag had me careful not to wash it.

I love this thing so much FitBit SHOULD Hire me.

Pros: Size, color selection, the mobile App and website.

FitBit has made their little corner of the market by making it social, a way to be exercise buddies with pals in the Military no matter how far apart we are. Your account with FitBit can be connected to your FaceBook account, HUGE Plus.

When you use the App you can track your calories (Just like MyFitness Pal) and Track your water (food diary). BUT when you get close to your CUSTOMIZED goals, the App will send you an Alert. “Almost there, 200 steps to go!” You can earn badges, and if you are at all competitive its a great asset when you don’t have an exercise buddy.

They also send you a weekly e-mail, summarizing your highs and lows and average caloric intake. (Sold Yet?) If you are on a weight-loss program or working with a Trainer of Physician these updates can be forwarded straight to them. Diabetic? Talk to your doctor about it, walking encourages circulation, gotta fight nerve damage!

FitBit has a great family of products, take a look at the Aria Scale (sends your weight wirelessly to the fitbit site) keeps you honest. Sleep Monitors (for our friends with apnea) they all work together in a very cohesive fashion.

I’m converted.

Cons: I want a Barcode Scanner.

This little gem has taken me from less than 1000 steps a day to 5500 daily in less than 3 months. Everyone should have one, I should know, I just talked my boss into it to help her shed baby weight, also got our work Wellness Center to host a contest to win one. I hope that this is helpful!