Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Measure your melt with Fitbit Aria Smart Scale
Can a high tech scale help you lose weight? I recently started a journey to slim back down, which started the day I stepped on my digital scale and noticed I was approaching 200 lbs. Over the last month I have made good progress, but I wanted to see if an expensive Wi-Fi scale could add any benefit to my training.
After doing some online research, I decided to go with the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale. I've now been using the device for several weeks and I'm comfortable enough with it to share my experiences. Read on to see if it fits your needs and if I would recommend it to a friend.
The Good
Fast setup: I experienced a minor hiccup with my initial setup (see below), but I still had the Aria up and running in 10 minutes. There is a native desktop app for Windows users, and Mac users can get started with a web based setup. The web based setup requires you to connect directly to the Aria over Wi-Fi and then enter your local Wi-Fi network settings to establish a connection.
Track weight, body fat %, and BMI: Just step on the Aria and it quickly measures your body stats. Results are then automatically synced.
Wi-Fi Uploads: This is the main reason anyone would buy this scale. Aria automatically uploads all your stats to Fitbit.com where you can view them in graphs and tables.
Multi-user support: The Aria scale recognizes up to 8 different users. Each user must be setup on the Fitbit site, and then they are automatically recognized when they step on the scale. Guest users are also supported, but the Aria can only measure their body weight.
Accurate: When using the Aria I saw consistent results that were accurate when compared with other scales and body fat monitors.
Stylish design: The Aria is easily one of the nicest looking digital scales I have ever owned. It is available in black or white.
User replaceable batteries: Aria uses four AA batteries. Fitbit doesn't say how long they will last, but at least you can swap them out at any time.
Fitbit ecosystem: Combine the Aria scale with the Fitbit Tracker to see the relation between daily activity and weight loss.
Syncs with other apps: Some of the features in the Fitbit service are limited (like their calorie counter), but thankfully they support syncing up with multiple fitness apps including Lose It!, Endomondo, MyFitnessPal, and others. Fitbit also provides an API that other developers can use to integrate Fitbit data with their app.
Better deal than the
