Which wrist should i wear my fuelband on

Well that's what we did. In that time we've walked around London, gone on a couple of runs about 12 miles in total played tennis, gone to the pub, sat on the sofa, worked at a desk, basically all the usual stuff you might do in your life. At first it has to be said that it was fairly uncomfortable. It's a buckled strap that has little movement so something dangling and moving on our arm was unusual. If you are used to wearing a charity band we doubt that you would notice much difference, only that this bracelet is a bit more "solid".

Pressing the button on the top of the band reveals the information. It's good that you press it only once, and it stays on that statistic. So if you want to use this as a watch, as we found we have, you only have to press the button once to get the time each time. Whenever you press the button you are reminded of how well you are doing in achieving your goals with those lights.

That's a really powerful motivator. Also a powerful motivator is that you can see it, you are constantly reminded and reminding others that you are someone who is trying to get more aware about exercising. That's a very different approach to the Fitbit Ultra that is hidden out of sight. The software allows you to customise what is accessible on the go and if you can't be fussed with Calories or Steps you can remove this from the band - we have.

It is a motivator, for us at least, that works. We hate to admit it but once or twice we've been sitting on the sofa, realised that we aren't going to get enough points to meet our target and then got up and gone out for a walk or a run. That means you've got to be serious about wanting to track your movement and feel that a device like this will help you mentally to change your approach to getting out or even just using the stairs, rather than the lift.

Two quick taps brings up the time. Long press and you start a new activity session. There's no time wasted waking the device, unlocking it, and swiping through menus to get to what you want. The Fuelband's battery will last as long as eight days between charges. That isn't amazing, but given the fact that it has a display and is relatively thin and small, that's not terrible either. The iPhone app Nike doesn't support Android is decent but not groundbreaking.

It shows you your daily Nikefuel number, along with weekly and monthly reports of your activity. It will give you awards for meeting certain milestones or challenges. And it will even do some basic analysis, such as telling you what your most active days of the week are, or how much Nikefuel you earn on an average day or week. But much of that data feels superficial.

The real killer Fuelband feature isn't about hardware or software; it's psychological. There's a little meter under your Nikefuel score egging you on to meet your goal. As it sits now, the button would look closer to a manufacturing defect than a design choice if it were not so symmetrical.

A spring-loaded stainless steel clasp holds the FuelBand securely closed while also sheathing the built-in USB plug. The band initially feels heavier than you might expect from its look and definitely far more rigid. Nike makes three sizes and which to order is easy to determine with the aid of their printable sizing guide. Each size includes an 8mm and 16mm link along with a simple changing tool to cover a wide range of wrist sizes.

It fits easily into a side port on most laptops but also includes an extension cord and stand for desktop use. The program will ask you to enter some simple information such as height, weight, age, NikeFuel goal more on that in a moment , and which wrist you want to wear it on. Although the differences are slight, the FuelBand is definitely shaped to fit your wrist a particular way. Selecting which wrist you want flips the main display to read towards you.

Since I wear a watch on my left wrist I set the FuelBand for my right wrist. Unfortunately the FuelBand was obviously designed with a left wrist bias so changing this puts the colored LED meter on the beveled edge facing away from you. All of this exists for one main reason: NikeFuel. A three axis accelerometer in the FuelBand is used to determine your arm movement as well as to approximate your calories burned and steps taken.

You set what your Fuel goal is for the following day which can be changed at any time except for the current day you are in. I found the pedometer to be impressively accurate, testing it both walking and running over a few hundred steps only to differ by a step or two from my own count. A user can also choose to also receive a calorie count to understand how many calories are burned versus how much NikeFuel is earned.

To check your stats during the day, you just press the button on the Fuelband and it will tell you how much Nike Fuel you have gained, how many calories you have burned, how many steps you have taken and what the time is. You can set challenges for your friends and make goals for the future.

I have only had to charge it once in a week they say the battery should last for 4 days. However you can only check its battery levels when it is plugged in to your computer — so there is no way to tell if it is getting low otherwise.

While wearing it, I was definitely more conscious about how much movement I was doing during the day — and would get up and walk around more to ensure I made it into the green.

Unlike a pedometer which can be hidden on a waistband — the only choice you have is to wear this on your wrist — a highly visible place. I would really encourage you to get into a Nike store and try one on for size. For me the medium is too big, and with it already being a bit of a clunky wristband it gets in the way a bit. Firstly — it snaps shut HARD and you would want to be careful not to get any skin caught in there.