FitBit CEO apologizes for FitBit Force skin irritation

Fitbit has voluntarily recalled all of its Fitbit Force wristband activity trackers after users reported skin redness, swelling, itchiness or other skin irritations

“While only 1.7% of Force users have reported any type of skin irritation, we care about every one of our customers,” wrote Fitbit CEO James Park in a blog post today. “On behalf of the entire Fitbit team, I want to apologize to anyone affected.”

Park says that all Force materials are commonly used in consumer products.

“Some users may be reacting to the nickel present in the surgical grade stainless steel used in the device,” Park says. “Other users are likely experiencing an allergic reaction to the materials used in the strap or the adhesives used to assemble the product.”

Customers will be able to return their Force units to Fitbit for a full refund.

Product review: Fit Bit One

It’s hard to keep track of what I’ve been doing all day. So when a neighbor from my hometown told me about the Fitbit and how seamlessly it fit into her everyday life, I just had to give it a try.

The point of the Fitbit and other activity monitors is to point out to you what you are — or aren’t — doing. It’s harder to park in the closest spot to the store when you know you are passing up steps on your day’s count. Similarly, if you track your food intake with the device, it’s easier to turn down a second handful of M&Ms when you watch the calories tick up.

After much internal debate about whether to purchase the Fitbit One or Fitbit Flex I picked the One. (It calculates more and you don’t have to wear it as a wristband.) Here is why I chose, and love, this insanely fantastic $99 super-pedometer:

The One tracks steps, distance, stairs climbed and calories burned and syncs with bluetooth right to your phone and to your account on fitbit.com.

It also has a flower indicator that shows how active you have been the past few hours. It grows taller as you move, shrinks when you stay still.

While Fitbit is very good at logging activities that involve steps like walking and running but for activities such as yoga, you have to manually enter yoga, the elliptical, weight lifting or bike riding on the website.

Another fantastic feature? The One allows you to export your data to other apps, like MyFitnessPal and MapMyRun.

It is customizable so you can set goals for weight loss daily steps, miles and flights of stairs.

It is sweat, rain, and splash proof — necessary qualifications for running in the summer.

Unlike the Fitbit Flex (image here):

the One does not have a bracelet that you wear, instead it has a clip that you slip the device into and can clip to your pocket, waistband or my personal favorite — bra band. You can also take it out of the clip and slide the One into your pocket.

I wear mine on my bra band so its completely hidden and I would probably just forget about it if I wasn’t so curious about my step count all of the time.

Other things it does: tracks you sleep, allows you to set a silent alarm, rewards you with badges for your daily and lifetime milestones for number of steps, miles, and floors climbed.

Fitbit has a rechargeable battery that should last five to seven days. You recharge it by plugging something called a “dongle” (comes with the Fitbit) into a USB port.

Things that aren’t so great:

– My One will underestimate my milage regularly. But some people have improved the accuracy is by going to the website and calibrating their stride. I haven’t done this yet.

– It doesn’t track your speed

– It doesn’t integrate with a heart rate monitor or GPS

I am sure there are other pros and cons I haven’t discovered yet so stay tuned. Have you tried a different activity tracker? I’d love to hear about them. Always curious.