Fitbit Surge Review and Giveaway

Wearable fitness trackers can enhance fitness. But only if you work out. Don’t expect a health tracker to act like a personal trainer; they only log biometric data that users can apply to their exercises. There is therefore a single benchmark for the efficacy of a fitness wearable: does it help optimize your workout?

The $250 FitBit Surge claims it can do just this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N68CDqAJs5U

FitBit released two new fitness trackers at the beginning of 2015: the $150 Charge HR, and the $250 FitBit Surge. Unlike its companions, the Surge throws in all the bells and whistles. Like its competitor, the Basis Peak, the FitBit offers smartphone notifications, biometric sensors, and sleep tracking; but it also throws in GPS capabilities, which can track the path of a run. Aside from GPS, it’s more similar to Basis’s Peak than any other wearable fitness device on the market.

Design and Physical Appearances

The Surge’s external design appears similar to its cousins. There’s a silicone rubber wrist-strap, with a traditional latching mechanism. However, the Surge’s display is several times larger, which allows it to show a larger range of data. The larger screen seems superfluous, since users can get all of their data from the mobile app – apparently, it’s for those who can’t wait to read their workout statistics.
Additionally, the Surge includes a monochromatic LCD screen, with an LED backlight and capacitive touch. Moisture on a capacitive screen usually triggers all manner of heinous misadventures – I can safely say that the Surge doesn’t suffer from this problem. Even with some drops of water on the screen, the user can still safely navigate menus without issue. I’m not sure how FitBit managed to pull this off because capacitive screens operate on the principle of electrical conduction. Since your fingers are slightly conductive, you can trigger the screen just by touching it. Faucet and rain water conduct electricity even better than human skin so how the Surge knows the difference between a finger and moisture is beyond me.

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