My Nike Fuel Band Stats: April 2012

For my previous month see March 2012

Here are my Nike Fuel Band stats for April 2012:

Days Used: 30
Fuel Points: 94,124
Steps: 503, 871
Steps per Nike Fuel Point: 5.35
Longest streak reaching my goals: 4 days
Average Fuel Points per day: 3,137 (my goal is 3000 per day for the initial 4 months of use and 4000 after)
I’ve walked 357.25 miles.
Best day: 4,145 Fuel Points
Best week: 22,284 (4/15-4/22).

What about you? What do your sample stats look like? Share them in the comments!

Got a Go Pro HD As A Gift: What Should I Do With It?

I just received a Go Pro HD as a gift from a charity event I attended last night.  The question is, what should I do with it?  If anyone has one or wants one let me know in the comments and lets talk about it.

My Nike Fuel Band Stats: March 2012

I’ve been using my Nike Fuel Band everyday since I got it.  I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about the band and what type of data you can expect to receive from using it.  Below you will find a small sample of my monthly stats for March. Please note that in this month I was out of the country traveling and for two of the 30 days I was unable to use by Fuel Band because it wasn’t charged.  Here are my Nike Fuel Band stats for March 2012:

• Days Used:  30
• Fuel Points: 96,315
• Steps:  515, 538
• Steps per Nike Fuel Point:  5.35
• Longest streak reaching my goals: 12 days (battery died)
• Average Fuel Points per day: 3,210  (my goal is 3000 per day for the initial 4 months of use and 4000 after)
• I’ve walked 357.25 miles.
• Best day: 4,002 Fuel Points (went for a run on the beach in Thailand)
• Best week: 24,584 (3/10-3/17).

Now What?

Im goign to start using the Nike+ App on my computer and iPhone to get a better graphical analysis of my Fuel Band Stats.  While all of these are calculated and quantified using the provided software, I feel like publically sharing them will help me better reach my goals.

All the data in this set represents 30 days of my pretty intense movement.  I’m an active person by nature (even when traveling) and I think my numbers might represent a higher Fuel Band usage than most people.  I wouldn’t recommend trying to emulate my Fuel Band usage but instead use it as guide to better track your stats.

Is the Nike Fuel Band still the best fitness band?

I definitely still think it is.  Im writing a new post for later this week that is going to compare the Fuel Band, Jawbone Up, and FitBit and even with the direct compairisons, the Fuel Band is still king.

The great thing about the Fuel Band is that it makes you more active.  There is a definitely a physiological element to it that isn’t present in the UP or Fit Bit.  Ive found myself looking down at my wrist throughout the day to monitor my progress and have even found myself doing silly things like taking 2 stairs at a time to increase my output in order to reach for Fuel Point goal.

What about you?  What do your sample stats look like?  Share them in the comments!

10 Tips For Disaster Preparation: How to Survive Anything

Last week disaster struck.  I was sitting in the Phuket airport in Thailand when I got news that an earthquake had hit the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia and a fierce tsunami was heading our way.  Everyone around me freaked out with their minds automatically dashing to the worst case scenario:  WE ARE GOING TO DIE!  My mind however did not think that.  For the last couple of years (post 9/11) I have been training myself for the ‘worst case scenarios’.  Below you will find my 10 tips to better prepare yourself in the event of a disaster or an emergency.

How Many Calories Do You Burn With The Nike Fuel Band?

Since the release of my Nike Fuel Band Review one of the biggest questions has revolved around how accurate the Nike Fuel Band is in predicting calories.  I received several questions in the comment section about the accuracy of the Nike Fuel Band and wether it can accurately measure calories, steps, and Fuel Points.

As I’ve said all along one of the strengths of the Nike Fuel Band is that it counts all physical activity (wrist activity required).  While I haven’t personally taken the time to test every exercise and activity with the Nike Fuel Band, the fine people over at Gizmodo put the Nike Fuel Band through several tests and came up with the following figures:

*As a reference point, 3000 Fuel Points is considered an active day by Nike and 2000 Fuel Points is considered normal.

• Brushing Your Teeth:: 17 Calories, 47 Nikefuel
• Eating Pizza: 8 Calories, 23 Nikefuel
• Washing Dishes: 30 Calories, 86 Nikefuel
• Sending a Text: 0 Calories, 1 Nikefuel
• Shaking My Arm Up and Down for 30 Seconds: 9 calories, 26 Nikefuel
• Smoking a Cigarette: 8 Calories, 21 Nikefuel*
• Walking Up 4 Flights of Stairs: 7 calories, 19 Nikefuel
• Taking a Shower: 60 Calories, 169 Nikefuel
• Using the Restroom (#1): 2 Calories, 6 Nikefuel
• Using the Restroom (#2): 10 Calories, 31 Nikefuel
• Sleeping: 25 Calories, 79 Nikefuel
• Masturbating: 82 Calories, 231 Nikefuel
• Having Sex: 179 Calories, 514 Nikefuel
• A Night Out Drinking: 463 Calories, 1303 Nikefuel
• A Night Out I Don’t Remember: 1129 Calories, 3320 Nikefuel
• Being Hungover: 102 Calories, 292 Nikefuel

As noted in the original article, Partying seems to get your more Fuel Points than walking up four flights of stairs.  Who knew?

What about you?  Have you found any odd or quirky counts with the Fuel Band?  What activities seem the get the biggest band for your buck while using the Fuel Band?  Anything disappointing (other than push-ups)?  Leave them in the comments and Ill add them to the list.

Sony PlayStation Vita Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird

If you follow me on twitter you will have noticed that I am currently enjoying a much needed vacation in Thailand. Taking a break in Thailand is always relaxing except for one thing… The flight. It took me nearly 30 hours of traveling just to get to Bangkok and another half day to make it to my current island. However, knowing this would be a long day(s) of travel I picked up a brand new Sony Playstation Vita to play while in transit. After a few days of intense game play I decided to write a an independent review of the Sony PlayStation Vita and share it with anyone who is interested.

Sony PlayStation Vita Review

The Basics:

Sony’s PlayStation Vita, codenamed “Next Generation Portable”, is Sony’s successor to the PSP (playstation portable). With the Vita you get the familiar hardware form of the PSP but dramatic improvements on virtually all other aspects. Unlike the PSP the PlayStation Vita has dual touchpads on the front and rear (weird… See below), two cameras, 5 inch screen, & WiFi just to name a few. Combine these all together and the Vita truly leads the way for future handheld gaming devices. Simply, The PlayStation Vita is simply the closest console experience you are going to get in a hand held device.

What I like about the Vita: The Good

It fits in your pocket even though it’s bigger than iPhone and even bigger than the old TMobile Sidekick (which is my second all time favorite phone :/ ). With that being said, having a device bigger than the iPhone means your getting a bigger screen and the PlayStation Vita does not disappoint with its 960 x 554 display. Even though its not Retina quality it’s barely noticeable.

I also like its durability. I dropped it once while on the plane and once while walking through the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge in Hong Kong. Both times it didn’t break including the 2nd drop which was on a hard floor.

Super quick switching between the apps. The well built OS makes it effortless to switch between all the different functions of the PlayStation Vita.

Most importantly- the gaming experience you get on the PlayStation Vita is unlike anything every seen in a handheld. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of anything out there. There is NO competition.

What I don’t Like: The Bad

The front an back cameras are both pretty weak. After 10 pictures and a video or so using both sides, I abandoned the camera function all together. Definitely it’s weakest feature.

The Battery – on a full charge I get about 3 solid hours of game play before I get a low battery warning. A full charge takes about 2 hours which isn’t terrible but I expected more game play time. The battery life is by far it’s biggest drawback but I imagine Sony will release a secondary battery back soon.

Storage – no built in storage. All of the Vitas storage is held on removable drives that can get costly. The bundle I bought came with a extra 8GB card which was nice. Additional cards should run you about $100 for a 32GB, $50 for a 16GB and $20 for a 4GB

As of now there are only around two dozen games (some of which are absolutely outstanding). I know that’s going to change but it would have nice to see Sony launch the Vita with more game options.

What’s unique about the PlayStation Vita: The Weird

The most unique and definitely most innovative aspect of the PlayStation Vita is that it has touch capabilities on both the front AND back of the device. It was slightly awkward and cumbersome at first but after some active gameplay I found it to be the next step in gaming technology.

The Near Application- The Vita comes with a location based application that let’s you see other Vita users in your vicinity as well as the gaming trophies they have won. As I’m both an early adopter and on a remote island, this function has been worthless but I can see how this might be a neat function down the line.

The cover slot where the games go is kind of hard to open. Long nails or a small tool is almost required to pry that sucker open. Seems like a design flaw that should have been picked up early in the development stages.

PlayStation Vita: Non-gaming functions

- Web Browser: worse than your smartphone

- Google Maps: same as your phone or tablet

- Camera: Worse than your phone

- Music: Standard quality – nothing special

- Videos: see music.

- Complete integration with the PS3 and PlayStation Network

These features are nice to have but rather unnecessary. Most likely if you need to look something up, take a picture, or get directions your smart phone is going to be a better option. However, in the event you don’t have a smart phone or it’s not reachable the PlayStation Vita makes a tolerable substitute.

Honestly though nobody is going to buy the PlayStation Vita for those features alone and Sony knows this. The power is in the games and that’s where the Vita excels.

The Games:

Uncharted: Golden Abyss – playing this game will make you a believe in the PlayStation Vita. It’s the game that I’ve been hooked on and the one that has made the Vita a worthwhile purchase for me

Welcome Park – Comes preloaded on the Vita
LittleBigPlanet
Hot Shots Golf
ModNation Racers
Wipeout
…and many more

There is also a built in store where you can buy games directly from the Vita. Just make sure you have enough storage!

PlayStation Vita Tech Specs:

Weight: 1.4 pounds
Dimensions: 3.3″ x 7.2″ x .7″
Sensors – Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass
ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor
Quad-core graphics processor
512 megabytes of RAM

For the non gadget heads, that’s twice as much memory as the PS3 and more power than the iPad 2. Not bad for something that fits in your pocket.

Final Verdict:

Absolutely incredible as a stand alone gaming device. I don’t recommend buying it however if you are looking for a smart phone or tablet experience. The PlayStation Vita shines best when it’s gaming but makes way for far superior products in its other functions.

As mentioned before the PlayStation Vita finally brought console level gaming to the hand held market. Bigger than an iPhone, not as cumbersome as an iPad, and definitely an upgrade from the PSP, it’s the ultimate solution to those looking to take their hand held gaming to the next level.

Also, save ourself a get the wifi only version for $50 less (plus the cost of a plan). You don’t really need 3G capabilities.

Where to buy the PlayStation Vita:

Amazon.com – $250 to $300 depending on wifi/3G and game bundle.

**Special offer through March 31st**: Use this link and order with a Discover Card on Amazon and enjoy free one day shipping using the code DSCVRSHP.

Nike Fuel Band Tech Specs & Nike Fuel Band Videos

Here’s a cool video about the Nike Fuel Band and how it can be used by different people doing extremely different activities. Check it out:

Another:

Now that the Nike FuelBand is officially out, here is a more detailed list of the tech specs. If you havent already, take a moment to read my Review of the Nike Fuel Band

Sizes

Small 5.79 in (147 mm) circumference
Medium 6.77 in (172 mm) circumference
Large 7.76 in (197 mm) circumference
Depth 0.6 in (16 mm) at LEDs,

0.75 in (19 mm) at latch
Thickness: 0.27 in (6.90 mm) at LEDs
0.32 in (8.00 mm) at latch

Nike+ FuelBand comes with two easy to insert links so you can fine tune your fit:
0.32 in (8 mm) and 0.63 in (16 mm)

Weight

Small 0.95 oz (27 g)
Medium 1.06 oz (30 g)
Large 1.13 oz (32 g)
8 mm link 0.07 oz (2 g)
16 mm link 0.11 oz (3 g)

Sensors

A built-in 3 axis accelerometer measures your motion while in use

An ambient light sensor detects environmental light levels. The brighter your environment, the brighter your display.

Display

20 Color LED lights to show your progress

Array of 100 white LED lights:
Shows time, NikeFuel earned, calories burned, and steps taken. You can cycle through all this with the push of a button.

The brightness level automatically adjusts according to your environment.

100 white LEDs
20 Color LEDs
Button
Water Resistance

The Nike+ FuelBand is water resistant. It is safe to wear in the shower or when dancing in the rain. Since it’s not waterproof, it’s not recommended for use while swimming.

Connect and Sync

Connect to your computer with the built-in USB 2.0 or use the included USB cable and stand.

Bluetooth pairing to mobile phones for use with the Nike+ FuelBand app for iOS 4.3 & 5. Check back soon for compatibility with other handsets.

Airplane Mode for disabling radio connections.

Battery

Two Lithium Polymer Batteries
Your Nike+ FuelBand should stay charged for up to four days.

In the Box

Nike+ FuelBand
8mm and 16mm links (8mm link is already inserted into your Nike+ FuelBand)
Sizing tool
USB charging cable
USB stand

Materials

TPE 43%, Polypropelene 34%, Magnesium 14%, Stainless Steel 9%
PVC free
Package is 100% recyclable paper.

This should clear up a lot of the tech related questions to the Nike Fuel Band. As always though, feel free to leave your questions in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.

Must Have of the Day: True Utility TU47 Keytool

True Utility TU47 Keytool Multifunction  Tool Accessory

For the MacGyver in all of us.

Available via the link.

Nike Fuel Band Review

Nike Fuel Band Review

A few weeks ago Nike launched their brand new fitness product the Nike Fuel Band. Like the FitBit and the Jawbone UP Band the Fuel Band aims to turn your exercise activity into a quantified game. I had the opportunity to try out (and own) an advance copy of the product and here is my review of the Nike Fuel Band.

What is the Nike Fuel Band?

When Nike first debuted the Nike+ running system, it was a cant miss tool for runners to monitor and quantify their workouts. The problem however was that the Nike+ system only worked for running. But what about the rest of your sport and exercise life? Enter the Nike+ Fuel Band.

The Nike+ FuelBand is a rubber bracelet worn during exercise, sports or physical activities to measure “steps, calories, time & Fuel metric (currency measured by oxygen kinetics)”. It’s a better designed, better marketed, and obviously better product than its fellow competitors.

How does the Nike Fuel Band work?

The Nike Fuel Band doesn’t measure miles ran, stairs climbed, or laps swam. What it does is measure the amount of oxygen your body is costuming using “oxygen kinetics”. It then converts that information into a universal currency called NikeFuel. It doesn’t matter what activity you are doing; boxing, running, making dinner, or swaying your baby to sleep, the Nike Fuel Band will measure it all.

What I Liked About The Nike Fuel Band:

The most unique aspect of the Nike Fuel Band is that it appeals to anyone and everyone who participates in any form of physical activity. It doesn’t matter if our are running a marathon, skateboarding, shooting free throws, or making pizza. The Nike Fuel Band can be used for any activity and will measure any firm of physical activity.

I also liked that at any given time you can look down and see exactly what progress you’ve made on your daily fitness goals. That feature alone makes this band worthwhile.

The biggest thing I didn’t like: IT’S NOT WATERPROOF. That means you can’t take it swimming and swimming is arguably the best full body workout. I suppose the USB port and ‘oxygen kinetics’ are to blame for this but what are you going to do. Making it waterproof would have made it an instantly “can’t miss product”.

What I didn’t like about the Nike Fuel Band:

This seems odd but the thing I didn’t like was that it’s a bracelet which must be worn on the wrist. I don’t wear jewelry (a watch on certain occasions) and I found it odd to have something on my wrist. Nike however did do a great job of designing a product that doesn’t look awkward or cumbersome but for me, a prodct like thismwouldmbe best hidden away.

The device isn’t exactly groundbreaking as there are several iterations already on the market and some even have better features. Nike however will make several changes to this product and I’m sure the Fuel Band version 2 or more will be better. I wouldn’t hold off of purchasing quite yet as you never know when a better version will come out.

It was cool to constant see your status as you worked towards our goal but I would be just as happy looking at my phone as my wrist or even better, getting a text or message when certain fitness goals were met.

Buy the Nike Fuel Band on Amazon.com

Key Aspects of the Nike Fuel Band:

Small, lightweight, and fashionable. The 20 dot LED display is also very cool and makes you feel like a spaceman when worn

- 3 axis accelerometer to track movement
- 4 day battery
- Weighs 1 oz
- Water Proof
- iOS and website support
- Built in USB
- Syncs over Bluetooth
- Connects to Facebook, FourSquare, and Path

Cost of the Nike Fuel Band?

On par with its competitors ( FitBit and JawBone ). It clocks in around $150 and will be available almost everywhere when it comes out in February

How The Nike Fuel Band compares to the Jawbone UP

I used the JawBone UP when preparing for my first marathon last year. It’s a great product, very valuable and even has a few features the Nike Fuel Band does not. For example, the UP tracks your sleep patterns and can even track your eating habits. However, even after a very limited trial period, here is why I prefer the Fuel Band to the UP:

Unlike the UP you don’t have to tell it when you are doing activities. There is no exercise, still, or sleeping mode. The Fuel Band automatically recognizes when you are engaged or not engaged in activity and measures you output accordingly. Also, with the Fuel Band, all of your relevant information is displayed right in the band instead of on a separate app like the UP (note: the Fuel Band also has an app which will be out soon).

The JawBone might have more features but the Fuel Band is a better product. Often, less is more and in this case, the Nike Fuel Band wins out.

Final Review of the Nike Fuel Band:

For me, it’s awesome. I’ve always wanted a quantifiable way to view my exercise stats. This has helped kick start my 2012 goal of getting in better shape. Just having a constant reminder of where you are in your daily fitness goals is what makes the Nike Fuel Band paramount to any other product. it’s a personal trainer/motivator on your wrist.

That does it for my review of the Nike Fuel Band. If anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns I will gladly answer them in the comments.

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UPDATE: The Nike Fuel Band is sold out nation wide but a few are popping up on Amazon.com – Nike Fuel Band on Amazon.com