Runner up at last year's TechCrunch50, the Fitbit is finally ready to launch. The Fitbit is a small device which clips on to your clothes and accurately tracks your calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled and even sleep quality.
The Fitbit contains a 3D motion sensor, similar to the Nintendo Wii, that tracks your activity throughout the day and even as you sleep, giving you a sense of your sleep quality. The Fitbit comes with a tiny wireless base station that plugs into your computer via USB. Anytime you walk by the basestation, data is automatically uploaded from the Fitbit and converted into useful information via the online dashboard.
The dashboard displays basic information such as how many steps you've made during the day and records the highs and lows of your activity. Fitbit will also calculate how many calories you burn and allow you to log your daily nutritional intake with preloaded food items and cuisine to choose from. A manual input feature enables you to add other exercises such as cycling or swimming that may not be appropriately captured by the Fitbit. I would love to see the dashboard recognize data from Polar or Garmin so you could analyze all your activity in one place.
The Fitbit will start shipping on Tuesday but you can pre-order your $99 Fitbit from the Company website.
UPDATE: Engadget has done a review of the Fitbit: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/15/fitbit-review/