Four of the best fitness bands

Fitness bands are the next big thing at the moment, with numerous companies launching them left, right and centre.

FitBit has been in the news this week after releasing a Windows Phone app and there has also been a new fitness band mentioned by a Singapore-based company that wants to turn training into a game with Star.21. With so many options it is difficult to choose so here is a round-up of four of the best fitness bands to consider.

Nike+ FuelBand SE - £129

Nike were one of the first to bring out a wrist-worn fitness tracker with the original FuelBand and since then it has released the Nike FuelBand SE with better water resistance, more colours and improved sensors.

The Nike FuelBand SE will track your steps, tell you how many calories you have burned based on your vital statistics, plus it is also able to track running, cycling, rowing and even yoga.

One of the best features of the FuelBand SE is Fuel Points, which is Nike's measure of fitness that you can use to compare and compete with other FuelBand users worldwide to give you some extra motivation.

Jawbone UP24 - £125

The Jawbone UP24 is a great looking fitness band that comes in a variety of colours, connecting to your phone using Bluetooth 4.0 BLE and offering the ability to track a range of sports including cycling and running.

The metal end button will activate a timer to record whichever sport you are about to participate in without you having to get your phone out but you will be able to see the tracking on your device in real-time.

The Jawbone UP24 also tracks sleep, allows you to log food intake and it vibrates to alert you so you can set it to remind you to move if you have been sitting on the sofa for too long, for example.

Withings Pulse O2 - £100

The Withings Pulse O2 is the newest fitness band available at the moment and it will not only track your steps, but it also comes complete with a heart rate monitor and a blood oxygen reader.

The Pulse O2 can be worn on your wrist, slipped in your pocket or attached to your clothing and it comes with a full display and touchscreen controls, making it great for controlling if you don't have your phone to hand.

The Withings Pulse O2 connects to your device using Bluetooth 4.0 LE so you'll still be able to get live tracking and it will also track your sleep, presenting you with chart displaying your patterns.

Fitbit Flex - £80

The Fitbit Flex is a tiny unit that sits in a wrist strap but you can remove it and wear it on other parts of your body or in your pocket if you want to.

There is no display on it but it connects to your device via Bluetooth, NFC or wireless and you will be able to see real-time feedback such as the number of steps you have walked or how close you are to reaching your calorie goal.

This device won't really track sport other than letting you know the length of time you were active, but it does track sleep and it works with other apps like Run Keeper and My Fitness Pal.

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