Fitbit Charge HR Heart Rate and Activity Wristband, Small (Plum)

I almost pulled the trigger and ordered it from US since there was no concrete date on India release, very last minute I checked the fitbit website and there was this sweet link "Buy from amazon.in".. Wow.. I was in cloud 9 literally and pre-ordered it directly.. Got delivered today (07/07/15) as promised..Review dated 07/07/2015 after tinkering with it for like around 6 hours or so..Out of the Box..Packaging is frugal and efficient, may be a bit too minimalistic that it leaves you wondering whether something is missing :) . Only 3 items are there in the box (Fitbit Charge HR, a charging cable, and a dongle). There is no material available, such as a list of instructions, in the box which explains the setup process. I was confused for a moment there, just a note which is printed in multiple languages that notes the URL for the setup process is provided. Based on the device you use to access the URL, it will point out to the relevant app store. I tried from my iPad Air2 and Xperia ZR. Picked the phone for the setup process since it will be the main companion device.Setting Up.. (May be better to do the set up process using a PC rather than via Bluetooth)First step is it asks the Android or iOS app as per your device to be installed. My wife is using this, she could easily pair it with her Xperia ZR without any hitch. There is a software upgrade available, and you just cannot use the band in any meaningful way without it being installed. I opted for the setup using the paired device. The download and install went almost 80% before it got interrupted. I thought I did something wrong, retried the process, again using the bluetooth paired device, same story update failed for a couple of more times before it was successful. It takes around 15 minutes for the upgrade process every time you try it, so be patient. I remember reading about this issue while reading the review in the Google Play Store, as per the reviews the process works smoothly when connected to the PC. I think I should have just done it via the PC.Once the software upgrade is done, everything just runs smoothly. It syncs perfectly, you can see the stats already starting to move around. You can set up the notifications from phone, silent alarm, goals and all the other stuff.Charging..Device comes out of the box partly charged. There was sufficient charge for the software upgrade and the setup process to run, but soon the low battery message flashed in the mobile screen. The vbox says charging time is 1 - 2 hours and charge stays for 5 days. Sounds about right since, it got charged from around 10% charge to full charge in around an hour or so. About 5 day charge, it is too soon to tell.. Will update the review once then..Color..Picked the Plum colour. It is a slightly darker and subtle kind of plum colour. Looks pretty natural.. Happy with the choice of color.One quirk that we noticed..All the other readings looked perfectly fine, but when my wife covered like around 50 stairs, the charge HR still showed the count as 1. At first we were not sure why, but it seems the count is shown as number of floors, then that is about right. No problem there. :) (Updated)Why to opt for Charge HR against Charge..- Obvious reason is the presence of heart beat monitor. If you need it, its a no brainer, go for Charge HR.- Practical reason that actually tilted the scales for me, is the strap and locking mechanism. Charge HR has a traditional watch kind of strap which works perfectly, and absolutely zero chance of accidentally opening up. Charge has a different locking mechanism, it looks good and trendy but it looks like it could pop open easily and reviews have shown that it actually does that sometimes.

I have been using Fitbits for years now, since long before they were in India. For a person looking for a good Fitbit now, my recommendation would be : Dont buy this. Buy the Charge 2 instead.Pros:1.) Always on heart rate monitor: Except for a few bands from garmin, almost all cheaper HR bands and watches have HR on demand. This fitbit has 24x7 heart rate monitoring...which is somewhat useful if you really intend to use the feature.2.) Auto sleep tracking : Much better than the others in this range3.) Amazing customer service : Hardly ever had a bad experience with them.Cons:1.) Expensive2.) Poor battery life : Lasts at best 4-5 days.3.) No water resistance : Cant be used in the shower. Has been known to frizz out in the rain.4.) Very bulky : Sleeping wit this is a pain. the strap is very hard and uncomfortable too.5.) Display guaranteed to scratch within a day - its soft polycarbonate...doesnt last at allAnd the biggest con : The strap will delaminate/peel off within 6 months to an year. Its not a question of if, but when. I have never seen not happen. Once it happens, there is no repair, you need to contact fitbit and get it replaced.The above means that the life expectancy of this product is no greater than 1 year...after which replacements wont be provided and you will end up with a smelly wristband that catches all gunk throughout the day and looks very ugly. This is bound to happen, so unless you are fine with changing fitbits every year...please dont take this one.

I was very disappointed with the price, I bought this Fitbit Charge HR on May 18th 2016 for 14999/- . After 1 month price was 11999/- and two months later price is now 10499/- again by today 2.Oct,2016 price is 8994/-Just in a span of 4 months, value of the product came down to cheap. Which is very bad feeling for the buyers who bought it for high price.Amazon is cheating customers on Fitbit activity products.I'm using from past 4 and half months with Windows10 OS phone Fitbit app. Sometimes Sync wouldn't happen properly, very as the USB stick and installed software it works fine. Caller ID display facility isn't available for Windows mobiles (Not sure of iOS and Andriod users).Tracks your - Heartbeat, Foot Steps, Calories you burnt, Miles you walked, Floors climbed (1Flight = 10 steps), tracks your sleep and Alaram Vibration is good. I wore this all the time even in my sleep.Water resistant, easy to clean the dust.Verdict- It's up to you whether to buy or not!