As the market leader in activity trackers, Fitbit is constantly under pressure to come up with something new. It's a balancing act. How much can you improve your product without leaving behind some of the existing features fans know and love?
At first glance, there doesn't appear to be a major difference between the Fitbit Charge 2 and its predecessors, the Charge and Charge HR. However, the reality is there was a shopping list of minor improvements Fitibit users had been asking for and the Charge 2 has checked a lot of those items off.
Firstly, the heart-rate monitor is standard now. As it should be in any tracker. I don't understand why people would choose a device to track their fitness that's only capable of doing half the job. Questions will always be raised over the accuracy of heart-rate monitors on any wearable, but as I've said in the past, as long as the readings are consistent from one workout to the next, that's all you need to see if you're making any progress.
The most obvious enhancement is the screen. It's bigger and it's curved. This means you get more information at a glance and the curve gives the impression of a slightly more streamlined accessory than ever before. There's a major problem with the new screen though... well, it's a problem for me anyway. I can't read it on my runs. Even when it's not super sunny, even without my sunglasses on, I still struggled to make out the white characters on the black display. This seriously bummed me out, because one of the things I've always been impressed by is Fitbit's simple, readable display. When you're sweating your guts out, either on a run or at the gym, you want your workout information with one quick look. While more details are available to you with a simple tap of the screen, it's no use to me if I can't read those details in bright conditions.
Despite the sleek, new curviness, the Charge 2 is still not a piece of elegant evening wear either, although there's now a wide selection of band styles and colours with the promise of more designer options to come. You can even pay a bit more and choose to have the casing in gunmetal or rose gold.
The important thing to note here is the straps are now completely interchangeable, easily popping off and on. Not only that, but the strap is now moulded, not layered, which the Fitbit team assures me will prevent any of that unsightly bubbling we've experienced after prolonged use with previous models.
The elastomer (rubber-like) material the band is made of is still as comfortable as ever which means like other Fitbits, the Charge 2 is one of the only trackers I can stand to wear to bed to record my sleep patterns. This often makes for disturbing reading given my 3AM alarm, which, as usual can be set as a silent but violent vibration on your wrist.
Like the other top-end Fitbits, you can receive call, text and calendar alerts on the Charge 2 and I don't know whether I just imagined it, but I feel like this feature worked a lot better this time round as I didn't experience any delay between the calls/texts and the alerts like I have on previous models.
As usual for Fitbit, battery life on the Charge 2 is excellent, comfortably seeing you through 3 or 4 days and also as usual for Fitbit, they've come up with yet another bizarre charging cable. This time it's a sort of bulldog clip arrangement to hold the body of the Charge 2 in place. It's actually much simpler to use than the convoluted take-it-to-pieces and shut-it-in-a-little-box system Fitbit put us through for the Blaze, but it's still pretty cumbersome compared to the magnetic cradles and wireless charging options other devices provide. It's not a big issue - in fact, I've almost started to look forward to unboxing the next new Fitbit just so I can see how crazy its charging cable is.
One little addition which has turned out to be more fun than I anticipated is the choice of a 2 or 5 minute deep breathing exercise. Don't ask me how, but the Charge 2 tells me it's sensing my breathing patterns then gives me cues to inhale and exhale. I found this genuinely calming. Of course, when the machines finally take over, I suppose our wearables will all just tell us to exhale, leave out the inhaling bit and that will be the end of that. Quite a relaxing way to go, I suppose.
As with other recent Fitbits, you can track your choice of 7 different activities, from running to yoga. I'd still like more options to select from (like aerobics or different sports) but that may come in future updates.
Which brings us back to the Fitbit app itself; as usual, the real star of the show. I've used many different fitness apps and this is still one of the most user-friendly, with the ability to manage multiple devices and now featuring "Adventures" challenges, where you are rewarded on your step journey with views of some of the world's most picturesque hiking trails - another feature I became more addicted to than I thought I would.
It's a shame the Charge 2 is still only rain and sweat resistant, not actually waterproof like its new sister, the Flex 2. Apparently it's tricky to manufacture a device that can measure altitude while keeping water out as well. Given I have no interest in how many virtual stairs I have climbed but I do sometimes go underwater, I would have voted for a waterproof device. Maybe there are more stair-climbers than swimmers out there, but I doubt it.
The Charge 2 is a better looking, more functional member of the Fitbit family. A lot of improvements have been made and while there's still plenty of room for further development, it's a well-tracked step in the right direction.
Click here for more information on the Fitbit Charge 2
I am no gamer.
Oh, I've played computer games over the years.
I wore out the joysticks on my brother's SEGA SC-3000 playing Star Jacker.
I remember doing pretty well on a hand-held version of Donkey Kong.
I've tried (and failed) to keep various incarnations of Lara Croft alive.
I got Crash Bandicoot all the way to the lab at Cortex Industries to battle his evil creator.
Then I had kids and the real games began.
Still, it wasn't long before I was installing games for them to play instead. I'd show them what to do and very quickly, they'd show me what I was doing wrong.
Then they were installing their own games and complaining our computer was too old, the internet connection was too slow and our family was super uncool and the laughing stock of all their friends.
Star Jacker suddenly seems to be a long time ago.
But if I was a gamer, I'd need a groovy keyboard, obviously...
The Masterkeys Lite L Combo from Cooler Master was an absolute revelation to me. I literally had no idea such a thing existed. Not once, in all my years of computer use had I thought to myself, "I wish my keyboard and mouse were flashing in rainbow colours right now."
In fact, at the risk of sounding like a complete fuddy duddy, I'm not a massive fan of flashing lights, full-stop. My two biggest bugbears are bluetooth devices and charging devices. I don't know why these things always have to flash coloured lights at you to let you know they're working. You can tell if the bluetooth is connected because noises come out of the right bits. You can tell if the charger is charging because it charges. Stop with your stupid lights already.
So you might think I'd be a hard sell when it comes to an RGB keyboard and mouse combo.
Except...
I do like things to match.
If you're a regular reader of these reviews, you'll know the glennzb household recently had to upgrade its PC due to the existing one melting. Somehow this meant a mid-level gaming rig appearing in the house and being installed in Monster Number Two's bedroom. I'm not entirely sure how she negotiated this turn of events, but I think it had something to do with cashing in early birthday and Christmas presents for the next 3 years.
The point is, the new computer glows red like a malevolent super-intelligence... which I suppose it basically is.
Again, while I don't really understand why it lights up, (I know it's running, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use it to type this review) at least it has the decency to light up in the best colour possible.
Of course, there's nothing like a new piece of kit to make the old bits that plug into it look decidedly shabby, especially when one of those bits is the keyboard from the Gateway computer I used to own in 1999.
Remember when PC's were that brownish-creamish-off-white-ish non colour? Yep, that's what I'm talking about. Obviously years (decades) of use meant that keyboard was more off-white than ever. Still worked though. And once or twice a year I'd tip it upside down and shake all the food out of it. Retro.
Needless to say, Monster Number Two didn't approve. She didn't want it attached to that shiny, new black-and-red box and she certainly didn't want it in her room.
Enter the Masterkeys Lite L Combo from Cooler Master. Black is still the new black, especially when you can highlight it in the colour of your choice. Of course, most normal people would go with red but there are few weirdos out there who insist on liking other colours. They'll come round.
There are several different ways to colour up the keyboard, you can pulse on and off, flash on your key press, have the whole palette flowing across the keys or even choose different colours for different sections (eg: number pad, media controls etc) All fun stuff but as I say, pretty sure everyone usually wants red on all the time.
The accompanying mouse also lights up in various modes and both it and the keyboard connect via USB. The leads were plenty long enough for easy installation.
The Lite L keyboard is not mechanical, but that didn't bother me as I have never used a mechanical keyboard so don't know what I'm missing. Instead it appears to be somewhere in between your stock-standard membrane setup and the fancy-pancy high-end (and much more expensive) mechanical options.
Cooler Master calls this a "mem-chanical" keyboard which results in a satisfying clackety-clack sound and feel and also means it's virtually spill-proof as each key is completely self contained. Whether any of this gives the hardened gamers out there much advantage I couldn't tell you. All I know is Monster Number Two gave it the thumbs-up and she puts in a lot more cyber-hours than I do.
The Masterkeys Lite L certainly seems durable, right down to the sturdy rubberised feet that pull out underneath. You know, the ones you always snap off accidentally on cheaper keyboards? No chance of that here, these babies are rock solid.
What I would have liked is some kind of helpful setup software. There's a brief manual in the box which explains how to plug things into computers, but absolutely no guidance on how to use the function keys to select the colours and patterns of your choice. This meant I had to do what I usually do; push all the buttons at random till I got what I wanted.
I was also slightly confused by the lack of an apostrophe. Oh, the physical key is where it's supposed to be (complete with the usual upper-case quotation marks) but there's no actual apostrophe printed on it. I spent ages looking for it and felt really stupid when I just pushed the normal button and my apostrophe appeared on screen.
I mean, what's that about?
Is the Masterkeys Lite L combo something you need? Of course not. But if you want your computing experience to look as cool as it feels, this a fun PC accessory that won't break the bank.
Click here for information and pricing details on the Cooler Master Lite L Keyboard and Mouse
