Help me choose a Fitness Tracker

Fitness trackers seem to becoming common ground these days. Thanks to the capabilities of the modern smartphone, GPS tracking, activity sensing and the communication across all devices, keeping statistics on your steps, movements, distances and sleep both easy and robust. At least for those that aren't elite athletes, these these affordable and somewhat stylish fitness accessories may be the personal trainer and assistance many of us would love.

Choosing between options from +Fitbit +Jawbone +Garmin and +Runtastic is proving to be a big challenge for me. Here is a basic breakdown of the most highly touted fitness trackers I've found, and would love your insight on experiences you've had with them. 

I've been doing my research, and speaking to those that have one for about a year now in trying to decide on whether or not it would be a good purchase and if so, which one to get. My big fear is that all of that activity tracking may end up being gimmicky after a few weeks. Readings do suggest that that app activity and usage drops a fair bit after 6 months. This seems reasonable to me. People have a very hard time sticking to and caring about going to the gym or their latest running program for the long term, so it's not hard to imagine getting apathetic with this. How long could people actually be interested in knowing about their steps and calories each day? I really could see myself not caring to put it on after a couple months thinking to myself "I think I know, there's no real need by now".

That being said, the price of these is quite reasonable ranging from $80 to $200 depending on the features desired. A quick scan of comparison models and prices are as follows:

Option	Price (AUD)	Image	Features	Positives	Negatives
Fitbit Flex	$130		Steps Calories Distance Sleep	Looks good Reputable Brand Very highly rated Comfortable Unintrusive	No display
Jawbone Up	$90		Steps Calories Distance Sleep	Looks OK Highly rated	No Display Stands out more than I’d like Doesn’t wirelessly sync
Jawbone Up24	$180		Steps Calories Distance Sleep	Looks OK Highly Rated Wirelessly syncs
Garmin Vivofit	$120 (+30 for heart rate monitor)		Steps Calories Distance Sleep	Display Garmin is a top GPS brand Understated design	Bulkier than I’d like Not very stylish
Garmin Vivosmart	$200 (+30 for heart rate monitor)		Steps Calories Distance Sleep HR	Very stylish Hidden display Minimal design Garmin brand	Expensive Touch display may be annoying
Runtastic Orbit	$150		Steps Calories Distance Sleep Waterproof	Runtastic is my favourite running app Potential as app evolves Display Can be worn on wrist or as a belt clip	Doesn’t look very good.

Information and images for Garmin and Runtastic come from their respective websites. All other product information comes from retailer JB-HiFi. 

This table pretty much covers my lines of thought with these devices. My number one choice would probably be the +Fitbit Flex I like the design and seems to work very well considering the reviews and following. I really want a proper display on anything I wear on my wrist. I really do not like the idea of having to wear an accessory in addition to my watch. I could go without a watch, but I'm not doing that. I'm a watch guy. A display would also relieve me of the urge to pull out my phone to check things out. I would really prefer to be able to make a quick glance at my wrist to see things. 

The preference for a display has me leaning towards either of the Garmins or the Runtastic Orbit. The Garmin Vivos seem to be useful as a running watch at the same time, something that none of the others I've looked at can say. The minimalism of the Vivosmart is very attractive in my opinion. I do not want something I feel would be garish and draw a lot of attention from people. As before, I really like the ability to easily glance to see the time, distance or steps I've tallied throughout the day. I have seen people with Jawbones that admit that they now have yet another reason to look at their phone constantly. In a roundabout way, this may mean the Fitbit Flex again is the best one for me. The LED indicator does express information, but it wouldn't be very detailed so it wouldn't be intrusive.

+Runtastic is my running app of choice. and therefore going with the Orbit, an accessory made by them seems like a natural move. The display-issue is covered, with most of the information easily accessible without the need to pull the phone out of the pocket and draw too much attention away from what else I'm doing. The biggest flaw is the design, it seems really big and bulky. Perhaps this is why there's an included belt clip accessory. 

At the end of the day, I am confident that this isn't exactly a life and death decision. Across the board, none of these options will break the bank and they are all so similar there won't be much risk of making a poor decision. I suppose I am really just grappling with how much use I will get out of this. A display to me is important because I would like it to be a watch I wear constantly since wearing it constantly seems to be the most beneficial. That being said, if I wanted to wear a normal watch, it might be odd feeling like I have two watches on. In which case, a non-display minimal option may be best. 

What are your thoughts on this? Do yo have a fitness tracker you love? Do you have one you no longer have much interest in? Based on my comparisons and your own knowledge and experiences of these devices, which would you recommend? I'd love your hear your two cents.