Withings WiFi Body Scale - Measures fat mass, BMI and sends data via Wifi
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 List Price: unavailable Sale Price: $163.00 Availability: unspecified 
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Product Description
The first WiFi scale connected to the internet to automatically register weight, fat and BMI calculation ! The Withings WiFi body scale analyzes your body composition and automatically stores your weight data online thanks to a wireless Wifi connection. You can monitor the long term evolution of your weight, your BMI (Body Mass Index) and your fat mass directly on a secured web dashboard. It is also possible to share you data with people you chose (emails, websites, Twitter). Its stylish design comes in addition to high performance electronics, using a technology so far only used by health professionals. The accuracy of its measurements makes it the ideal tool to monitor your health and fitness.
Details
- Easy weight and fat mass monitoring on a private website secured by a password
- Personnalized multi-user monitoring thanks to an automatic user recognition
- Body analysis (fat mass, lean mass and BMI)
- Free iPhone application to monitor your weight and fat mass
- Graduation 0.2 lbs (0.1 kg) - 4 sensors. Maximum weight 396 lbs (180 kg)
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Rating
It just worked beautiful for me. After the install I had to press the button on the bottom and it fully meshed with my router and flashed its firmware. Real nice product. Very good install and software.
Follow up! After several days all is just perfect. The WIFI with WPA2 security has been flawless. There are 3 family members using it – 2 with Iphones. Considering what this product consist of and the high quality construction – it is reasonably priced.
Rating
When I first read about this product on Engadget I was like “why would you want wifi on your scale???”.. but I have to say, the next day after I was entering my weight/body fat into my ipod touch and I thought to myself wouldn’t it be cool if I had a scale that would log all this for me every time I weighed! Did some research and that’s exactly what it does! So I got one! Seriously it tracks your weight and BMI (lbs of fat) for you on a cool chart (many options on the chart) — so you can see if you making progress or bad habits are starting to effect your weight/body fat. You can label certain days with any notes you want. I enter in my waist measurements once a week (so I can make sure it’s decreasing along with my fat percent – because sometimes you may not loose weight but you’re replacing it with muscle so your waist is shrinking and your body fat is decreasing, which you can tell from this scale)… The scale even connected through my wifi which is encrypted with WPA-PSK security!
Looks: It’s a purdy little thing! It’s almost so nice you don’t want to stand on it and get your foot prints all over it
The display is large and it displays your weight (seems vary consistent unlike my previous scale).. then pops up a progress bar (measuring your body fat) and tells your BMI / lbs of fat (and I’m guessing at that time it uploads it to the internet cause within a minute it’s online for me to view).
One cool thing I like is that the website allows you to set goals for weight/fat and so you can see how close to your goal you are. Oh and it will actually show you the battery level of your scale when you’re on the site, cool little tidbit of info. I’ll update more after I’ve had the scale for a few months, but as of now I’m thrilled! Today I was telling my coworkers about it, who are always after the latest gadgets and staying in shape, and showed them the graphs through firefox and there were like that’s awesome (which is where I got the title from). Two of my friends were especially excited because they’re having a weight loss contest (who can loose the most weight but you have to keep it off for a month) – so this is an easy (CAN’T CHEAT) way to really tell who’s winning the bet!
Rating
The Withings Wi-Fi scale is a fascinating step forward in the use of Wi-Fi to share information for the consumer’s benefit.
I purchased my scale from the Withings web site but it was shipped from their U.S. Amazon store. It appears to be one of the first scales to ship within the US as I received it in early October 2009.
After the scale is configured for your Wi-Fi network, and the account on the server is set up, the process of weighing goes like this: Step on the scale. The scale will fluctuate for a moment while adjusting to your weight. After a few moments, the scale should accept a weight, and then display a bar moving across the display from left to right as the data is uploaded to the server. When the bar display is complete, the scale then displays your Body Fat % and then displays your BMI. If the scale has a problem thinking that the person on the scale is not centered, there will appear an arrow in one of the corners where it believes there is too much weight and it would like you to adjust your weight away from that corner.
The scale is a pretty straightforward device and will not require any in-depth learning but some users might desire a user’s manual as there is none beyond the slip of paper that instructs you how to insert the batteries. A pdf document that a user could download would be a great addition for those that would like to better understand what the capabilities are for the device and how they can make best use of the product. After all, this scale is not a cheap scale and most users who purchase it will be technically minded with curious wonderings beyond what is obvious. Withings does have an online forum for ongoing discussion and if you have a question, visiting the forums helps as there are always other users who are experiencing the same issues or have found an answer for something you may come up against.
The scale has the ability to recognize more than one user. There is an algorithm that the server uses to determine which user is on the scale as it expects each user to have a significantly different weight and/or body fat % composition than other users. If it can not detect which user is on the scale from 2 different users, the scale will show an arrow so that by adjusting the users balance on the scale, the user can indicate which user they are. If there are 3 or more users using the scale, this process will not work and the users must each ‘claim’ or ‘refuse’ the weight on the web site for their tracking. Unfortunately, having a single user claim that weight will not remove it from the other user’s records and each other user must also remove the ‘unknown user’ weight.
Because I have an iPhone, I was intrigued by how I (or others that I allow) could watch my weight change and body fat changes over time. It is impressive how quickly the iPhone receives the weighing data and Withings has been smart to use a badge on the WiScale application to notify the user that new data has been received. I have not noticed any Alerts yet on the iPhone but they are aware of that capability given that the preference exists within the iPhone settings.
For the techies that like to take things to the next level, there is a capability to download a CSV delimited file containing your weighing history. The file is perfectly formatted to slide right into your Excel program.
There are a couple of things that I expect to see happen as Withings moves to version 2 of their software. Currently, there is no ability to upload data to the server so as to benefit from having historical data that you have accumulated prior to your Withings scale purchase. Manually entering historical data is limited in that the server does not accept data with the precision similar to what the scale records. Withings says that this will be fixed in a future update.
A feature that is missing is the ability to indicate that the user is an athlete and that the Body Fat should be analyzed with that significant difference in mind. Many users who choose a scale such as this might well be expecting this recognition by the software.
The Basal Metabolic Rate would also be a nice feature that may be included at a later time but is not currently calculated or shown.
Withings Scale Pros:
Attractive
Capable of ongoing improvements in features through firmware updates
iPhone application for ease of sharing your success
Capable of multiple users being tracked
Can be set for metric (kg) or imperial (lbs)
Very responsive to customer feedback
Withings Scale Cons:
Accuracy is limited to your typical home use scale.
Not the cheapest product that does this kind of analysis but one of the more innovative.
Executive bottom line: The scale has some fun potential but it should be recognized that technology does not necessarily bring about increased accuracy. I’ve rated this scale with 5 stars because it is what it appears to be, the design is beautiful and the scale uses technology in innovative ways. The scale has potential for becoming an an awesome product as Withings has the capability to enhance its current capabilities easily. Let’s hope they continue to give us even more as time go on.
Rating
I recently purchased this scale on Amazon and I’ve been very happy with it — not only with the scale itself and the web-based interface for tracking progress, but also with the team behind it. Whenever I have come across issues with the web-based interface (to be expected as its a new product), members of the team respond to my issues via their online forum almost immediately and make changes almost immediately. That, to me, is what makes this a great product instead of a good product — a responsive team that listens and engages in dialog with the customers. BTW, the website works as advertised, but there were small little things that bothered me. Other quick things:
- The process of connecting the scale to my password-protected wireless network was amazingly simple. If you’ve had problems connecting webcams, etc. to your wireless net, don’t let that stop you from trying this. It was really smooth and easy.
- The automatic user recognition is great. It’s nice that I don’t have to select user1, user2, etc. by tapping on the scale.
- I don’t use the iphone app much, but I love that it’s there and will probably use it more once I get closer to reaching my goals. It’s a great thing to look at before walking into a donut shop.
- It is a beautiful device. I love great design and I think great design should be rewarded.
I guess you can consider me a fan and I hope they will make more connected products in the future.
– Scott
Rating
The Withings Wifi scale is a great idea. Centralized data reporting on the Internet via Wifi, and web and iphone interfaces to view your progress. The actual scale is very well designed, but the thing that blew me away was the web interface for managing your data. It looks very slick and its very easy to use. The whole product makes me think that this is what bathroom scale would look like if it was designed by Apple. I’m extremely impressed.
Rating
This is one of those products that I never knew I wanted, but once I carefully researched its features and checked out the company’s website it was a 30 second decision to hit the ‘one click’ buy button. The company has an active presence on their online forum and genuinely seem to care about updating their product according to user feedback. I really enjoy the recently added twitter feature which posts a tweet to your account after each weigh-in, daily, or weekly. In order to maximize its full potential, you really need to have a twitter account… There’s nothing like the threat of potential public embarrassment to motivate yourself to stay on track with a diet and exercise plan.
Rating
this is the best thing ever. all you do is stand on it and it calculates everything and uploads it to your profile on the internet. it know’s who’s stepping on it based on profiles on the internet which are synced with the scale and stuff (and if it is an unknown person, it just goes on the internet as unknown and only knows the weight of who was standing on it at such and such time). 4 AAA batteries it uses. I think it kind of may go through batteries fairly quickly though (like once every 2 months, but we’ll see).
Rating
The scale:
The wifi scale is an innovation in concept and design. The scale appears to be well made, looks great, and is very easy to use and read. Stepping on the scale and reading the output of your weight, fat mass, and BMI (which it does very well) is only the beginning. Through a web interface you can then see your measurements charted over time. You can set goals and see how you’re doing compared to those. If you are an iphone user there is also a very nice app that allows you to see the same charted data on your phone. The scale’s firmware is also kept updated automatically, depending on your internet connection.
The company:
Withings is very responsive to customer questions and suggestions as evidenced through the forums:
[...]
It is nice to get the product automatically updated with new features (firmware updates) without any effort on the consumer’s part.
Result:
A very well executed new concept in weight and body mass management.
Rating
Works as advertised. Arrived well packaged. Breeze to set up. Now track weight and BMI on my MacBook Pro and on my iPhone. Also looks attractive in my bathroom, and yes it does easily recognize one person over another. Buy it.
Rating
I was a little concerned that this would just be another “gadget” of little practical use, but in fact, this is a great idea that is extremely helpful. Having your weight posted and graphed on a web site is an excellent way to monitoring and recording weight over prolonged periods of time. The iphone app also is very appealing. IN addition, the scale is accurate and attractive. Well worth the money.
Rating
The Withings Wifi scale is beautiful to look at, simple to set up, and fun to use. I look forward to my “weigh in” each morning. I love not having to write it all down, as it gets logged online and on my iphone immediately after the weigh in. It has helped me lose about 10 pounds since getting it a few weeks ago. My old Tanita was given to the in-laws. The other thing I have noticed is that based upon interactions in the Withings forum, the development team is responsive and I expect the software will continue to get better and better over time (but I have no complaints at this time).
Rating
I have only been using this for a few days, and I can say that so far I am way impressed! It comes in very nice packaging, and the scale itself looks even more sleek than the photos convey. To install, just attach the scale to your pc using the included usb cable and then go to the withings website. It walks you right through the installation. On my first try, the installation failed, I think because I am using Windows7. The second time around, I clicked the link to see the drivers for more OS’s. There wasn’t one for Win7, so I chose the one for Vista. This time around, it worked perfectly and let me install the scale with no further issues. Aside from that tiny little snag, it works perfectly. You just step on the scale in bare feet, and look at the display to see if you are standing properly. Little arrows tell you which way to move if your feet are not even. Then it weighs you, and a little progress bar shows up indicating that it is measuring your body fat. And that’s it! You just log into the website and your weight is already there. Very very cool! I have been waiting a long time for a scale like this, and it looks like the Withings folks did it right.
Rating
This scale works as advertised, it seems to weigh accurately and uploads to their database like it should. It does a good job of figuring out the difference between my wife and me, but we do have a 90lb difference. I did break the first one I got. I somehow locked it up while it was updating itself and wouldn’t connect anymore. I had it less than an hour and it broke, but within a week Withings had a new one out to me with no charge for the shipping. Round 2 works great. The only thing that didn’t work so well were the little feet to put on if you are using it on carpet. I don’t consider my carpet plush by any means, it is just about as cheap as you can get. I suppose if you had berber it may work. I had a chunk of butcher block lying around and countersunk a few holes for the feet to fit in, presto problem solved. Scale does what it should, and the ability to easily track your weight has definitely made me more conscious about watching my diet. Recommended.
Rating
The scale itself looks nice, works fast and was easy to setup.
The only thing I would warn people about is that you do have to connect the scale via a provided USB cable to your computer to set it up. The port to connect the USB cable to the scale is located in the battery compartment, so after you put the batteries in don’t put the cover back on. You’ll just be taking it right back off again to connect the scale to your computer. Once the batteries are installed you’ll go the Withings website to make an account, then you will connect the scale via USB to your pc to connect it to your network and the account you just created. I would also suggest reading the FAQ on the website once the scale is setup, it provides good information about the display and messages you may get on it.
I had no problem connecting the scale to my secure wireless network, which also uses mac filtering. I had no need to change any of my security settings to get the scale connected.
Rating
I don’t normally leave reviews, but I’m thoroughly impressed with the scale. It’s easy to use, setup is a simple, and the iPhone app/website keep me motivated. The Withings programmers are listening and innovating. I hope they continue to add integration to other sites/apps (and make improvements to their site). The only downside is poor battery life. Batteries last about a month worth of readings.