If you've been holding back on buying a Windows Phone because you weren't able to use your Fitbit with it, that excuse is officially gone. Fitbit is launching a version of its app for Windows Phone on Monday, letting users sync and share their fitness data via a native app.
Fitbit for Windows Phone pairs with a wearable activity tracker like the Fitbit Flex, keeping track of the wearer's activity. When you launch the app, you'll be able to see how many steps you've walked, the number of calories burned and -- assuming you wear it to bed -- sleep quality, too.
The advantage of the Windows Phone version is in the app's live tile. Thanks to background syncing, you'll be able to see some "glanceable" information about your activity, such as the steps you've taken, just by looking at the tile.
Fitbit is one of the first to take advantage of the new support for Bluetooth Smart (aka Bluetooth 4.0 or Low Energy) in Windows Phone 8.1. Bluetooth Smart wasn't part of the initial rollout of Windows Phone 8.1 in April, but Microsoft has been quietly working on drivers and certifying various devices equipped with the right radios, including the Nokia Lumia 1520 and 930.
That said, if you purchase a Fitbit and have trouble syncing it with your Windows Phone device, make sure you're running the latest version of the OS. If you're still having trouble, you might want to wait for the coming Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, which should be arriving in the next couple of weeks.
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