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WiFi Bathroom Scales 

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While these scales do tell your weight they also tell you your fat mass and even your body mass index. Unlike the only other device I have seen that did all this that cost into four figures this one only just creeps into three.

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Withings WiFi Bathroom Scales

£119.99 from FireBox
Firebox

withings body scales internet connected
click image to enlarge

The scale itself is glass and either black or white. It is 32x32x2.5cm with a 6.5x4.5cm display window at the centre top.

While the top is glass there is a circular disc in the centre and the back and sides are plastic. There are four plastic feet. The base has a 24x8.5cm white plastic insert; an 8cm area at the top end has a cover behind which you insert the four ‘AA’ batteries also on first use you insert the mini USB cable beside them into the USB socket and connect it to your PC so that you are able to set it up to work with your wireless network to transfer data. After this the connection should not require the cable and you can transfer the data wirelessly as often as you care to.

Being of a certain age I normally find that reading a scale is rather difficult as my eyes always seem to far away from the reading. This is certainly not a problem here as once you step on the scales the large 2cm numerals light up. Normally you see absolutely nothing and therefore the four ‘AA’ batteries should last a good while.

Often when you are sent a review item it has been reviewed before and sometimes – like here – certain things were missing like the USB lead – but I had one so no real problem – and the instructions, after I requested some I was sent a PDF file. This seems to consist of two sides and I found it less then perfect. Yes I got to the makers site but then things got tricky unless I was missing something it expects you to enter your height in metres and centimetres and then your weight in stones and pounds. Myself I would have been happier doing things the other way round 5 foot 11 inches and 85 kilos is the way I naturally think these days, I could not find ways of adjusting things on the site.

You can have the scales show your weight in kilos, stones or pounds, a simple slider switch in the battery compartment.

Once you have setup a free account on the Withings site and entered your security details via the USB lead your scales will be just another item on your wireless network, so every time you step on your scales you see your weight first, next it shows your fat mass and then your Body Mass Index, when the screen goes blank your latest reading has been wirelessly sent. According to how closely you want to check you can do this as often as you like.

One thing though you should only use the scales when you have bare feet, so in the bathroom seems the natural place to use it. However you should check that your wireless router receives signals from the bathroom.

While I used it on a PC there is also an iPod app that can be downloaded and now even one for your Android device.

It stores data for up to eight users and it knows which of the registered users is standing on it because by standing on it in bear feet it stores other details about the user. I would have loved to try this with identical twins just to see if it could tell one from another but as I do not know any well enough to ask them to take their shoes and socks off and stand on my scales I could not try this. Just rest assured it is not just your weight it knows you by.

Just having a set of accurate scales is nice, as a man, unless there is a good medical reason I would perhaps use them once a week. I am well aware that a lot of others are far more concerned about their weight than me and being able to accurately track weight, fat mass and body mass index is something that a lot of people will want to do frequently.

It is available from the link below for £119.99 and currently there is free delivery.

http://www.firebox.com/product/2625/WiFi-Bathroom-Scales

http://www.withings.com/en/bodyscale/start

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OverallWiFi Bathroom Scales rated 80 out of 100

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