The Vivofit is worn around your wrist and doubles as a watch. It has one single button that cycles between the different displays: time, date, steps taken, number of steps left to meet your goal, miles walked and calories burned. If you have been inactive for an hour or more, a red bar appears on the top of the display, acting as a reminder to get up and walk around.
I've used multiple Fitbits in the past, including the Flex and the Force (prior to the recall and subsequent release of an upgraded version; I have not used the Force that's currently on the market). The Flex was a small band that used four lights to tell you how close to your goal you were, but that was the only display; if you wanted to know exactly how many steps you'd taken, you had to sync with your phone. The Force was a bit larger and doubled as a watch, much like the Vivofit. You could scroll through different screens to see different stats, just like the Vivofit.
The main difference between the Fitbit Force and the Garmin Vivofit is that the Force had a rechargable battery. Every two or three days it required recharging. Because of this, the display was not constantly on. If you wanted to check the time, you had to press a button to activate the display. The Vivofit comes with a replacable watch battery that Garmin claims is good for about one year. The display of the Vivofit is constanly on, so all you have to do to check the time is glance at your wrist, just like with a normal watch.
Comparing the Force and Vivofit products, I'm a bigger fan of the Garmin. I tried the Force but was eventually forced to return it when it was recalled. The battery charging port on the Force was on the back of the device, so it made contact with the skin, and the chemicals used in the charging port gave me a rash (which is why it was recalled). Fitbit, to thier credit, gave a full refund to everyone who sent the Force back, so props to them for running their company well.
Even if I had not had to return the Force, however, I would still prefer the Vivofit to it, simply because I don't have to charge it or activate the display to check the time. I also like the fact that it tells me when I've been inactive for awhile. More than once i's got me up and walking simply to remove the red bar from the display.
When compared with the Fitbit Flex, the Vivofit is the clear winner for me. As stated, the Flex has no display beyond four lights, which I didn't care much for. The lack of a display on the Flex also brought up another issue for me; the fact that I had to wear it and a watch. The only jewellery I ever wear is a watch and wedding ring. I didn't much care for the additon of another band on my wrist, but obvioulsy this is a highly personal gripe with the Fitbit, and most people won't be bothered by it. The Vivofit simply replaced my normal watch, so there's no extra jewellery to worry about.
The Vivofit also tracks sleep. Simply by pressing and holding the one button on the unit, you can place it into "Sleep" mode. It then tracks how long you sleep (based on a second button press in the morning to end sleep mode) and how well you slept, based on how much you moved during the night.
Another good thing about the Vivofit is that it uploads to the Garmin Connect app. This app is the same one that my Garmin GPS watch uploads to after I get a workout done. Having everything all in one place instead of spread over two apps is nice.
My only gripe with the Vivofit is that the display is not really backlit in any way, which means if I'm somewhere dark (say, a movie theater), I can't check the time. This also makes it a bit of a hassle if I forget to put it into sleep mode before I turn the lights out. The display on the Force could easily be read in the darkness, but not so with the Vivofit. Overall though, this is a minor complaint and won't keep me from using the unit.
If anyone is looking for a fitness tracker, I would advise they look into the Vivofit. There are alot of options available on the market these days, but the Garmin Vivofit is a good one.
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