Glooko Rolling out new Bluetooth Connected Device

Glooko has been on the cutting edge of Diabetic technology since day one. They have set the bar and now others are frantically trying to follow in their blazing foot steps.
Recently Glooko sent me their MeterSync Blue, which is a meter connecting device that allows you to upload your meter readings via Bluetooth.

Having worked with Glooko in the Past I was excited to be able to test out the MeterSync Blue. I opened up my Glooko App and began syncing my meter.



As you can see from my glucose results my sugars run high. But I was really impressed with how quickly it synced. I have used the other cables that Glooko had come out with, but really like the fact that all you have to do is plug in your meter, push the button on the MeterSync Blue and all your info goes directly to your phone or Android/iOS device.

[caption id="attachment_3079" align="alignleft" width="140"] Original Android Glooko Sync[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3081" align="alignright" width="216"] New Glooko MeterSync Blue[/caption]

I am still not to thrilled about it being a 3 piece system like the Android version. I would have liked to see it be a more cohesive 2 piece system, that would closely resemble the iPhone sync cable system that is all one cord.

[caption id="attachment_3080" align="alignright" width="163"] iPhone Glooko Sync cable. Notice its all one piece.[/caption]

With it being a 3 piece system it seems like there is more room for you to lose some of the items you need in order to properly test. Another thing that you will notice between the MeterSync Blue and the original Android Sync cable is that they did away with the 3.5mm jack that you would have allowed you to plug the device directly into the meter and transmit that way. Had they kept the 3.5mm plug they could have just shipped the 2.5mm adapter that would have made it a 2 piece system and would save the company on production and shipping costs, and would have eliminated the need for the 3.5mm cord. However, that being said I must say that this is by far my most favorite of all the Glooko products. Being a fan of Bluetooth I love anything that can sync up using it.

My over all rating of the MeterSync Blue is 9.5 out of 10. Had they kept the 3.5mm plug and or made the additional 3.5mm cord part of the system and not a separate detachable I would have given it a 10. The MeterSync Blue is not yet available for purchase but you can click here  to be notified when it becomes available for public purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

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Biomedtrics Ditto

Recently I had the chance to test out the new Biomedtrics Ditto. The Ditto is a Bluetooth device that allows you to sync your blood glucose meters to any Bluetooth enabled device such as a smart phone, tablet, or PC.
Along with the standalone device there is an app called MyDittoLife, which allows you to keep all of your testing records on it and share it with your medical provider by emailing it directly to them. And the app is also accompanied by a website that stores all of your testing information via the Cloud, allowing you to access your information where ever there is internet access.

With Ditto you have several connection options that allow you to connect to your meter. It comes standard with a 3.5mm Male to Male audio cord that allows you to plug your glucose meter into the Ditto, a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter for those smaller ports, and a USB charging cable. That’s right there are no batteries that you have to deal with, its charged by plugging into any USB 2.0 plug.
And because Ditto is Bluetooth compatible that means that you can wirelessly sync your meter to your phone or tablet/PC. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and when I connected  my meter to the Ditto and turned on Bluetooth Sync within the app, it automatically updated the app on my phone with my most current reading for the past 3 months. I was a little disappointed in that it did not download all my readings into the app, but was impressed with how simple it was, once I had the app setup to work with the meter that I was using.

The entire Ditto program is controlled through the app. You can make all your changes right from your tablet or smart phone. It is pretty intuitive for the most part, but if you are technologically stupid, you may struggle a bit with it. I would like to have seen the over all ease of use more KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) friendly for those who are not tech savvy.

One drawback that I did find with the Ditto was its limited number of supported glucose meters. However, many of the top name models such as Abbott, Bayer, ReliOn, and LifeScan (ie OneTouch) are supported. This is one feature that I would like to see expanded upon in future developments.

Another feature that I liked about Ditto was that you could choose which way you wanted to export your glucose data, you could have it done in PDF or CVS format. Personally I prefer PDF format because it is more universal.  The other thing that was nice was that it displays a bar graph after every reading allowing for you to see visually how your weeks highs and lows compared.

All in all I give this system a 7 out of 10 stars, based on the app and the lack of supported meters, and the fact that it is only currently offered for Android. I really do like that the system is stand alone and Bluetooth which gives it great functionality and room for future development. You can get yours from Amazon by clicking here, and downloading the app from the Google Play Store by clicking here.

UPDATE

11/7/13

After having used the app a bit more I have found that my last statement of Ditto not having uploaded all of my readings from the meter was not true.
The meter I was using only had readings from back in March of this year. It did not display in the app that any information had been downloaded, it just displayed that there was no data found. I have brought this to the attention of Biomedtrics, and they are looking into it.

I did find and have a chance to look at my graphs for the time period that I did have data for and found that like the picture above it was well detailed and accurate, and gave me a good visual on how my trends were. I am going to upgrade my original rating from a 7 to a 7.5 stars out of 10. Knowing now that all my data was downloaded makes it nicer (and would have probably saved me some hardships had I used a meter with more accurate testing dates than half a year ago) to work with. I still stand by the fact that the over all usefulness of the app and website could be more user friendly but for those techy people out there this shouldn’t be to big of an issue.

Also in my previous review I forgot to mention that there is a website that you can view your information on called www.mydittolife.com which from what I can see is an HTML version of the app, without the ability to really change much of the information on, but have been assured that the site is a work in progress. The Ditto is a great device and is worth using, I would recommend it to my more computer literate friends, over the ones who are struggling to come into the 21st century.

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