Getting Fit With 2 Bits of Help

I’d like to talk about New Year’s resolutions for a minute.

(Yes, I’m aware that it’s not even Christmas. But if the world’s stores are allowed to put up Christmas decorations right after Halloween, then I’m allowed to jump the gun on New Year’s.)

As a gadget hound, there’s not much I can offer you if your resolution will be to spend more time with the children or stop smoking. But if you’re trying to get in shape, I’ve got some good news for you.

Two new tiny wearable motion sensors are on the loose, backed by Web sites that graph the collected data on daily activity for your motivational pleasure. There’s the Fitbit ($100) and its rival from Philips, the DirectLife ($80). In both cases, the idea is to make you aware of your daily activity and to challenge you to step it up. But despite that similarity of goal, the two gadgets are wildly different in approach.