AlisonM
Much missed Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Got my new Contour Next USB meter today and bearing in mind that I haven't had much time to play with it so far, these are my first impressions.
Ease of use: Both were easy to set up and start using right away. The Next isn't especially flexible when it comes to setting parameters though. The Insulinx let me set my high and low limits to the DSN's instructions, in my case between 5 and 9 but the Next won't go over 3.9 or under 10. Win for the Insulinx.
Readings: Need a larger drop of blood for the Next but the strips suck it up really quickly. Less Blood for the Insulinx and two dots to aim at on either side of the strip instead of one at the end. Next reading was one point higher than the Insulinx so well within tolerance. Draw
Software: Both are plug and play devices and the software is clear and easy to use. The Insulinx requires a cable to connect to your PC while the Next USB obviously doesn't. Possibly one point for the Next just because you need less gear and it's rechargeable via the USB port too. Deffo win for the Next.
Accessories: Freestyle finger pricker is much better to use than the Next one, less painful. Next lancet is smaller though. Insulinx, win.
Strip pot for the Next is significantly bigger and I struggled to close the carrying pouch (someone mentioned this already I think?). For design Abbott's win as there's room in their pouch for some jelly babies, spare lancets, a few wet wipes, a phone stylus and the tiny screwdriver for my specs. Insulinx win.
Appearance, functionality: The Insulinx touch screen screen is large and well set up, but hard to read sometimes in poor light though there is a back light. The Next has a clear colour screen and three buttons next to it, basically up, down and OK. A separate power button is located at the side. Draw?
At the moment Insulinx is winning because the only real drawback I've found with it is the difficulty in reading the screen in poor light. I'm going to give the Next a fair go though. At the moment, I reckon it'll be a good spare rather than my main meter.
Ease of use: Both were easy to set up and start using right away. The Next isn't especially flexible when it comes to setting parameters though. The Insulinx let me set my high and low limits to the DSN's instructions, in my case between 5 and 9 but the Next won't go over 3.9 or under 10. Win for the Insulinx.
Readings: Need a larger drop of blood for the Next but the strips suck it up really quickly. Less Blood for the Insulinx and two dots to aim at on either side of the strip instead of one at the end. Next reading was one point higher than the Insulinx so well within tolerance. Draw
Software: Both are plug and play devices and the software is clear and easy to use. The Insulinx requires a cable to connect to your PC while the Next USB obviously doesn't. Possibly one point for the Next just because you need less gear and it's rechargeable via the USB port too. Deffo win for the Next.
Accessories: Freestyle finger pricker is much better to use than the Next one, less painful. Next lancet is smaller though. Insulinx, win.
Strip pot for the Next is significantly bigger and I struggled to close the carrying pouch (someone mentioned this already I think?). For design Abbott's win as there's room in their pouch for some jelly babies, spare lancets, a few wet wipes, a phone stylus and the tiny screwdriver for my specs. Insulinx win.
Appearance, functionality: The Insulinx touch screen screen is large and well set up, but hard to read sometimes in poor light though there is a back light. The Next has a clear colour screen and three buttons next to it, basically up, down and OK. A separate power button is located at the side. Draw?
At the moment Insulinx is winning because the only real drawback I've found with it is the difficulty in reading the screen in poor light. I'm going to give the Next a fair go though. At the moment, I reckon it'll be a good spare rather than my main meter.
