Test Driving the VerioSync.

Disclosure: I was contacted by LifeScan, the makers of the One Touch VerioSync, who asked some people in the diabetes online community if they could send us the meter (for us to keep) ahead of its commercial launch so that we could try it and share our experiences online. I am not financially compensated for any reviews, and opinions are always my own.

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have seen me share some photos of a new One Touch meter called VerioSync. I was able to see (a version of) this meter at last year's Friends For Life conference and had been looking forward to its release. (The bad news is that its still not commercially available - the materials sent with the meter indicate they expect that to happen in the first quarter of 2014.) While I've only been using it for a week or so, I seem to already be feeling a moderate amount of warm fuzzies towards it.

The "big deal" with this one is that the meter automatically syncs your readings with the complimentary One Touch Reveal app without needing to plug anything in - it transmits over Bluetooth.

Some first impressions:


The Good:

• The results I've had have been very happy-matchy with my previous Verio meter, as well as my Dexcom G4 Platinum data. I like consistency.
• Never needing a battery change - you just plug the thing in via USB cable (included). Supposedly, battery life lasts up to two weeks - I'm guessing it will be more like one, given how frequently I test.
• It uses the same strips as the VerioIQ, which according to LifeScan are "covered at the lowest co-pay on the most health plans and are always covered by Medicare Part B". 
• The meter is small, and could certainly pass for something not medically-related.
• It has an app, and I don't have to do anything past keeping the meter close to my phone when testing to get it to transmit. 
• Speaking of the app - it's easy to see at a glance how I'm averaging, what the distribution looks like (color-coded!), and any patterns that might be emerging. 
• It has a light at the top! That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you're trying to test without waking up your four month-old... it's a big deal. This light isn't as big or bright as the VerioIQ's, but it's sufficient.

The "This Could Be Better":

• The battery drain on my phone - OMG. 
• Where'd my big, beautiful color meter screen go? :(  I realize most of the coolness moved to the app, but if you're using this as a stand-alone meter, there's much to be desired display-wise.
• It's weird that this meter has only one button, on the right side. 
• The app isn't entirely intuitive to use (took a few days, and several tweets, to finally figure out how to share the logbook), and my stubby fingers had a tough time setting up the low/high pie chart specifications.

The accuracy (compared to the VerioIQ meter and Dexcom results I already trust) I'm seeing has me feeling pretty comfortable with this one, and when I pair that with the realization that I could be paying half as much for test strips by switching back to One Touch meters, I come to the conclusion that I'm probably jumping ship on my iBGStar for a while.