This thermometer is easy to use on a newborn and is reassuring for new parents!

A smart thermometer - I wouldn't have even thought it was possible 8 years ago when I had my twins, and I would have paid double for it back then.

You can use this thermometer with or without the free app. Should you wish to use the app, it lets you program members of your family and set up their profiles, and it will give helpful suggestions for further medical attention to consider. It also has a "bubble app" so your kids can pop the bubbles while the temperature is being taken - although the reading comes up in 8 seconds or less, it is so fast that I am not sure you could even get into the app for bubble popping time that quickly. You can use it orally, under the arm or rectally.

For a new mom with babies who eventually went to daycare and ended up with so many illnesses and fevers, this would have been a godsend. I likely paid for my pediatrician's Porsche based on the number of office visits in the first three years alone. Considering that my children had ear infections and fevers, but mostly at varying times, and because I was exhausted and forgot who was sick when, the tracking log would have been helpful for me to track when I finally had to recreate the history/log for our ENT for consideration of PE ear tubes. The real-time guidance based on age and fever reading so you know when to call a doctor or what to do next would have been a sanity check, I think. Every high fever worried me, and I always assumed the worst - tularemia, meningitis, bubonic plague, just to name a few.

So, my timing on this purchase was poor. At 8, my kids are sick much less, can talk now, and I've turned into a "let's just roll with that fever," and germs are good for your immune system in case you have to survive the apocalypse kind of parent. After my thermometer gave up the ghost recently, I ordered this one, mainly because I was intrigued by the "technology." Should you wish to use the app, assuming you aren't me and freaking out your that your newborn has somehow contracted Hantavirus, it is a wealth of information.

If I had more of a use for all the information and options this thermometer has to offer at this point in my life, this would be 5 stars hands down.

PEDIATRICIAN RECOMMENDATIONS:
- NEVER BUY TYMPANIC, FOREHEAD, TEMPORAL ARTERY, etc. thermometers (Even Kinsa's!). They can be 3 degrees off.
- ALWAYS BUY ORAL/RECTAL thermometers for accuracy. BUY THIS ONE. It's awesome. Some Chinese off-brands may not be accurate.
- You can take underarm temps for a "ballpark" number, but for an accurate number, take rectal for kids under 3, oral over 3

I am a pediatrician, and I just had my first child. He developed a fever but I didn't know how high. I almost bought a $260-300+ Welch-Allyn SureTemp Plus 692 (it's what I use at my office), but with an infant, I would mostly take rectal temps. I knew the SureTemp takes 4-6 second oral readings, but I did NOT know rectal readings took 10 seconds! So I decided to try this for LESS than 1/10th the price. And am I glad I did!!!

I just received my Kinsa QuickCare Smart Digital Thermometer yesterday (a bit late, my son's fever had passed), and I am VERY impressed. Setup is VERY EASY considering there's an app to set up rather than simply taking temps. The app recognized the thermometer right away, sync'ed super fast. Readings happen VERY FAST. It starts showing temperature readings within 1 second, though it takes a few seconds to get a final reading. It feels like 3-4 seconds.

The Kinsa QuickCare feels solid and the tip is surprisingly flexible. The silicone rubber shell feels like quality, not plasticky. The app is also very intuitive, allowing you to keep a record of temps taken as well as other symptoms, and allows multiple profiles so you can keep straight who started with what symptom when. It also offers the ability to move temp readings from one profile to another (in case you forgot to switch profiles before taking the next temperature).

The app is handy for keeping track of common cold and stomach bug symptoms. Your pediatrician will be so impressed you know EXACTLY when your child's cough and fever started, when it stopped, etc! I know I would!

FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS:
- DON'T cheap out and buy the $8 Chinese off-brand; they may not be accurate and will crap out on you quickly. Buy this one!
- DON'T spend more on "instant read" tympanic, temporal artery, and forehead thermometers; you will get LESS ACCURATE readings

(Updated Apr 14 - will leave posting for history, in case anybody has same issue)

I picked this Kinsa over the other two models as it appears to be the most compatible with the phones moving forward.
(being it connects bluetooth vs aux audio plug)

I loaded the app, and it said it found the QuickCare device. This was followed by the screen going to "UPd", which after looking through the app meant it was updating the firmware on the QuickCare thermometer. The app shows a progress bar, and about 2 minutes into the firmware update, I get "Connection Failed". The thermometer drops the "UPd", but soon displays it again, and the app shows its trying to load the firmware update again. "Connection Failed" I try it several more times, and find that it does not always fail at the same place on the progress bar.

The CR2032 battery it came with showed "Low" on the app, so I replaced it with a new battery.... twice. Each time the battery showed that it was good, and after getting "UPd" and trying to install the firmware again, the battery then shows "Low". I would say I tried to update the firmware nearly twenty (20) times.

I then went to the Kinsa support website and created a ticket (#30797) explaining all this. I did this on Apr 8, at 6:22 AM.

Kinsa responded on Apr 8, at 8:22 AM.
"Your ticket 30797 has been received and is being reviewed by our support staff. We make every effort to respond to all requests within 2 business hours."

Today is Apr 11... Wednesday, and no response. I'll give it a few more days, and if I can't resolve the issue, I'll have to return it. (I hate doing returns)

Apr 12: Kinsa contacted me and will be sending out a replacement, updated to the newest firmware. Will post results and update rating as appropriate.

Apr 13: Received replacement. Paired to my phone and saw that the firmware was not 1.0.1, but 1.0.3. Within the software I selected the first unit and "forgot" it and tested the new unit. Besides myself, I added my wife and grandson. Tested all three of us and verified the results using two other thermometers we have. Everything looks good.

Apr 14: Okay, will up my review. I have to chock it up to I just got a bad unit. Kinsa handled it pretty well, and I'll be dropping the defective one in the mail back to them. (they handled the shipping both ways)

I really like the recorded history, as in the past when somebody was sick, it will be nice to see the previous readings. I expect this to become my default temperature reader.

For many, many years I have struggled with finding a thermometer that is both quick and accurate, trying lots of different kinds and never being happy with them. Then two years ago I started seeing ads on facebook for the Kinsa thermometer. On Christmas Day, 2015 my son came down with a stomach bug and fever, and my thermometer went kaput, so I ordered this one. After using it for the first time, I realized I would never go back! Here are the things I especially like about it:

1. I can create different profiles for all my family members
There are 5 members in my family, and I have a created a profile for each of them. That way I don't have to either keep track of it all on a piece of paper, or have several notes on my phone for each person.
2. I can keep track of when and how much medicine was given.
I love that I don't have to try to think about or remember when I gave medicine last, which is very handy in the middle of the after being woken up many times by multiple sickos. I can also set a reminder to give the next dosage, which is very handy.
3. The quick read/bubble popping
The quick care is so fast, that my kids have no problem keeping it in their mouths while it's running, even when they have a stuffy nose. Another nice this is if the child is wiggly, the thermometer takes longer to run, so they have added a fun bubble popping activity while the temp is being taken. These bubbles rise up the screen and the kids can tap them to pop them, which holds their attention and keep them still. I even like to do it when I'm sick!
4. It works over bluetooth, so I don't have to plug it into my phone.
The quick care is my second type of Kinsa thermometer. I initially purchased the smart stick, which was great and worked well, but when the iPhone went to no plug in port, it made it difficult to use. I was also not able to check a temperature if my phone was plugged in, and it didn't have a screen to see what the temp was. The new quick care is so much nicer! It takes care of all of those issues, plus some!
5. The customer service is prompt and friendly and truly has the people at the heart of what they do.
The customer service gives you a phone number to text with any problems or questions, and the man I have been texting with is very helpful and listens to my opinions of the thermometer and the app. There have been several things I've mentioned to him and he's sent them off to the programers. The service is prompt and and very helpful.
6. The Fluency program
The fluency program is for schools. They send a thermometer to every family and staff member who signs up for it, and you can view anonymous information about illness that's going around the school. That way I can know how to treat my child if strep or the flu is going around.
7. The price of this is very reasonable
$20 is more than reasonable for a thermometer that does more than take a temperature!

I have suggested this thermometer to all my mama friends, and I will continue to use it. Do yourself a favor and buy this!