The OneTouch glucose meter family by LifeScan is arguably best known for one particular monitor: the UltraMini meter. If testing your blood sugar could be described as fun (which it can’t!), this would be the most fun meter. The company actually has cartoons describe its best features, small, fast, and colorful!
The OneTouch Ultra Mini Blood Glucose Meter is a unique rectangular shape and comes in the most vibrant pallet of colors available on the market today.
It also has what we at DiabetesWellBeing.com describe as a “best in class” feature, as described below.
Key Advantages
- Size and Quickness. The small rectangular shape makes the Ultra Mini perfect for carrying with you wherever you may go. The 5 second results also allow you to be quick and discrete about testing your glucose levels.
- Colors. Obviously, this is not a performance benefit, but having some fun colors can be, well, fun. This is especially the case for kids, who may be a little self conscious about testing in front of their friends. The color pallet is silver moon, limelight, pink glow and black.
- Alternative Site Testing. The meter allows AST on the finger, palm and forearm.
- Ease of Use. This feature is the “best in class” that we alluded to earlier. While other meters may be as easy or even easier, none do as good a job of conveying this benefit as the Ultra Mini. LifeScan has a unique video/still frame/text tutorial that takes the user through set up and testing functions. Truly amazing. While kids will love this, adults will like it too!
Disadvantages
Despite the great features and ease of use described above, this is not the meter for someone who likes a lot of “bells and whistles” or advanced programming options.
There are no alarms, pre/post meal markers, averages or other advanced features like this. For some this is a benefit, for others this is a short fall of the meter.
The meter also does not come with a back light feature. As stated in other reviews, this is a disappointment, but most meters do not have this function.
Test Strips
The Ultra Mini uses OneTouch Ultra Test Strips. The nice thing about these strips is that they are compatible with six different OneTouch meter (past and present models), so you could have several different OneTouch meters, deposing upon your needs and only have to buy one type of test Strip.
To Compare the BEST prices on strips, check out our Test Strip Price Comparison page.
Bottom Line
The easily usable features are great. The meter tutorials will have the user up and running quickly, easily and without problems. We aren’t kidding when we say they are the best we have seen. The unique shape and colors also are great for kids and the individual personality inside everyone.
The meter and test strips are comparably priced with other competitors. Overall, the Ultra Mini is a great choice if you just want a nice basic meter to test your blood sugar with some individual character.
Other Considerations
All OneTouch glucose meters have a 3 year warranty and access to 24/7 customer support. Its website also has some good resources on general diabetes care such as nutrition, exercise and various complications.
They also have a free membership service called OneTouch Gold which provides personalized meal and exercise plans, 1000’s of recipes, articles, etc. All OneTouch glucose meters are also compatible with LifeScan’s diabetes management software.
LifeScan does not allow a free software download for new meter owners. Instead, you must purchase the software and a data cable bundle for $29.99. While this is a little different from other manufacturers who provide the software for free, the difference is negligible.
All the other companies still require you to purchase a data cable to make the software work and their cables cost from $25 to $35 dollars. Thus, either way, you have to pay an additional $30 dollars (approximately) to use data management software, regardless of what meter you choose.
Technical Information
| Model | OneTouch UltraMini |
|---|---|
| Auto. Shut Off | 2 minutes |
| Battery Type | One CR2032 |
| Battery Life | 6 -12 months |
| Alternative Site Testing | Yes |
| Memory Capacity | 500 Tests |
| Storage Temp. | NA |
| Operating Temp. | 43 to 111 F |
| Result Range | 20 to 600 mg/dL |
| Sample Size | 1.0 microliter |
| Test Time | 5 seconds |
| Weight (battery) | 1.4 oz. (yes) |
| Size (Inches) | 4.25 x 1.26 x 0.67 |
| Backlit Display | No |
| Warranty | 3 Years |
| Coding Required | Yes |
| Software Available | Yes |