Freestyle Libre

I see the UK have just got access to the Abbott Freestyle Libre. Is anyone using it yet as their main BGL monitor?
What are your impressions? It sounds like a great leap forward from doing 4-5 finger pricks a day.
The idea looks fantastic and I will probably be the 1st in line to get one when/if they come to Australia.
Unfortunately, it has had no publicity in Australia and I haven't seen Diabetes Australia mention it or do anything to get it here (what am i paying a membership for?).

I was at an "Advances in Diabetes" conference a few months ago and was talking to the Abbott rep about how the next generation of BGL monitors just need to take readings and transit them to a phone app. She was totally dismissive and uninterested in my views and said they wouldn't go down that path. She did not even mention the development of the Libre.

The only way to get decent meaningful diabetes info is to log insulin, bgls, diet and exercise. Just imagine how much easier and quicker it would be if the DAFNE app, or any other app, interfaced to your BGL patch, to your pen to get insulin dosage as well as other exercise info collected on your phone. It's all there now! it just has to be put together.

*soapbox warning*
This sounds like a fantastic bit of kit, but I think they have gone down the wrong path just to keep full control and try to maximise profits rather than giving diabetics the best result.
Why would they put vast resources into building a receiver and software, just to keep control of the whole process. Everyone already carries a receiver in their pocket, it has much better hardware and interface and there are 1000's of app developers around the world who would do a vastly better job with the software than Abbotts ex cobol programmers.
They should stop being so greedy, make it compatible with NFC and produce some APIs so developers can use it.
And finally, who is the turkey at Abbotts who decided it's a good idea to geo block 80% of their potential customers from the Freestyle Libre web site? insane.

Ahh, I feel better now, what's that done to my BGLs, pity I can't scan them with my phone.

There's a whole discussion about the Libre, including personal experiences, here: http://www.dafneonline.co.uk/forums/1/topics/2586

Hi, As Peter says there is a long discussion on the device where he said, a couple of things though. Despite what you may think, using NFC and allowing any app to access it will probably never happen. Not because companies are greed but because medical licensing authorities won't allow it. Some of your ire should be directed in their direction as they set the rules that Drug Companies follow. In an idea world they wouldn't need to set these rules, but we live in a litigation world were you can sue anyone for anything which is why they are so nervous.
On the otherhand I totally agree about Abbott's development and support, I have had several attempts to get them to explain the logic of holding all the data on the meter/reader only and they
don't see a problem. I think we may have to wait until a competitor comes on the market we might see a bit more pressure to produce a better and cheaper product then.