An analyte monitoring system is provided. The system may include a housing (200) and a visual display (206) on the housing (200), the visual display (206) having at lease one visual indicator position next to a corresponding marking (208, 210, 212, 214 and 216) on the housing (200). The system may include a processor (60) driving the visual display (206), wherein the processor (60) runs software that is modifiable to provide a variable user interface on the visual display (206). The system may include a wireless communication to allow applets or programs to be down-loaded by the processor (60).