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Epson dives into fitness wearables with heart and run trackers
How do you know when wrist-worn technology is officially a trend? When a brand best known for its printers gets in on the action. As promised, Epson is launching its first wrist-based wearables, and they're all about improving your fitness. Each line delivers a slight twist on a familiar formula. The Runsense GPS watch range (shown above) can track your running even if it loses signal thanks to stride sensors on some models, and lasts for a healthy 30 hours of continuous tracking; you may not need to recharge for days. The Pulsense line, meanwhile, monitors your heart rate, activity and sleep quality using a blend of optical and motion sensors. You theoretically never have to take the tracker off, although the 36-hour battery suggests you'll be doing that quite often.
Epson's Pulsense fitness wearables can measure your pulses, of course (hands-on)
Epson, for better or worse, is best known for printers and projectors. However, it has been known to dabble in wearables, like its Moverio head-mounted displays, and even the occasional GPS watch. Now at CES 2014, the company is going up against the likes of Fitbit and Basis (and the rest) with a duo of fitness-focused watches. Called Pulsense, the wristbands are designed to monitor your heart rate, activity levels, calories burned and sleep patterns based on Epson's patented biosensors and internal accelerometer. The initial launch of Pulsense consists of two models: the Pulsense PS-100 and the PS-500. The PS-100 is just a simple LED bracelet, while the PS-500 has an LCD display that lets you read (at least a little bit of) fitness data on the go. Among other things, the aforementioned bio sensors are able to measure your heartbeat by the amount of light reflected from red blood cells, and find out calories burned based on personal info like age and gender. There's also built-in memory, which means the watches can store about 480 hours of data before having to be offloaded to either an app or a PC. Additionally, each Pulsense wristband has a 3-in-1 proprietary chip that promises faster processing, a thinner profile and better battery life. Other features include heart rate-based "zone training" so those looking to shed extra pounds or get a bit more of an aerobic exercise can get additional guidance. Both watches will ship starting during summer 2014. The PS-100 will be available for $129, while the PS-500 will cost $199. Those deciding to pick Epson's fitness wearables over the increasingly tough competition will apparently be able to pre-order one starting today. We've added a few impressions after the break.
