fitnesstracker
Latest
Wearable device shipments have soared in the past year
In case you had any doubts that wearable devices were catching on, Canalys just delivered some tangible proof. The analyst group estimates that the tech industry shipped a total of about 6 million smartwatches and fitness trackers in the first half of 2014, or nearly 700 percent more than it managed a year earlier. Not surprisingly, most of the watches were Samsung devices -- the Korean company's rapid-fire Gear watch releases made it almost ubiquitous. Pebble and Sony also did well in this fledgling space. Fitbit and Jawbone, meanwhile, moved many of the simpler wristbands.
Runtastic's Orbit band is a fitness tracker that doubles as a running watch
If you've heard of Runtastic, it probably means you're something of a jock: The company got its start building running apps for tracking your distance, pace, et cetera. For the past two years, though, it's been making all sorts of gear to go with it, including a GPS watch, armband, heart-rate monitor, speed sensor, bike mount and even a WiFi scale. Now the company's rounding out its collection with something super obvious: a fitness tracker. The Orbit, as it's called, does all the things you'd expect a fitness band to do: track your steps, calorie burn, sleep patterns. It's waterproof up to 300 feet, meaning you can use this for swimming, in addition to jogging. It vibrates to wake you up in the morning, and when you've been inactive for too long. And, like competing devices, it uses Bluetooth Smart to wirelessly sync your data with either an Android or iOS app. Thanks to that low-power radio inside, battery life is rated for seven days. So far, so familiar.
ZTE's latest fitness tracker looks just like a FuelBand
Why yes, here's yet another fitness band from China! Just two days after Xiaomi's $13 Mi Band, ZTE will no doubt have a hard time getting attention for its awkwardly named Grand Band. The company's second smart wearable device reminds us of the Nike+ FuelBand with its dot-matrix LED screen plus the positioning of its sole button, but it uses an adjustable snap-on strap instead of the latter's fixed-size type. As you'd expect, the 14mm-thick, shower-friendly band packs all the common features: pedometer (with distance and calorie calculator), sleep monitor and smart alarm. Better yet, it's compatible with all Bluetooth 4.0 host devices running on iOS or Android 4.3 and above. The Grand Band will be launched in China first next month, and as a "reasonable, affordable premium" product, ZTE hinted that it'll be priced somewhere around the common 800 yuan ($130) to 1,000 yuan ($160) tier. Hmm, looks like we'll stick with Xiaomi's cheaper and slimmer device -- only if we can even get hold of one. Hands-on video after the break.
Xiaomi's $13 fitness band can also unlock your phone
The "one more thing" at the Xiaomi Mi 4 launch was the Mi Band, the Chinese company's first smart wearable, and it's obviously aggressively priced: Just CN¥79 or about $13! Like many of its competitors, the Mi Band tracks your movement (walking or running) plus sleeping pattern, and you can also use it as a smart vibrating alarm to wake up feeling better. Interestingly, a single charge on this waterproof device will last up to 30 days, which easily beats its competitors that tend to last for a week or less. Better yet, the band doubles as a security token that automatically unlocks your phone -- likely just Xiaomi's for now -- when within proximity. There's no word on availability just yet, but as always, Xiaomi should be debuting this in China where it'll instantly sell out.
Jawbone takes on Weight Watchers with its latest app update
There are things fitness trackers are generally pretty good at. You know, like counting your steps, measuring how many calories you burned. And then there are things fitness trackers are generally bad at. Logging your food intake is a particularly sore point. After all, it's not like the onboard sensors can tell when or what you've eaten, so you have to go through the tedious business of manually entering all your meals. What's more, companies like Jawbone and Fitbit aren't exactly weight-loss specialists, which means their food databases tend to have gaping holes compared to services like Weight Watchers. So, even if you're disciplined enough to keep a food diary, the thing you ate might not even be in the system. That goes double if you eat out -- how are tech companies supposed to know how many calories are in the brownies at that cafe around the corner?
Fitbit's Tory Burch jewelry makes your activity tracker slightly more fashionable
Even though activity trackers are all the rage, few would call them fashion items. Do you really want explain why you're wearing something so gauche at a wedding or high-brow luncheon? Fitbit isn't happy to have its devices treated as eyesores, though -- it's teaming up with designer Tory Burch to launch jewelry that makes the Flex tracker a little more suitable for upscale gatherings. The newly available collection starts off with a $38 printed silicone bracelet that, to be frank, is just a small step above (?) what you get out of the box; it's more for casual situations than formal galas. If you're up for something more luxurious, you can spring for a brass bracelet or pendant for $195 and $175, respectively. With that said, it's hard to see a truly style-conscious person picking these up in the first place, no matter how nice they look. Many attempts at shoehorning fashion into technology haven't fared well, and there's a good chance that you'll still look a bit silly with a tracker hanging from your neck. May I suggest using your phone instead?
Blocks' modular smartwatch concept is ambitious to a fault
As one of the Blocks smartwatch team reminded us today, modularity has played an integral role in modern computing. A desktop PC is only a collection of components, after all, which can swapped out and upgraded based on what you need from that particular machine (a process Razer hopes to simplify with Project Christine). Recently, Google and others have been working out how to bring the same level of customization to the smartphone. With smartwatches and fitness trackers a burgeoning tech category, both in terms of consumer interest and product development, the Blocks team sees no reason why wrist-worn technology can't benefit from being modular, too. It's in the process of creating such a gadget and today we caught up with the team at a London event, hosted by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, to talk about its progress and check out an extremely early prototype.
Microsoft wearable rumors suggest more fitness tracker, less smartwatch
You may want to dial back your expectations for Microsoft's oft-rumored smartwatch. According to sources speaking to the historically well-informed Paul Thurrott, the wearable isn't intended as a watch -- it's a Gear Fit-style health tracker that happens to deliver phone notifications and timekeeping. The tipsters also back earlier rumors, suggesting that there will be a host of fitness sensors along with support for Android, iOS and (naturally) Windows Phone.
Garmin Forerunner 15 review: sports watch first, fitness tracker second
As the reviews editor for this tech blog, I often get asked which fitness tracker I own. And I tell people: I don't need one, silly; I run marathons. Maybe that sounds snotty, but it's true: During training season, at least, I'm probably more active than most people buying a fitness band. And besides, I already own a running watch to track my time, distance and pace. That doesn't mean I can't use a little extra motivation, though. My activity slowed to a crawl this winter, precisely because I was burned out from all those long training runs. (The frigid weather didn't help either.) At one point, I didn't exercise for nearly two weeks. I gained back the weight I lost last year, and my muscle mass shrank. It now hurts to do squats. Even so, asking me to wear another device is a tough sell -- especially when it means my stats are getting spread across different services. For people like me, there's the Garmin Forerunner 15, a sports watch that doubles as a fitness tracker. Like other running watches, including those made by Garmin, the Forerunner 15 tracks your distance, pace and time. It's offered with an optional heart rate monitor, and has a handy run-walk setting. But it also tracks your activity between workouts, telling you how many steps you've taken and how many calories you've burned. It issues not-so-subtle reminders to move, lest you spend too much time in your cubicle. At the same time, it doesn't do everything a standalone fitness tracker would: It doesn't automatically monitor your sleep habits, and you can't log your food intake directly from the app. Priced at $170 ($200 with the heart rate monitor), it costs more than your typical fitness tracker, but it's cheap for a running watch. So is it a good deal? That all depends on your priorities.
Withings Activité is a fitness tracker disguised as a designer Swiss watch
Most fitness trackers look like they belong in the gym or on the race track, which is fine if you're working out, but not so great if you want to look your best at the board meeting or that fancy cocktail party. The Withings Activité, however, changes the notion of the fitness tracker entirely with an elegant design that's more reminiscent of a Rolex or a Hublot. That's because the Activité was actually created by a team of Parisian designers and Swiss watch-makers. Available in either black or silver, it's made out of stainless steel 316L and an "unbreakable" sapphire glass that also functions as a touch screen -- you can tap it to switch between modes. Included is a leather strap that's apparently sourced from a famous tannery in France, though you can swap it out with a plastic strap if you prefer. Outfitted with a classic round face and a traditional analog watch display, the Activité has two dials -- the primary one tells the time, while a smaller sub dial keeps track of your activity targets.
Google set to launch a health-tracking platform called Google Fit
Not to be left behind by Apple, Google could soon launch its own health-tracking platform for mobile devices. Forbes reports that the search giant is working on a new service, tentatively called Google Fit, which will pull in data from third-party fitness wearables and health apps and combine them into one central app. It's not known if Fit will be delivered as a standalone app or come embedded inside future versions of Android, but it would likely operate as Google-made version of Apple's HealthKit, a service that lets companies like Nike feed in fitness data, and Samsung's own fitness framework, SAMI. An open platform would also lend itself to running on top of Google's upcoming Android Wear platform, allowing smartwatches and fitness bands to feed data into Fit's open APIs. Mirroring Apple, Google is set to unveil its new health-centric service at its own developer conference, Google I/O, which kicks off on June 25th. It has a lot of wearable talks planned for the event, so we won't have long to wait to learn more about what Google has planned.
Hands-on with the Liquid Leap: Acer's first wearable tries to be everything to everyone
Thanks to a quick tease a few weeks back, we already knew Acer was on the verge of revealing its first smartwatch. Until today, though, we had all talk -- It's a smartwatch! It's a fitness tracker! -- but virtually no details. Now, at Computex, we're getting our first look at the Liquid Leap, due out later this year. The best way to think of this (other than as a "me too" device) is that it's a wristband trying really hard to be a jack-of-all-trades. In addition to doing typical smartwatch things (call and SMS notifications), it tracks your sleep, steps, distance traveled and calories burned. It can also pause, play and skip music tracks. Like other fitness trackers, it's waterproof, though it's far more discreet than your average sports watch. For now, Acer is being coy about the price, except to say it'll cost less than €99 in Europe. Without a price, then, it's hard to say how good a value this will be when it goes on sale in Q3. That doesn't mean we can't tell you more about how it works, though. So join us, won't you?
LG's Lifeband Touch and Heart Rate earphones coming May 18th (update: US pricing)
Though the internet was trolled recently with Apple's "biometric" earpods, LG's fitness-oriented Heart Rate earphones and Lifeband Touch are no joke. In fact, they're finally set to arrive next week in three sizes for $180 and $150 respectively, after being outed by various rumor sites and, of course, LG itself. The LifeBand looks much like we saw it then and most closely resembles Nike's Fuelband, though it has similar functionality to Samsung's Gear Fit and the FitBit Force. Activated by turning your wrist, it has a full-touch OLED display, 90mAh battery and a triple-axis accelerometer and altimeter. Those will let you track your exploits via Android or iOS apps like MyFitnessPal or Runkeeper, along with LG's own fitness app. You'll also see (and feel) incoming calls and messages, and can control music using the touch display.
Razer delays Nabu wearable launch to avoid Fitbit-like skin complaints
Razer's Nabu wearable won't launch until late May or early June, according to various developers who've received an email regarding the delay. The "smart band," which took home our People's Choice Award at CES this year, was originally supposed to be available by the end of March. According to said email, Razer's in council with "medical professionals" and running "stringent tests to ensure Nabu is fully certified hypoallergenic" before it reaches consumers. This is obviously a reaction to Fitbit's recent problems with its Force fitness tracker, which had to be recalled after thousands of reports of rashes and other skin troubles by its users. Whether Razer's just trying to make the best product possible or simply wants to avoid a PR disaster is irrelevant, we guess, as long as wrists are safe. It begs the question, though: shouldn't such tests have been factored into wearable development as part of reasonable due diligence, rather than just an afterthought? [Thanks, irawrr!]
Samsung is giving the Gear Fit smartwatch a vertical display mode
The curved AMOLED screen on Samsung's Gear Fit smartwatch is alluring, but it currently has a catch: without a vertical display mode, you occasionally have to contort your arm to get a good view. That shouldn't be an issue by the time the wristwear officially launches on April 11th, though. Business Insider, Pocket-lint and SamMobile have spotted an update that lets you rotate the Fit's interface to a more watch-like (and sometimes more comfortable) portrait view. It's just one change, but it could make a big difference if the lack of rotation was steering you toward the Gear 2 and other less exotic-looking wearables.
Wearable tech deals of the week: 2.14.14
If you've been considering a wearable purchase, but are unsure about parting with the requisite funds, today's gaggle of discounted tech may finally urge you to commit. There are activity trackers and the Galaxy Gear that's currently marked at 50 percent off waiting on the other side of the break. With a price drop that like, you'll want to decide quickly as the offer won't last long. Just window-shopping? No worries. Join us and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your Want list; every time there's a price cut in the future, you'll get an email alert!
Wearable craze adds skin sensitivity to the list of considerations for gadget buyers
We were quite impressed with Jawbone Up24 when we reviewed it. But, a few weeks later, things soured a bit when an editor developed a rather unpleasant rash from the device. Turns out it's not all that uncommon a reaction. While the usual list of concerns for gadget buyers focuses on specs, features and in certain cases portability, with the advent of the wearable, consumers need to start worrying about their own skin sensitivity as well. Are you particularly susceptible to bacterial infections? Are you allergic to nickel or latex? Then that's something that you'll have to take into consideration when it comes time to pick out a fitness tracker or smartwatch. In addition to our anecdotal experience, we've heard similar complaints about past versions of the FuelBand and the Engadget forums are alive with reports of sores and rashes associated with the Fitbit Force. While a sensitivity to nickel would be the most immediate suspect in cases like these, according to dermatologist J. Todd Williams, M.D., it appears something else is to blame. The Force does contain trace amounts of the metal in the surgical-grade stainless steel used on its body, but the position of the rashes would seem to rule out it out in many cases. The same would be true of Up users, as only the cap emblazoned with the Jawbone logo contains nickel plating. And since the Up is coated in a hypoallergenic rubber and the Force forgoes latex as well, it seems an allergy to that particular polymer isn't the culprit either.
Wellograph is an activity tracker with good looks and fun graphs (hands-on)
One of the latest entrants to the crowded wearables market is an activity tracker that you might actually want to wear on a night out. The Wellograph, a device with a sapphire crystal display, features a heart rate monitor and an activity tracker, and -- gasp -- it's a standalone device, with no smartphone integration to speak of beyond syncing with Bluetooth 4.0. Sarasin Art Booppanon, CEO of Wellograph, told us his product stands out from other activity trackers by displaying information such as steps taken and heartbeats per minute in graph form (rather than simply displaying digits). Another distinguishing feature: the sapphire crystal display, allegedly the first to appear on a moderately priced consumer product. This type of screen is known for its scratch-resistance, and while that's not something we could easily put to the test here at CES Unveiled, we can tell you it looked (and felt) pretty sturdy.
Jawbone intros the Up24, its first wireless fitness tracker: on sale now for $150
It took Jawbone two tries to release a fitness tracker that didn't break after several days of use. And it took the company three generations to release one that could sync users' sleep and activity data without having to be plugged in. Today, about two years after the first Up band went on sale, the company is introducing the Up24, its first fitness tracker that syncs wirelessly. Aside from the fact that this makes for a potentially more convenient experience, this is interesting because Jawbone used to be stubbornly against wireless syncing. Specifically, the company once said that it didn't want to use Bluetooth in the Up band because it would necessitate chunkier hardware, put a dent in battery life and generally complicate the user experience. Well, here we have the Up24, which promises seven days of use, thanks to the Bluetooth Low Energy radio inside (that's the same power-efficient standard used in other new fitness trackers). The Up24 is also roughly the same size as the current Up band, and just as water-resistant, too. In addition, Jawbone just released version 3.0 of its iOS app, which includes some features that will only work on the new Up24 (think: live notifications letting you know you're about to meet your fitness goals). Also, because the Up24 works over Bluetooth, you can set a vibrating "Smart Alarm" using the app, instead of having to take the band off and plug it into your phone. Fortunately, the app is mostly compatible with the old Up band. Most important of all, perhaps, is a new sleep recovery tool that allows you to estimate how much sleep you got, even if you forgot to put the band into sleep mode.
Fitbit Force review: a wrist-worn pedometer with smartwatch aspirations
When you're Fitbit, a fitness gadget maker at the top of its game, there's always the difficult question of what comes next. The answer, at least for this company, was to take its successful Flex band, and push it into smartwatch territory (if only barely). The Force keeps the same basic design and feature set, but adds a few new flourishes, like a proper screen and an altimeter. In doing so, it also nudged the price up to $130. On paper, it sounds like a recipe for success. But if you've ever bought a high-end gadget, only to have the experience ruined by a single shortcoming (say a tiny, non-removable battery), you know that what works on paper doesn't necessarily work in real life. So, the question isn't whether Fitbit can succeed (we know it can); it's whether it inadvertently screwed up its new fitness tracker. The answer is a bit complicated.
