With ‘smart fitness watch,’ Fitbit eyes new players

The analyst said in a research note the new smartwatch appears to be a “fashionable (Fitbit) Charge fitness band” which “offers a much smaller fraction of the functionality (of rivals), as a not-so-smart watch with limited apps platform play”.

As mentioned above, the Blaze is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones, and the company claims that it has a battery life of up to five days. Apart from that, you can connect your phone with the watch and receive notifications of incoming calls, text messages, or upcoming events. What you’re going to notice first and foremost – if you’re familiar with smartwatches of all sorts – is that this watch looks rather similar to one of the more well-known smartwatches on the market. All activity data from the Blaze is synced to companion apps available for mobile and desktop platforms.

The Blaze will compete directly with the Apple Watch and other gizmos running Android.

The Fitbit Blaze carries a touch of luxury in the form of leather and stainless steel band options, alongside expanded communications capabilities.

Since the Blaze has a larger screen than any of the company’s other fitness trackers to date, it can also display workout instructions as well as basic notifications. It provides on-screen controls for playlists and volume when playing music.

Pricing starts at $199 and you can pre-order the Fitbit Blaze right now, with shipping starting in May.

While most of Fitbit’s devices could be worn all day, you didn’t necessarily have to do so (and maybe you never really wanted to).

Blaze has an integrated heart rate sensor for continuous, automatic tracking, for example and monitors daily steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed and active minutes.

Still trying to decide if you want a smartwatch or a Fitbit? The Blaze is Fitbit’s first device with an LCD color, touchscreen display. Preorders will ship in March 2016. Last night, Fitbit did reveal the United States prices for the bands – $100 (Rs 6,600 approximately) for the Leather band, at about Rs 8,600 for the Stainless Steel band.(ALSO READ: Intel’s Ninebot Segway Robot steals the show).