Fitbit has taken the covers off its latest wearable device. It's a high-end fitness-focused smartwatch called the Fitbit Blaze, and it's available for pre-order for $199.95 ahead of a full launch in March.
The Fitbit Blaze includes a high-resolution, color touchscreen, and the company will offer a number of clock faces for customers to choose from. It will also offer optional bands made of "genuine leather, stainless steel and high-performance elastomer". The design of the smartwatch is modular, so users can "easily remove and insert your tracker into a new frame, so you can wear Fitbit Blaze with style at work and then swap it instantly into a new frame with a workout-friendly wristband."
The Fitbit Blaze will have a number of fitness-based features:
- FitStar Personal Trainer on-screen workouts deliver guided instructions and animated images to three of the most popular personal trainer workouts from FitStar: Warm It Up (8 minutes), 7 Minute Workout, and 10 Minute Abs. Each workout is free and can be accessed at any time with no app or smartphone required, offering a fast, effective workout you can do anywhere.
- Connected GPS helps you train smarter by delivering real-time exercise stats like distance, pace and minute-mile split times when connected to a smartphone's GPS. After each workout, stats sync wirelessly to the Fitbit dashboard to let you review your route, speed and elevation in more detail.
- PurePulse continuous, wrist-based heart rate tracking helps maximize any training routine with simplified heart rate zones to help you maintain workout intensity and better track calories burned during each workout. PurePulse also provides all-day insights into overall health, including resting heart rate and heart rate trends over time, all without an uncomfortable chest strap.
- Multi-sport mode lets you record specific activities like biking, cardio, running, weights, yoga and more while providing relevant, real-time performance stats to help you get the most out of each workout. PurePulse is enhanced while in Multi-sport mode for even better heart rate tracking, especially during high intensity workouts.
- SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition automatically recognizes and records continuous movement activities like biking, hiking and running, with general categories for aerobic workouts (i.e., Zumba®, cardio-kickboxing and other dance classes) and sports (i.e., tennis, basketball and soccer). It gives you more ways to stay motivated and get credit for your workouts by effortlessly recording them in the Fitbit app and automatically adding them toward weekly exercise goals.
In addition, the Fitbit Blaze will offer "call, text and calendar notifications" along with music controls and automatic sleep tracking. The battery life is supposed to last up to five days and the watch is compatible with over 200 Android, iOS and Windows applications.
Pre-orders will go live on Wednesday, January 6 at other retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Brookstone, Dick's Sporting Goods, Macy's, Sports Authority, Target, and Verizon. The optional elastomer bands will cost $29.95 each in black, blue and plum, and the smartwatch's leather bands and stainless steel frames will sell for $99.95 each in black, mist grey and camel. Finally, the Luxe stainless steel link band paired with a stainless steel frames will cost $129.99.
Pre-order the Fitbit Blaze for $199.95
Source: Fitbit
