FitBit has officially unveiled three new devices following the difficulties they’ve had this past year with their flagship FitBit Force.
The FitBit Force was discontinued for various reasons including allergic reactions, resulting in it having to get recalled. The company has been without their flagship Force for the majority of the year, so three new devices are a welcomed sight despite FitBit being market leaders.
Also See: Microsoft Windows Smartwatch Christmas release?
The new devices are named Fitbit Charge, ChargeHR and Fitbit Surge. The Charge devices are the FitBit Force’s successors. They include all of the same features including caller-ID functions and also has a new feature where it will automatically recognise when you’re asleep instead of you having to remember to set it. On the face of things, its appearance doesn’t differ too far from that of its predecessor, besides it being made of a softer rubber and having a marginally textured surface. It also has the same 7 day battery life.
The ChargeHR is again, pretty much the same apart from the all-important ‘HR’ difference – a Heart Rate monitor. For the more fitness savvy among users the heart rate monitor does what it says on the tin. It isn’t as accurate as a chest strap monitor, but is designed to be far more comfortable. Because of this additional extra it does push the battery life expectancy down by two days to a reasonable 5 days expected power.
The third in their range is the Surge. Now this is essentially a smartwatch, but has also been dubbed a “super-watch”. This is mainly because of the features it packs. Of course it has the classic features contained in the other two models but it also includes GPS monitoring for tracking runs, caller ID (like the other two) and can control music from the touchscreen. These extras do come at a cost, the battery life with GPS on is expected to be around 8 hours, but with it and other features off, it’ll be closer to the other two Charge devices at around a week.
Also See: HTC Smartwatch Launch Postponed
Price wise, the Charge is currently available for £99 or $130 in the US and will be available from November 17th 2014. The other two however won’t available until next year according to FitBit. The ChargeHR will cost around £119.99 (US$149) and the Surge £199.99 (US$249).
Source: Engadget