There"s no denying that Fitbit is one of the top wearables manufacturer of recent times. However, the company only developed fitness trackers and related accessories thus far. Now, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it has finally entered the smartwatch market with the Blaze "smart fitness watch."
With the Fitbit Blaze, the company has adopted a standard wristwatch design rather than that seen on its fitness trackers. Users will be able to customize the device with replaceable straps made from leather, stainless steel or elastomer depending on their liking or usage scenario. The device"s modular design is said to facilitate easy swapping of the straps.
Fitbit hasn"t revealed the specifics of the hardware powering the device, but it does feature the usual set of sensors including a heart-rate monitor, Bluetooth for connectivity and a high resolution color touchscreen. The smartwatch is expected to work for five days on a single charge, even with fitness and sleep tracking features enabled.
On the software side, Blaze runs on the company"s proprietary OS which supports changeable watch faces, standard sync features for calls and messages and controls for music, in addition to fitness tracking features. However, getting third-party apps for the device might be a challenge. The smartwatch will be able to sync with over 200 Android, iOS and Windows-based devices as the company already has its apps across these platforms.
Fitbit will be making the device available globally in March for a price of $200, while customers in the United States can order it through the company"s website starting today or purchase from retail stores from tomorrow onwards.