Las Vegas
Fitbit is gearing up to take on Apple Watch and cement its position as the leader with the new Blaze watch, which focuses on fitness enthusiasts with heart-rate monitoring and smartwatch-like functions.
James Park, CEO and Co-Founder of Fitbit, said that Blaze is a smart fitness watch built to help users make the most of their workouts, with a versatile design to fit your personal style, and the smart notifications that matter most — all in one sleek timepiece that fits seamlessly into your life.
Fitbit is the leader in the connected health and fitness market with 22.2 per cent market share in the third quarter while Apple Watch had a share of 18.6 per cent, according to research firm International Data Corporation.
According to figures from IDC, more than 110 million wearables will be shipped in 2016, up more than 40 per cent from this year as second- and third-generation products finally address the shortcomings and concerns customers have today.
The Blaze has fitness features like FitStar on-screen workouts, Connected GPS, PurePulse heart rate tracking, and SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition help motivate and push your fitness further.
“One of the first things we learnt in this industry is that fitness is personal — and if something isn’t your style, you won’t wear it,” Park said.
But the Blaze is a fitness band and not a smartwatch. It cannot run Facebook or other social networking apps on this. Like all Fitbits, it can track exercise and automatically syncs workouts with the phone and show notifications.
He said that Blaze delivers a combination of innovative features that were carefully selected with intention and purpose, designed to motivate and offer a fitness experience that is more effortless and more useful with advanced guidance and coaching.
After each workout, he said that stats sync wirelessly to the Fitbit dashboard to let users review their route, speed and elevation in more detail.
The watch’s SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition feature automatically recognises and records continuous movement activities like biking, hiking and running, with general categories for aerobic workouts and sports.
Park said that 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.
“As a former professional athlete, nothing gets me more motivated than a great coach,” said Tony Gonzalez, football legend and FitStar Trainer.
The square watch’s strap can be interchanged from genuine leather, stainless steel and high-performance elastomer.
The watch has the best battery life in the market — up to five days when most of the watches give up to two days of life.
It is compatible with more than 200 Android, iOS, and Windows mobile devices.
Fitbit Blaze is available for $199.95 (US) for presale today [Wednesday] at Fitbit.com and Thursday at major North American retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Brookstone, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s, Sports Authority, Target, and Verizon, with global retail availability starting in March 2016.
It will be available with black, blue, and plum bands at introduction, along with a stylish collection of premium accessory bands and frames.
Park said that a full line of easily interchangeable accessories will be available in a variety of colours and styles with additional accessories coming soon.
