Fitbit announces two new fitness devices: One and Zip

Welcoming the new season, Fitbit is releasing two new fitness activity tracker gadgets -- one to replace its famous Ultra and another for the budget-conscious.

Fitness gadget competitors may have to rethink their pricing strategies now that Fitbit has unveiled two new devices for the season. Following Fitbit’s premier gadget, the Fitbit Ultra, the company is now releasing the One and Zip — both updated to run with Bluetooth 4.0 support so you can wirelessly sync with the latest smartphone models such as the iPhone 4S/5 and Samsung Galaxy S3.

The Fitbit One, the more expensive of the two, is meant to be a major improvement and replacement over the Ultra. The One has a slightly curvier design and contains a clip that holds securely to your clothes to make sure you don’t misplace your pricey gear. It integrates a vibrating silence alarm to wake you up without disturbing your partner. Like the Ultra, the One not only follows the walk, steps, and calories burned in a day but also doubles as a sleep tracker to note the times you fall asleep and when you wake up. In a single charge, the One’s battery reportedly lasts between five to seven days with a battery indicator right on the LED screen. You can currently pre-order the device at $100 in your choice of Black or Burgundy colors, with a shipment date of around mid-October.

If $100 seems like to much to fork over at the moment, Fitbit will also offer a budget alternative. The Fitbit Zip is a $60 version that offers the basic fitness tracking functionalities as the One, just sans-sleep tracking and vibrating alarm. The tiny gadget (which looks a bit like a Tamagotchi toy — remember those?) also measures to just about the size of a quarter, and uses a replaceable battery so USB ports here. Fitbit estimates that the Zip’s battery will last approximately six months.

The Fitbit Zip is available in five colors — magenta, lime, blue, charcoal, and white — and features a plastic, water-resistant body perfect for those wearing this during sweaty workouts. The device also connects to an online Fitbit account to keep track of your fitness activities online. When used in conjunction with the refreshed iOS and Android app, you can cheer on your Fitbit friends’ activities and view a leaderboard of who’s burning the most calories or losing the most weight. Like all previous Fitbit accessories, the accompanying online account offers gamified rewards such as badges for achieving certain weight loss goals. The Fitbit Zip is up for purchase today at the Fitbit official site.

Will the devices stack up to the likes of its competitors, such as the increasingly popular Nike+ Fuelband? Only time will tell.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com