Looks like Fitbit is going to up its game by introducing new hardware than mere upgrades and services to stay on top among fitness trackers. According to the report by Dave Zatz, three new terms has show up, Fitbit PurePulse, Surge, and Charge, in the US Patent & Trademark list.
This talks about HRM, Optical HRM which will have a display similar to Force with added capability to display heart rate and other existing feature. It can be used to sync data (wireless ) with devices which could be your computer or a phone. Named as Pure Pulse, it should be completely dedicated for those who are only interested in tracking heart rate on the go.
It’s very close to what Fitbit Force is today but with added features:
- Global positioning,
- Direction,
- Weather information
- Temperature
- Wind speed
- Link to mobile phones to control volume and notify users of incoming calls or messages.
- Heart Rate
- Altimeter
- Pedometer
This is exactly what Fitbit Surge is except that there is no mention of “Location” Feature and Global Positioning. This might be a cheaper version of the Surge.
What do we think about it?
One thing is clear, that Fitbit is coming with new tech for its fitness tracker which will gives users the minimum of what we are seeing currently in the Smartwatches.
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Location Sense
- Weather Information
- Body Temperature
- Link to Smartphones.
Fitness tracker being the least distraction less wearable you can have, these features will make existing users stick to it than move to smartwatches and that what looks the intention of Fitbit from these trademarks. The only thing that is left is pricing. If these can cost less than watches, I am sure many would love to have this.