Fitbit is one of the leading names in the wearable fitness tracker space… even though the company’s Fitbit Force has been offer the market for months due to a recall after users complained of skin rashes.

Now the company’s launching a new line of devices including updated activity trackers and its first watch. Hopefully none of them will irritate your wrist.

charge hr

As expected, new models include a new activity tracker with a heart rate sensor and a watch which includes GPS, a bigger display, and support for smartphone notifications, among other things.

Fitbit Charge and Fitbit Charge HR

The entry-level trackers are basically this year’s version of the Fitbit Force. You can wear these devices like a bracelet and they’ll track your steps, distance, sleep quality, and other vital stats.

There’s a small OLED display that displays information at a glance, and you can pair the Charge with a smartphone over a Bluetooth connection not only to sync your data with a mobile app, but also to display caller ID information when a call is coming in.

Fitbit promises up to 7 days of battery life fro the Charge and says the device is water resistant up to 1 ATM.

The Charge HR includes a heart rate sensor that can monitor your pulse constantly… but that features takes a slight toll on battery life. This model only gets up to 5 days of run time between charges.

Both models feature a strap made of a new “elastomer” material which presumably won’t give you a rash.

Fitbit is now selling the Charge for $130 and taking pre-orders for the Charge HR for $150 at the Fitbit Store.

Fitbit Surge

The company’s first watch can do everything the Fitbit Charge HR can… but it also has built-in GPS for tracking your route during a run, a bigger screen, and the ability to control music playback on your phone.

fitbit surge_02

The Fitbit Surge has a touchscreen, a digital compass, ambient light sensor, vibration motoro, and 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope.

It’s water resistance up to 5 ATM and offers up to 5 days of battery life.

Fitbit is taking pre-orders for the Surge watch for $250. Sure, you could buy a Sony Smartwatch 3 with GPS and Android Wear for the same price. But you wouldn’t get the heart rate sensor, 5 days of run time, and integration with the Fitbit ecosystem.

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One reply on “Fitbit launches Charge, Charge HR, and Surge fitness trackers”

  1. The battery life on the surge is still too short for me. Any
    watch replacement has got to last at least 30 days. As
    far as the wristbands, they need to have a life of 2
    months minimum. I suspect that these fitness trackers
    will remain a niche product until prices come way down
    and battery life goes way up.

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