Earlier this year, fitbit started refreshing their existing fitness trackers with the the introduction of the Fitbit Alta and Blaze. Today, the company is continuing that refresh with it's two most popular trackers, the Fitbit Flex and Fitbit Charge HR. The two new models are called the Fitbit Flex 2 and Fitbit Charge 2 and they will both be available today for US$ 99 (MYR 450) and US$ 150 (MYR 730) respectively.

Fibit Malaysia says that they will begin offering the Fitbit Charge 2 and Fitbit Flex 2 in Malaysia beginning October 2016 through official retailers.

Announced in 2014, the Fitbit Charge HR quickly became Fitbit's most successful product due to a combination of it's rich feature set and affordable price. The new Fitbit Charge 2 is hoping to to do the same thing and the most noticeable difference is the larger OLED display of the Charge 2 that is not a touchscreen.

The Charge 2 features a similar replaceable band design like the Alta which will ultimately prevent the band issues that Fitibt had with the original Charge HR. In terms of tracking, the Charge 2 still features an optical HR sensor with Fitbit's PurePulse technology and while the Charge 2 still doesn't come with built-in GPS, Fitbit is substituting that with connected GPS which allows the Charge 2 to utilize you smartphone's GPS signal.

Right off the bat, the $99 Fitbit Flex 2 looks a lot like it's predecessor but the main feature this time around is it's waterproofing. The Flex 2 is also slimmer and lighter in contrast to the original Flex. Fitbit is also improving the aesthetics of the Flex 2 with new band color options and the ability to wear the Flex 2 as a necklace or a stylish bangle.

Learn more about the Fitbit Flex 2 and Fitbit Charge 2 here


ORIGINAL SOURCE: FITBIT

Last month, Fitbit announced the Blaze which was the company's first attempt at beautifying their lineup of fitness trackers which are currently still the most popular ones on the market. Continuing on that theme of making fitness trackers look better, Fitbit is announcing the Fitbit Alta today which is essentially a Ftibit Charge that has been slimmed down to the form factor of the Fitbit Flex.

Look out fitness lovers—today marks the launch of our all-new fitness wristband: #FitbitAlta https://t.co/DSMr5pdGfU pic.twitter.com/AM18UpzFOU

— Fitbit (@fitbit) February 3, 2016

Just like the Fitbit Charge series, Fitbit's new Alta tracker also has an OLED display but this time the display is vertical and will be able to display notifications horizontally just like on the Microsoft Band. In terms of features, the new Fitbit Alta comes with basic features like being able to track your steps and automatically track sleep, the Alta also features Fitbit's automatic exercise tracking.

The downside of the Fitbit Alta however is that it doesn't come with a HR sensor but on the upside, the bands on the Fitbit Alta are replaceable. Starting at $129.99 (~RM 550) and available for pre-order today, you can get the classic band in black, plum, teal and blue. But if you want to get a better look out of it, Fitbit is also offering premium band options like a metal or leather option that costs up to $99.95

Learn more about the Fitbit Alta here

ORIGINAL SOURCE: THE VERGE

Just about everyone is going into the wearable market and Huawei subsidiary, Honor which unveiled their first 'smartwatch' late last year says that it'll be coming to Malaysia early next week. The honor Band Z1 is mostly like all the fitness trackers out there, it'll track your steps, track your sleep and just like a fitbit, you'll be able to receive notifications from the iOS or Android device that the device is paired with.

honor Band Z1 Key Specifications:

• 1.06-inch 128x128 OLED display
• Cortex M4 STM32F411 CPU
• 128KB RAM
• 70mAh battery
• iOS/Android
• IP68 certification
• 229.4 x 38 x 9.5mm
• 25g

While this is not a high end wearable like the Huawei Wactch, it does come with a touch OLED display that is not something you see too much in this price point. Usually it's just button and a few simple LEDs. But the honor Band Z1 not only has a circular round display to make it look normal on your hands, the device itself is IP68 certified meaning you can bring it on to a swim and is rated to up to 10 metres of depth.


At just RM 259, the honor Band Z1 sounds like a pretty good deal compared to competing trackers from fitbit and misfit at the same price. Again, the honor Band Z1 will support both iOS and Android and will be offered in three colors which are white, khaki and black. Honor Malaysia will exclusively offer the honor Band Z1 next tuesday which is the 19th of January (2016) through their vmall.my online store at exactly 3.08PM. Probably an auspicious time of the day to start selling a wearable.

Learn more about the honor Band Z1 here

ORIGINAL SOURCE: ZINGGADGET

Apple might be new to the game of wearables but last year alone, the Apple Watch manage to outsell just about every other fitness tracker and smartwatch out there. Fitbit which is the prominent leader in the race is feeling the heat and I think that Apple Watch is the inspiration for the new Fitbit Blaze fitness tracker.

Make no mistake, this is still a fitness tracker deep down and you can't install third party apps or view reply to notifications as the core functionality of the Fitbit Blaze is to track your steps, measure your sleep and track workout. There is a built in HR sensor on the Fitbit Blaze but unlike the Fitbit Surge, the new Blaze does not come with built in GPS.

But what the Fitbit Blaze does come with is a sense of style. The design of Fitbit's new fitness tracker is a lot like those square smartwatches and for the first time ever, Fitbit is also putting a color display onto one of their fitness trackers. Not a fancy OLED display but the Fitbit Blaze does get up to 5 days of battery life with he color LCD display.

In terms of software, you can expect to receive basic notifications on the Fitbit Blaze and the device is compatible with up to 200 iOS, Android and Windows devices. Beyond that, the Blaze also includes integration with FitStar which is an app that provides guided workouts and like all modern Fitbit trackers, the Blaze will also automatically recognize your workout.

For $200, the Fitbit Blaze works exactly like the Fitbit Charge HR but the only difference is in terms of design. Wearing the Blaze doesn't give others the impression that you are wearing a fitness band as the Blaze a sophisticated look and you can even upgrade that look with an optional band that goes up to $130 and ranges from leather straps to metal bands.

The Fitbit Blaze is now available for Pre-order through Fitbit's online store for $199.95 (~ RM 870) and will be available in black, blue and plum.


ORIGINAL SOURCE: FITBIT

Xiaomi, the company which just celebrated their 5th birthday is now the 2nd biggest supplier of wearable device in the market. Introduced about a year ago, the Xiaomi Mi Band is a RM 60 fitness tracker which tracks your steps and sleep.

The low price point and long battery life of the Mi Band indirectly caused a big reaction like all Xioami products. Being priced that low, virtually no other company could put up a wearable device that robust without cutting corners and also dropping profits.

Within the year, IDC's data show that Xiaomi sells even more werables that Garmin, Samsung and long time wearable maker, Jawbone. This is an amazing feat for a company this young. As a whole, Xiaomi has capture nearly 25% of the wearable market and is just behind Fitbit which sold 1 million more than Xiaomi.

SOURCE: IDC