Fitbit officially unveils activity trackers Charge, Charge HR, and Surge

By Aditi Pai
05:48 am
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Fitbit Suge Fitbit Charge Fitbit Charge HRJust a week after news leaked about activity tracker maker Fitbit's next generation of devices, the company has announced its three new trackers -- Charge, Charge HR, and Surge.

The trackers will monitor everything the Fitbit Force tracked: steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, and sleep. One new feature which wasn't revealed in the leaks is that the devices will now offer automatic sleep detection so that users can monitor motion throughout the night as well as sleep and wake times. All three devices will also include caller ID, a feature that was supposed to be added to the Force last February. When someone calls the user's smartphone, the wristband will vibrate and show the caller's name or number, but only when a smartphone is nearby. 

In addition to these base features, which will be available on all devices, Charge HR offers continuous heart rate tracking and will monitor resting heart rate and heart rate trends -- no chest strap required.

Fitbit's most advanced new tracker, Surge, will contain eight sensors -- 3-axis accelerometers, a gyroscope, a compass, an ambient light sensor, GPS and a heart rate sensor. On top of the features available on Charge and Charge HR, Surge also offers multi-sport identification, which means it will pinpoint when users are running, cross-training or doing another type of workout. From there, users can access summaries that analyze their workout intensity based on heart rate and calories burned.

Fitbit Charge will cost $129.95, Charge HR will cost $149.95, and Surge will cost $249.95. Charge and Charge HR prices are lower than the leaked documents showed. While Charge's battery life is a week, Charge HR and Surge are expected to last up to five days, which is longer than anticipated based on information from the recent leaks.

Charge is available now and Fitbit expects Charge HR and Surge to be available early next year.

The company also added motivational features to its app. Now users can compete in challenges with their friends and family to complete goals. According to Fitbit, users who have a Windows Phone can also take advantage of Cortana, Microsoft’s intelligent personal assistant, to track food and log workouts using voice control.

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