After the company was acquired by Fitbit and immediately shut down, many Pebble owners have wondered what will happen to their current watches, such as the Pebble 2, Pebble Time, and more. Now, Pebble has confirmed what will happen, at least in the semi-short term.
After the demise of Pebble last week, many were disappointed to learn that the company’s forthcoming wearables, the Pebble Time 2 and Pebble Core, wouldn’t be hitting the market. Luckily, the company did confirm that backers of those products would be receiving full refunds, or so we thought…
Following several reports over the past few days, both Pebble and Fitbit have officially announced this morning that Fitbit will acquire Pebble’s software assets as the smartwatch maker is dissolved. The acquisition excludes all hardware.
Last week it was revealed that Fitbit was in talks to acquire and subsequently kill off smartwatch maker Pebble, much to the dismay of many Pebble fans. Now, a report from Bloomberg explains that Fitbit’s acquisition will spell the end of the company’s yet-to-be-released new smartwatch, the Pebble Time 2 as well.
According to a number of sources, Fitbit is on the verge of acquiring smartwatch maker Pebble. The deal comes as both companies are facing declining fortunes in the wearable industry. This acquisition will reportedly result in the Pebble brand being phased out.
Fitbit didn’t exactly impress the market when it tried to launch a full-blown smartwatch last month, its stock price falling 11% in response to the idea of the company seemingly attempting to compete with the Apple Watch. It may have better luck with its latest offering, a fashion-oriented fitness band called Alta offering five days of battery-life. The emphasis here is on style, the $130 unit available with both leather bands ($60) and stainless steel bracelet ($100).
The Fitbit Alta will be available for pre-order from tomorrow at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart and other retail sites, with shipping in March or April, depending on configuration.
Via Engadget
FitBit’s Charge HR fitness tracker has become one of the most popular of the company’s offerings in recent months, and now it’s back at just $110 shipped via eBay seller BuyDig (which has 99% positive ratings). That’s $40 off the retail price, and the lowest price we’ve seen…
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Black Friday brought some of the best Google-y deals we’ve seen this year, but the fun’s not over yet. Cyber Monday is now here, and — as usual — there are some great discounts to be found all across the web. We found some of the best Android picks earlier today, but here’s a bigger roundup of some of the best-of-the-best Cyber Monday deals you’ll find. For Google lovers and the not-so-Google lovers alike, you’ll almost surely find something in this roundup worthy of adding to your cart…
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Xiaomi sure knows how to make affordable products that punch above their price point. Whether it’s an Android-powered TV, flagship smartphone or a fitness tracker. The Chinese manufacturer just updated its range of fitness trackers with the second generation Mi Band, and it offers a lot for the money.
The updated Mi Band has many of the features you’d expect to find in a basic FitBit or Jawbone tracker. It’ll help you set goals via an Android app and calculate distance travelled, calories burned and track various exercises. It can track your sleep, and has a built-in vibrator motor to alert you when receiving calls. What’s more, if you manage to pick up the more expensive 99 yuan ($15 USD) model, you’ll get a heart-rate monitor too.
Design-wise, it’s a toned-down affair. It’s essentially a metal capsule containing all the necessary sensors and components inside a basic, flexible TPU wrist-band. No watch-face or screen of any kind, just a few LED lights. Saying that, it’s designed to be waterproof, drop-resistant and can last 30 days on a single charge. In other words: It’s not fancy, but has all the features necessary to be a great phone-connected fitness band and it lasts forever.
The 2nd gen Mi Band is launching in China on November 11, and the company hasn’t announced its plans to ship internationally. However, you should still be able to pick them up on specialist Chinese tech import sites in Europe and the US cheaply. A quick search on eBay reveals that the first gen Mi Band isn’t hard to get hold of, although you may have to pay a couple of dollars extra to get it. The 2nd gen will undoubtedly follow soon.
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Google is giving Ol’ St. Nicholas a run for his money this holiday season because it ALSO knows what people want for the holidays. Rather than getting mail in the North Pole however, Google gets its data via its popular search engine. In data from its Trends platform, it has determined the top trending toys, devices and apparel searches on Google Shopping. An overview from the Commerce blog:
But the most important data they pulled, especially if you are a clueless father like myself, is the top 10 Kids’ gifts list. Without further ado, in order:
3. Paw Patrol
4. Lego Friends
5. Ouija Board
6. Peppa Pig
7. Shopkins
8. Nerf Guns
10. Zoomer Dino
Any of this hitting home?
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Following the release of the Sony Smartwatch 2, the company has now pushed its latest wearable product to the United States market: the Sony SmartBand SWR10 (via Android Central). The device may look familiar if you’re a Fitbit user, and that’s because it basically does the same thing. The device features an accelerometer for tracking your steps, LED and vibration alerts for phone notifications, controls for media, and an app that works only with Android.
This Lifelog Android app is where the true functionality of this device comes, however:
Lifelog collects data from both the SmartBand and your smartphone to tell a broader story of what happens in your life — fitness, location, weather, photos, music, personal notes (life bookmarks) and more. Lifelog displays the information in a colorful, versatile interface that helps you reflect on what you did each day and set goals for the future. Lifelog displays your activity in a colorful, multi-faceted interface that lets you view your information in various ways.
You can get the SmartBand SWR10 straight from Sony for $99.99, and it comes with the removable main unit as well as two wristbands of different sizes. Alternatively, you can purchase the device on Amazon for $10 less, at $89.99.
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