Fitbit Blaze with colour touchscreen launched at CES 2016

With a lot of devices being announced in CES 2016, Fitbit too unveiled a smart fitness watch under the smartwatch line. The device has many similar features which are seen in an Apple Watch.

The basic Fitbit Blaze carries an elastomer band and will be available in March 2016, priced at US$199 (AU$283.06). The device also has a sleep stats feature and provides notifications for calendar alerts, calls, music control and texts. It tracks fitness and it supports Windows, iOS and Android platforms.

Fitbit also offers interchangeable elastomer bands which enable the users to change the bands of their watch according to their preference. PhoneDog states that additional elastomer bands cost US$29.95 (AU$42.60) for the basic variant while it also comes in a leather band and steel link band with a price tag of US$99.95 (AU$142.17) and US$129.95 (AU$184.84), respectively. The smart fitness watch is available for pre-sale beginning Jan.5, and from Feb. 20 customers can also go in person to purchase it at Best Buy and pre-order the smartwatch.

"The product is about the balance of fitness and style. While it may look like a smartwatch, we think we've gotten it right. It has a distinct focus on fitness that's why we're calling it a smart fitness watch. It puts fitness first," said co-founder and CEO of Fitbit, James Park, during the CES 2016 press conference.

According to PC advisor, Fitbit Blaze comes with similar features like all-day activity stats which are in previous Fitbit wearable fitness devices. Additionally, the new Fitbit wearable includes GPS for real-time exercise stats and PurePulse wrist-based heart rate tracking. Fitbit partnered with FitStar for an onscreen workout and also arrives with a colour touchscreen.

Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer, claims that the watch has a long battery life that can last up to five days.

Fitbit Charge was launched last year and Park said that the device reached the number one spot in terms of activity tracking device sales in North America, while in terms of GPS tracking watch sales, the Fitbit Surge is at the number one spot, notes TechRepublic.