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Fitbit’s latest Blaze activity tracker/watch has color, 5-day battery and style

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Update (1/6 10:30am): Fitbit Blaze is now available for pre-order from Amazon and Best Buy.

This morning Fitbit took the stage at CES to announce its latest activity tracker. The Fitbit Blaze sits between the Charge HR and Surge trackers in the company’s current product lineup. While it may look a whole lot like many full-blown iOS/Android smartwatches, its main focus is still fitness rather than third-party app complications.

Blaze is the first Fitbit to feature a high-resolution color touchscreen LCD display. It comes with a elastomer band and stainless steel frame, but in a move reminiscent to Apple’s attention to style with its Watch, Fitbit is also offering a wide range of different bands and frames. You can even customize its look even more through a variety of clock faces.

Blaze was designed to help you get in the best shape of your life by offering valuable health data, motivational coaching, and detailed workout instructions with animated images. PurePulse delivers all-day heart rate information that can “help you maintain workout intensity and better track calories burned during each workout” and provide vital data like “resting heart rate and heart rate trends over time.” Other features like Multi-Sport and SmartTrack take the pain out of logging individual workouts. A single charge is estimated to last up to 5-days.

Aside from its fitness tracking abilities, Blaze can also relay call, text and calendar alerts, as well as adjust volume and song selection from your iPhone or Android smartphone.

Fitbit Blaze can be pre-ordered now with a black, blue, or plum band for $199.95 and is expected to be released in March. Looking for a deal on a current generation Fitbit? The Charge is on sale for $89.99 (Reg. $130) and the Charge HR is down to $109.99 (Reg. $150).

Full press releases follows:

Fitbit Blaze Accessories


LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CES – Fitbit (NYSE: FIT), the leader in the connected health and fitness market, today unveiled the Fitbit Blaze™ smart fitness watch, its smartest, most stylish, most motivating fitness tracker yet. The latest addition to Fitbit’s award-winning line of innovative devices, Fitbit Blaze is available today for presale with global retail availability starting in March 2016. Fitbit Blaze is a smart fitness watch built to help you make the most of your workouts, with a versatile design to fit your personal style, and the smart notifications that matter most – all in one sleek timepiece that fits seamlessly into your life:

  • Enhanced fitness features like FitStar™ by Fitbit® on-screen workouts, Connected GPS, PurePulse® heart rate tracking, and SmartTrack™ automatic exercise recognition help motivate and push your fitness further
  • Focus on style featuring a slim design, easily interchangeable bands and frames, and a beautiful, color touchscreen with a variety of clock faces to fit your personal style
  • Curated to fit your life and focused on the features that make tracking your health and fitness easier, Fitbit Blaze includes the smart notifications that matter most, like call, text and calendar alerts, so you can stay connected to what’s important, and a long battery life of up to 5 days allows you to keep up with your life, day and night

“One of the first things we learned in this industry is that fitness is personal – and if something isn’t your style, you won’t wear it,” said James Park, CEO and Co-Founder of Fitbit. “With Fitbit Blaze, we pushed the boundaries of what’s possible to create a beautiful, versatile device that can be customized to fit your personal style – while packing a powerful fitness punch to help you reach your goals. Fitbit Blaze delivers a combination of innovative features that were carefully selected with intention and purpose, designed to motivate and offer a fitness experience that is more effortless and more useful with advanced guidance and coaching.”

Enhanced Fitness Experience

In addition to tracking all of the best all-day activity stats you have come to expect from Fitbit, Fitbit Blaze was built with next-generation features to help you take your workouts to the next level:

  • FitStar Personal Trainer on-screen workouts deliver guided instructions and animated images to three of the most popular personal trainer workouts from FitStar: Warm It Up (8 minutes), 7 Minute Workout, and 10 Minute Abs. Each workout is free and can be accessed at any time with no app or smartphone required, offering a fast, effective workout you can do anywhere.
  • Connected GPS helps you train smarter by delivering real-time exercise stats like distance, pace and minute-mile split times when connected to a smartphone’s GPS. After each workout, stats sync wirelessly to the Fitbit dashboard to let you review your route, speed and elevation in more detail.
  • PurePulse continuous, wrist-based heart rate tracking helps maximize any training routine with simplified heart rate zones to help you maintain workout intensity and better track calories burned during each workout. PurePulse also provides all-day insights into overall health, including resting heart rate and heart rate trends over time, all without an uncomfortable chest strap.
  • Multi-sport mode lets you record specific activities like biking, cardio, running, weights, yoga and more while providing relevant, real-time performance stats to help you get the most out of each workout. PurePulse is enhanced while in Multi-sport mode for even better heart rate tracking, especially during high intensity workouts.
  • SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition automatically recognizes and records continuous movement activities like biking, hiking and running, with general categories for aerobic workouts (i.e., Zumba®, cardio-kickboxing and other dance classes) and sports (i.e., tennis, basketball and soccer). It gives you more ways to stay motivated and get credit for your workouts by effortlessly recording them in the Fitbit app and automatically adding them toward weekly exercise goals.

“As a former professional athlete, nothing gets me more motivated than a great coach,” said Tony Gonzalez, football legend and FitStar Trainer. “FitStar Personal Trainer offers workouts you can do anytime, anywhere, using your computer, tablet or phone and it’s only getting easier, thanks to this new integration with Fitbit Blaze.”

Get Fit in Style – Focus on Fashion and Personalization

Fitbit Blaze is a sleek, versatile timepiece that fits your personal style with:

  • Premium interchangeable bands made from genuine leather, stainless steel and high-performance elastomer to let you design a look that’s extremely personal and a perfect fit – whether at the gym, in the office or out on the town.
  • A unique modular design that allows you to easily remove and insert your tracker into a new frame, so you can wear Fitbit Blaze with style at work and then swap it instantly into a new frame with a workout-friendly wristband. Use the quick release spring bars to switch your bands and change the look of your device in seconds.
  • Fitbit’s first vibrant, high-resolution, color touchscreen and multiple clock faces make the device uniquely yours and distinguishable from others.

Curated Features that Fit Your Life

From the inside out, Fitbit Blaze is a carefully curated experience designed to help you take action without distraction. Each feature was selected with intention and purpose to help you stay connected, maximize your entire day and night, and fit effortlessly into your life:

  • Stay connected with smart notifications you need. Fitbit Blaze features the smartphone notifications you need most instead of being overwhelmed with unnecessary information.
    • Bluetooth® Smart connectivity delivers call, text and calendar notifications through on-screen messages and a vibrating alert, so you can see what matters most at a glance
    • Accept and reject calls directly from Fitbit Blaze when connected to a compatible smartphone
    • Adding motivation to any workout is easy with on-screen controls for playlists and volume when playing music from your connected smartphone
  • Track your night with automatic sleep tracking to know how long and well you sleep, plus set a silent alarm that gently vibrates to wake you.
  • Long battery life of up to 5 days on a single charge lets you live your life and track your exercise, sleep and heart rate day and night, with the confidence you won’t lose a step or miss a beat.
  • Compatible with more than 200 Android, iOS, and Windows mobile devices so you can access stats and motivational interactive tools, which help to motivate millions to achieve their goals within the community of Fitbit users they choose.

Pricing & Availability

Fitbit Blaze is available for $199.95 (U.S.) for presale today at Fitbit.com and tomorrow at major North American retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Brookstone, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s, Sports Authority, Target, and Verizon, with global retail availability starting in March 2016. It will be available with black, blue, and plum bands at introduction, along with a stylish collection of premium accessory bands and frames. A full line of easily interchangeable accessories will be available in a variety of colors and styles with additional accessories coming soon. Accessories available at introduction include:

  • Classic high-performance elastomer bands available in black, blue and plum ($29.95 U.S.)
  • Luxe genuine leather bands paired with stainless steel display frames available in black, mist grey and camel ($99.95 U.S.)
  • Luxe stainless steel link band paired with a stainless steel display frame available in silver ($129.95 U.S.)

Consumers who want to experience Fitbit Blaze in person will be able to do so in advance of in-store retail availability at select Best Buy locations in the United States and Canada. Beginning February 20, visit select Best Buy locations where Best Buy Blue Shirts will be available to assist shoppers with trying on the device with its accessories and to complete a preorder.

ASUS’ new Chromebook C202 is hard to break, easy to fix

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Over the past couple of years the Chromebook market has really taken off, particularly in education, where kids of all ages are being handed Chrome OS-powered laptops to complete work and research on. Part of the draw is that the platform gives users quick and painless access to commonly-used tools and programs in the cloud. The other part is that they are, mostly, very affordable.

Adding to the range of child-friendly Chromebooks already available is ASUS who, this morning, unveiled a brand new rugged notebook. The C202 has been designed specifically to withstand being dropped and to suffer the kinds of abuse kids often inflict on our gadgets. The entire device is wrapped in a durable rubber bumper, has a spill-proof keyboard and scratch-resistant shell.

As well as having an impact-resistant outer shell, the Chromebook also has a hinge which can be rotated 180-degrees. So, even if a child is a little too enthusiastic in opening it up, the C202 will survive. And if it doesn’t, it happens to be very easy to fix.

ASUS kitted out the Chromebook C202 with a modular body held together by regular screws. Its design means you’ll be able to replace parts like the battery, keyboard and power socket without having to send it to someone who has all the right proprietary screwdrivers.

Spec-wise, there’s nothing eye-watering here, it’s a pretty basic low-end Chromebook. The 11.6-inch resolution display has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 and is powered by an Intel Celeron processor paired with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM, combined with the usual 16GB storage. ASUS states it has 10 hours of battery, which normally means you can expect between 6-9 hours depending on usage. It’s also equipped with an HDMI out port, SD card reader and two USB 3.0 ports.

Pricing for the 4GB model will be between $220 and $230 USD when it launches in February.

HTC and Under Armor’s HealthBox combines smart scales, fitness and heart-rate trackers in a single $400 package

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In an effort to get customers entirely absorbed into their ecoystem in one fell swoop, HTC and Under Armor have today announced HealthBox. Although it may sound like the brand-name for some kind of nutritious lunch, it is in fact a system which ties together a smart scale, fitness band and heart-rate monitor with a smartphone app…


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Alcatel OneTouch unveils new Pixi 4 smartphone and tablet range

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Alcatel OneTouch has built something of a name for itself at the affordable end of smartphone and tablet market. This morning at CES 2016, the company announced a brand new range of ultra low-end Pixi 4 phones and tablets, all powered by Android and a dual-core or quad-core processor, but each with a different-sized screen.

Alcatel OneTouch’s latest Pixi range will come with 3.5-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch models, with the last of those being far more like a small tablet than a smartphone.

Although they’re clearly entry-level products, the new Pixi range have been loaded with a number of features to make them attractive to first-time smartphone buyers, or those with lower budgets. The pre-installed Polaroid software lets users design their own collages from photos and add borders and text, while the front-facing flash on the 4-inch and 6-inch models means you can take selfies in the dark. What’s more, the Arkamys optimized speakers means audio shouldn’t be terrible.

You can find the full list of key specs for each model below. No specific release date or pricing has been mentioned for any of the devices.

Pixi 4 (3.5) Specs

  • 3.5-inch HVGA display
  • Dual-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7 processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • 2MP rear camera
  • 0.3MP front camera
  • 4GB storage (expandable)
  • Runs Android 5.1 Lollipop

Pixi 4 (4) Specs

  • 4-inch WVGA display
  • Quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor
  • 512MB/1GB RAM
  • 4GB/8GB storage (expandable)
  • 2MP/5MP rear camera
  • 0.3MP/2MP front camera
  • Android 5.1 Lollipop

Pixi 4 (6) Specs

  • 6-inch 720p IPS display
  • Snapdragon 210 processor, quad-core 1.1GHz
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage (expandable)
  • 8MP rear camera
  • 5Mp front camera
  • LTE connectivity
  • 2,580mAh battery
  • Android 5.1 Lollipop

Pixi 4 (7) Specs

  • 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution
  • 1.1GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage (expandable)
  • 2,580mAh battery
  • GSM/3G networks
  • 2MP rear camera
  • 0.3MP front camera
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow

10-inch Huawei MediaPad M2 Android tablet leaks ahead of launch

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Huawei is expected to have a large presence at CES this year. With its plans to increase its market visibility in the US, the Las Vegas-based trade show is the perfect opportunity to show off its best smartphones and tablets. According to Evan Blass, we should expect to see the MediaPad M2 10 among them.

If a leaked set of renders from SuomiMobiili is anything to go by, this is what the 10-inch tablet will look like:

With its rectangular home button on the bottom bezel, its design is similar to many of Samsung’s Galaxy-branded tablets. From the renders, it appears as though the rear panel is mostly made from metal, with a plastic panel running all the way along one side which plays home to the camera and LED flash, and presumably also acts as a window for the various antennas.

Specification-wise it’s claimed that the tablet will feature a full HD 10.1-inch display, 2GB RAM, Huawei’s Kirin 930 processor, an 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera and either 32GB or 64GB internal storage. US prices aren’t given, but SuomiMobiili expects the 32GB and 64GB models to retail at €349 and €449 respectively in Europe. Roughly converted to dollars, that’s $376 and $484 respectively, although actual pricing will almost certainly differ in the States.

The leak certainly seems official, and Evan Blass has a pretty solid track record, so we’re fairly confident this is legit, but there’s always a chance this isn’t authentic, however small.

LG announces new K7 and K10 mid-range smartphones

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LG has shown its hand at Vegas this year and announced a couple of new mid-tier smartphones for the budget-conscious consumer at CES 2016. LG claims that both of the new devices have been inspired by nature, and are the first to offer the company’s ‘glossy pebble’ design language which is aimed at a younger target market. Both the K10 and K7 run Android and feel premium, according to the company’s press release…


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Lenovo and Acer announce first USB-C monitors, making them ideal for Chromebook Pixel C

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If you have a Chromebook Pixel C and are looking for an external monitor for it, Lenovo and Acer have announced the neatest solutions yet, with a choice of 24-, 25- and 27-inch USB-C monitors.

Lenovo’s ThinkVision X24 Pro is the most basic, with a 1920×1080 resolution starting at $399, with availability in May. Acer’s H7 series monitors offer 2560×1440 resolution in 25- and 27-inch variants, and you’ll be able to get your hands on one of those next month, starting at $499.99.

Finally, Lenovo’s ThinkVision X1 is a 27-inch model offering 3840×2160 resolution, again from May, priced at $799 …


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Lenovo announces ThinkPad 13 Chromebook, high-end notebook with two Type-C ports arriving in June for $399

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Prepare for an influx of announcements from all the major tech companies over the coming days, CES 2016 is well and truly upon us. First out of the blocks is Lenovo who showed off a brand new 13-inch ThinkPad. The ThinkPad 13 will come in both Windows and Chrome OS flavors, and is priced right in the middle of the market…


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Sources: Women’s Huawei Watch variants coming at CES, 2nd gen. model later in 2016

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The Huawei Watch is without a doubt one of the hottest wearables of 2015. The watch made waves this year as one of Huawei’s big breakout product launches in the United States, paired with the Nexus 6P — which is also a hit, widely regarded as the best Nexus phone ever. Now, people familiar with the matter have told 9to5Google that the Chinese company is planning to launch a made-for-women version(s) of the watch at CES 2016, and has already begun development of a second generation watch scheduled for the second half of next year…


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LG’s upcoming speaker systems have built-in Google Cast support, will launch at CES 2016

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LG has unveiled a new range of audio products for both home entertainment and for parties. As Google fans, it’s the home entertainment range we’re most interested in, and that’s because the company’s new sound bar systems include baked-in support for Google Cast. The SH8, SH7 and SH6 sound bars will be shown off in more depth at CES next month, and come with a boatload of wireless connectivity options…


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