Check out our review of the Garmin Vivofit fitness band.
Garmin may have jumped into the wearable fitness tracker market a little late, but it’s trying to make up for that shortcoming with Vivofit – a new tracker that, among other notable features, boasts a battery life of one entire year on replaceable batteries.
Unlike other fitness-tracking wristbands that need to be recharged every 7 to 10 hours, Vivofit uses a low-power e-ink display and two small coin batteries to power itself and track your activity for a full 365 days. As an added bonus, it’s also waterproof, and comes equipped with a heart rate monitor for more accurate activity tracking.
It also works in a slightly different manner than most other fitness bands currently on the market. Rather than simply tracking your progress or translating your general activity into points, Vivofit focuses on goals. It starts by learning your current fitness and activity level, setting that as your baseline, and then gradually setting goals for you that get increasingly difficult as you attain milestones.
Obviously, we haven’t had enough time to test out Vivofit’s battery longevity just yet, but if it lives up to claims, Garmin may very well be able stand out in a market already crowded by big players like Nike, Fitbit, and Jawbone.
The band will come in five different colors – black, purple, teal, blue, and grey – and in two sizes: small or large. According to Garmin, Vivofit will ship in the first quarter of 2014, and will sell for $130. A bundle that includes a heart-rate monitor will be available for $170.
