Lenovo is joining the wearable craze. Its new Vibe Band VB10 sports a slim E Ink screen, tracks your activity, and alerts you whenever your smartphone receives notifications.
The Vibe Band’s rectangular E Ink screen measures 1.43-inches and should be easy to read, even in full sunlight. When the band is in sleep mode, the screen remains on with a pixel density of 230 pixels-per-inch, so you can always see the time and other notifications that may pop up. The long, narrow screen makes room for full messages up to 150 characters in length. In many cases, you’ll be able to read an entire text message on the band without ever having to take out your phone.
Lenovo’s Vibe Band will even warn you if you leave your phone somewhere, and lets you silence or dismiss calls when you’re busy. In addition to keeping you up to date on all your notifications, the wearable tracks your steps, calories burned, distance traveled, and your sleep patterns, thanks to built-in accelerometers. It’s also waterproof with an IPX7 rating, meaning that you can submerge the band in 1 meter of water for as long as 30 minutes without causing any damage.
The battery should last up to an entire week and can easily be recharged with a Micro USB charger. So far, the Vibe Band is only compatible with Android smartphones running KitKat 4.4 and up. The device itself sports a metal body and comes with a rubberized strap in a handful of colors. It weighs about 30 grams and should fit most wrists.
Lenovo’s Vibe band VB10 will cost $90 when it goes on sale in April 2015, but it won’t be available outside of the United States.
