The Razer Nabu is another fitness tracker to launch at CES 2014 to challenge Nike and Fitbit, but with a smartwatch twist.
Razer has launched the Nabu as a fitness tracker with two notifications screens to bring your wellness data and smartphone notifications to you in one go.
There’s a larger notifications screen to show alerts, and you can shake your wrist for the notification to go away. Flip your wrist over though and there’s a private notifications screen that presents more detailed information about your incoming messages and other activities.
“We are calling it a cross between a smartwatch and a fitness band. It’s a wearable device focused on helping you live smarter”, said Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan.
The Nabu tracks a host of fitness data too, including the amount of steps walked, distance travelled and monitors your sleep quality.
“Smartphones have become indispensable gadgets,” he says. “Now everyone wants to take a step even further. They are comfortable wearing technology and incorporating into their daily lives.”
Along with Bluetooth 4.0 LE connectivity and a suggested 7-10 battery life, the Nabu has an accelerometer, altimeter and cylindrical vibration motor.
It isn’t waterproof, but Razer says it is rain and splash proof.
If you meet another Nabu owner, you can also exchange data with a handshake which is an interesting feature that we expect we’d never use.
Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, RunKeeper and FourSquare are expected to become available for the Nabu before it launches on the mass market.
Currently the Razer Nabu is available only to developers for $49 (£30). It will become generally available in March, but Tan suggests it will probably be more expensive when it launches.
Read more: Nike Plus FuelBand SE review
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
