Fitbit’s New Charge HR and Surge Exercise Trackers Begin Shipping Today
The $250 Surge exercise band. (Courtesy of Fitbit)
Just in time to help you tackle your New Year’s resolutions, Fitbit will ship its latest line of smart exercise bands.
The fitness company announced the official release of the new $150 Charge HR and $250 Surge on Tuesday morning.
Originally revealed in October of last year, the Charge HR provides all the tracking features of your average exercise band (steps and sleep), in addition to a heart-rate monitor. The $250 Surge, on the other hand, is a tricked-out smartwatch competitor, with all that and a compass, GPS, an altimeter to track your floors climbed, and a much larger screen.
Both gadgets are designed to receive alerts for calls and texts, filtered in from your smartphone.
The $130 Charge HR. (Courtesy of Fitbit)
This release comes after the 2014 debut of the Fitbit Charge, a $130 exercise band that tracks your steps and sleep and — if you’re as unlucky as me and a few others — gives you a mild rash.
In February 2014, Fitbit was forced to recall its previous line of Force exercise bands due to numerous complaints of rash outbreaks among its owners. After revamping its testing system and reducing the levels of nickel in its bands, it released the Charge and Surge lines.
However, as I mentioned above, the Charge that I reviewed almost immediately caused irritation on my skin. Fitbit attributed this to my supposed lack of hygienic upkeep. But other Charge owners have been complaining of similar symptoms on social media.
According to Fitbit, the Charge HR and Surge are not made of the same stuff, but — as the company’s press representative told me at the time — “the materials we chose for our new products are a result of our new testing protocols and advanced R&D process.” Those same procedures were used to vet the Charge as well.
But, hey, here’s to hoping that this round of bands will be irritation-free in 2015!
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