HTC Grip: HTC and Under Armour Team Up for a (Very Green) Fitness Tracker
HTC is probably most well-known for its well-designed smartphones. But the company behind the beautiful One M8 phone, and recently-announced One M9, is surging into Galaxy Gear and Apple Watch territory with its new HTC Grip fitness tracker.
Under Armour, meanwhile, is probably most well-known for its striking sports apparel and intense television ads featuring very sweaty professional athletes.
What do you get when you put the two together? We have an answer!
HTC and Under Armour have teamed up for the HTC Grip, a new fitness tracker that performs several of the smartphone-based functions of a typical smartwatch.
The Grip cuts a striking, though rather chunky figure. Its neon green and grey color scheme does have the look of a pair of flashy running sneakers rather than your average smartwatch.
A clasp on its underside helps ensure the Grip doesn’t go flying off of your wrist while you’re running or, if you’re like me, furiously stuffing your face with donuts. The Grip will be available in three sizes.
Like the Garmin VivoSmart, the HTC Grip features a touchscreen display, that provides you with all of your most important fitness stats including the number of calories you’ve burned, how many steps you’ve taken, how far you’ve run, and more.
The Grip can also let you choose specific workouts to provide you with a more accurate idea of how you’re performing. For example, you can choose from exercises like indoor and outdoor cycling, walking, sleeping (which is kind of a sport, I guess), running, swimming, and even weightlifting.
Unfortunately, the weightlifting app doesn’t measure how much weight you lift, but rather how many calories you burn while lifting.
The Grip packs a small 100 mAh battery, which HTC says is good for up to 5 hours with the band’s GPS turn on, or 2.5 days of regular use. The device is also waterproof for up to 30 minutes in as much as 3 feet of water
Noticeably absent from the Grip’s features list is a heart rate monitor. According to representatives, HTC decided not to include the feature because it doesn’t think wrist-worn monitors are accurate enough. If you want to check your workout, you can opt to purchase a Bluetooth heart rate monitor that you wrap around your chest.
Beyond its fitness tracking capabilities, the Grip can also receive notifications from your smartphone, like text messages and incoming calls. You can also control music on your phone via the Grip’s on-board music app.
The Grip also includes a calendar app, find my phone feature, and a weather app.
The Grip can be used with Under Armour’s UA Record service. A kind of social network for fitness, UA Record lets you keep track of all of your fitness stats and goals and compare them to other athletes and friends. You can also get updates from professional athletes, trainers, and more.
The Grip hits the market this spring.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+ here.
