Samsung’s S Band, which has been rumored a bit, has finally been announced in Germany. Well for the most part. Samsung quietly showcased the device at an event in Germany without any sort of press release or announcement. Which is a bit odd, but I’m sure we’ll get that later on this week. The kind folks over at Stereopoly got some hands-on time with the new activity tracker and have a video up on YouTube – which is located at the bottom of this post. The new S Band is priced at €79.90 and will be competing with devices like the Jawbone UP, Nike Fuelband, Fitbit Force, Fitbit Flex and others. Some of the functions of this activity tracker include distance traveled, calories consumed, sleep monitoring, and notifying the user of when smartphone paired to the S Band gets an incoming call or message.
The S Band uses Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy or BLE, to pair with the smartphone. It’s also managed using the same app as the Gear Fit. The strap is also removable and interchangeable, and can be replaced for those times when you want to attach it to whatever you may be wearing. There are also five different notification LED colors, and it’s charged via a MicroUSB port. However, you’ll need to remove the strap to charge it, which can get a bit annoying. Samsung states that it’ll offer up to 5 days of battery life. Much better than the Galaxy Gear when it first launched.
This Activity Tracker is already available for pre-order on Amazon Germany at €79.90. Which the S Band seems like a pretty good option for those looking to track their activity. But the question remains, what smartphones will this be compatible with. We’ve seen the Galaxy Gear, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit only be compatible with some Samsung devices, so will the S Band be the same way? I kind of hope not.