Remember, if you will, to a few months ago when we heard that Lenovo might be working on a smartband, but then we got nothing, just silence, regarding the device’s existence? Well, today the silence broke because the FCC were gracious enough to share the smartband, model SW-B100. We also can thank Lenovo for not requesting a hold on the photos or user manual. So thank you , Lenovo, for sharing. Now, the device. If you don’t feel like looking, here’s a description. It looks almost identical to a FitBit Flex. You’ve probably seen one or ten of these around, since they’re relatively cheap compared to other smart health/fitness accessories nowadays. But, this one, Lenovo’s smartband, packs some interesting functionality into it.
First worth noting is that the user manual says it can pair with either Android or iOS devices, and not just iOS running version 8 (it allows 7) or Kit Kat, Android 4.4 (it requires 4.3 and up). It’s good to see Lenovo not limit themselves and their fitness wearable to one mobile operating system, but it does require Windows 8 for desktop (if it’s not referring to Windows Phone OS,which it very well might be). But it’s good to see a nice looking smartband, especially since it has a unique little display on it for interaction. The SW-B100 has a set of LEDs on the front/top of the device, so it gives you a lit display for showing information and feedback. The sad part is that, according to the user manual, the battery life is only one week, as well as the number of days of data that it keeps on itself. The battery life is a maximum of a week, and then goes to less and less time if you have one of the device’s modes turned on.
The nifty little wearable has the ability to let you know you have an incoming call or text message with its display as well, along with a reminder to work out and one to get back on track with sleeping habits. This should create a nice spot for itself in whichever markets it launches in, including the United States. As of now, we still know nothing of the price or when it might be announced, so sit tight for that information. Would you consider jumping on this nifty thing? If not, why? Should Lenovo have put its developmental efforts towards something more popular than a smartband? Let us know down below.