Smart gadget specialty firm Withings introduced a fashionable Swiss-made time piece June 24 that doubles as a fitness tracker. The French company billed "Activite" as a chic watch with computing brains to track steps taken, calories burned, distance traveled, and sleep patterns.
Fitness has been a hotspot in the budding trend of wearable computers, with activity monitoring bracelets or pendants such as UP24 and Fitbit finding success in the market. Consumer electronics titans such as Sony, Samsung, and LG have stepped up with smart watches boasting fitness tracking capabilities.
Apple built a Health Kit into the newest version of the software powering iPhones and iPads, adding fuel to rumors that the California Company plans to release a smart watch of its own. "Activite" was created by designers in Paris in a spirit of "reinterpreting classical time pieces." It uses Bluetooth connectivity to synch with Withing Health Mate applications on Apple smartphones or tablets.