14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few weeks before IFA 2014 kick started in Berlin, what appeared to be Lenovo’s first fitness band surfaced on the website of one regulatory agency. Naturally, we assumed the tech giant was going to put the wearable on display at the tradeshow, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
Nevertheless, this doesn't mean Lenovo has dropped its plans while wearables are concerned. That’s not the case at all since the Smartband in question has just been spotted paying a visit at the FCC.
First look at the Lenovo Smartband
The filing reveals a few pictures showing the device, which seems a bit rookie-looking. While we’re not offered a whole lot of details like pricing information or availability details, at least we’re being told what sort of features we should expect the wrist-bound device to sport.
The Lenovo SmartBand is a bracelet with fitness tracking features. It uses Bluetooth support to synchronize with your phone and has a tiny display attached too. It can also be used to showcase the time, but most importantly fitness stats and different reminders.
The SmartBand borrows a few smartwatch capabilities, so it will vibrate or display a text in order to alert you that somebody is calling your phone.
The Lenovo Smartband should have a long battery life
The Lenovo wearable takes advantage of Bluetooth 4.0 and it will apparently be capable of providing a life span of up to 7 days. During this time it can also keep an eye on you sleep pattern and heart rate, estimate how many calories you've burned and count your steps.
Furthermore, it will also send you reminders to keep hydrated, which is extremely important especially if you’re working out all day.
Like many wearables released these days, the SmartBand is IP67 water and dust resistant and can work in concert with devices running Android 4.3 or later or iOS 7 or later.
The fitness bracelet seems to be Lenovo’s answer to products such as the Samsung Gear Fit, Fitbit or Jawbone. As for smartwatches, the world’s biggest PC vendor seems uninterested in the matter, for the time being.
As some point talk about Lenovo building an intelligent timepiece surfaced online and the rumor mill even said the device might end up running Android Wear.
However, no new information surfaced recently, so we have to assume, we’re in for a prolonged wait on this one.
While we wait for the Smartband to go live, we can’t help but notice how plasticky and overall amateurish the upcoming wearable seems to be. We were expecting a lot better from Lenovo.
