14 DAY TRIAL // You might remember the Fitbit Force had to be recalled after several customers complained of some pesky rashes caused by the band.
Nevertheless, the company behind the wearable is looking to put these dark times behind it and in order to do so, it is actively focusing on the future.
Now, new information coming via Dave Zatz, who stumbled upon some US Trademark listings for recent Fitbit applications, indicates that next-generation devices are being prepped as we speak. As a matter of fact, we already know their names, they are the Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Charge and PurePulse and one of them is a fitness tracker with a heart rate attached to it.
It seems that Fitbit’s vision of wearables implies people having more than one device at their disposal, one being used for exercising purposes, while the other would be used casually.
Anyway, going back to the three upcoming products, the filings might not show the exact functionalities that the wearables will arrive with because companies tend to add functions indiscriminately when it comes to trademarks.
It’s interesting to note that the PurePulse doesn't bare the Fitbit branding, which is a very good indicator that the company is planning to launch a new, distinct line of wearable products.
But what exactly is the PurePulse? Well, it appears that this is a wrist-based sensor equipped with an optical heart rate monitor that will display time, date, heart rate, calories burned, activity, intensity and exertion. So another fitness-centric tracker.
Moving along, the Fitbit Surge seems to be focused on a particular niche of users, more specifically runners. With this purpose in mind, the Surge bundles the necessary system so that it can provide info related to wind speed and other weather data.
The device has a screen, pedometer, altimeter, heart rate and the capability to show global positioning, direction, distance and so on.
The Fitbit Surge will also borrow some smartwatch features, so it will be capable of displaying notifications for incoming calls and messages and will also track sleep cycles.
Last but not least, the Fitbit Charge is the base model from all the three, lacking the atmospheric and global positioning functions. Like the Surge, the Charge can be considered part smartwatch, part fitness band, relaying calls or messages and keeping tabs on sleep periods.
Albeit having to pull its Force band from sale back in February, Fitbit managed to sell a whopping 2.7 million wearables in Q1 2014, taking control of 50% of the market. And with the new models incoming, Fitbit will have a chance to make things better, once again.