Welcome Blaze to the Fitbit Family

[Aikhme]

Exciting times ahead with the introduction of the new Fitbit Blaze.

Looks like a very interesting product but not sure what to make of it.

[Julia_G]

I don't know about cadence for cyclists, but runners will have pace.

[11butterscotch]

I think your's is a relevant obervation of one of the issues Fitbit currently has with release of the  Blaze - they've muddied the target demographics for their products.  I've read all the posts and I mostly see people trying to fit theirselves into a demographic for which they believe the product is made, me included, and making assertions for what they believe their demographic wants out of a product yet fails to see in the only new product released at CES.  If Fitbit had released a potential line-up of products to fit the needs of 1) get-off-the-couch potatoeheads 2) daily fitness maintenenance folks, 3) weekend warriors, 4) competitive athletes 5) lifestyle conscious ... or some variant of that ...  then I think many voices, myself included, and financial market particularly, would have been quite pleased even if not available until mid year or so.

[MikeS1971]

@MikeF,

I'm sure your response wasn't directed to me as well, but I will add a little something.

While I stated the reasons for my disappointment in the new product by FitBit, I didn’t just leave it there like so many people do. I then went on to add a small list of things that would make great additions for a new product or to make the current product better and/or more desirable. 

If we as customers just stand by and blow sunshine and rainbows up FitBits rear, how will they know what a segment of their customer base would like? I'm just one person. What if there are hundreds or thousands of people like me who want something similar? I'm pretty sure FitBit would want to know that. It would mean a lot more money in their pockets. I'm really hoping there is something in the works that is a step above the Surge.

If FitBit had a product that was basically the Surge with a large color screen, replaceable wristbands and with more accurate heart rate and sleep tracking technology, I'd be in the online FitBit store right now entering my credit card information. Honestly, that’s what I thought it was when I saw the picture of the Blaze while browsing on my phone. I got excited and immediately went to my computer to see what it was all about and hopefully purchase one. I'm ready to move up from the Charge HR and beyond the Surge and I'm really hoping that something like what I mentioned is coming next.

[MikeF]

Where does this Lifestyle name come from? Is it something you've invented? I've never heard it before and don't really see why you're so insistent that the rest of us need to buy into it?

[11butterscotch]

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@Julia_G wrote:
I don't know about cadence for cyclists, but runners will have pace.

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You're funny. Yes, but with a carried, connected phone. That's the unfortunate point that our whole back and forth has been about and it's funny to see the issue blithely swept under the carpet with your statement. It is what it is.  You'll have pace.  I and many runners won't because we don't carry our phones. I'll bet there are more recreational runners who carry phones than athletic runners who don't and that is evidently the target market.  My ONLY point in all of this is that when I heard high-end fitness focused, I presumed (wrongly) that that meant Blaze had moved up the fitness chain to cater to more serious runners. My bad.

[Michael]

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@MikeS1971 wrote:

If we as customers just stand by and blow sunshine and rainbows up FitBits rear, how will they know what a segment of their customer base would like? I'm just one person. What if there are hundreds or thousands of people like me who want something similar? I'm pretty sure FitBit would want to know that. It would mean a lot more money in their pockets. I'm really hoping there is something in the works that is a step above the Surge.

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@MikeS1971 That is what the Feature Request section of the Community site is for. It is where you can share ideas and vote for other people's ideas. Though it seems like very few people actually vote for items. (And even fewer people bother to search for and vote for an existing idea, they just post another copy of the same thing that other people have already posted which just ends up diluting the vote count.)

[11butterscotch]

Lifestyle is a category of the wearable device market, think Apple. 

[MikeF]

We're going round in circles here I think. I know that's what you think but it's not a distinction I recognise in this case, hence the question. Just because the Blaze serves a different market to the Surge (potentially) doesn't mean that it needs a different category created for it. If I think Apple then these days I also think apps which we're definitely not talking with the Blaze by all accounts.i grant that it's a tracker aimed at more 'casual' users (I'm creating labels now!) but I still identify it as a fitness device.

[11butterscotch]

In an earlier post I aknowledged that Fitbit Blaze is trying to focus on the fitness market, and my point is that   some feature/function decisions seem to reflect more emphasis on style perhaps at the expense of fitness.

Here is a list of the categories at the upcoming international wearables technologies conference in Barcelona:

http://www.wearable-technologies.com/innovation-worldcup/categories/

[MatthewFitbit]

Hi everyone! Here are our answers to all the most recent questions:

@jbrian00 Blaze uses the same PurePulse heart-rate technology as Charge HR and Surge. It does contain software improvements, similar to what was recently released on Surge and Charge HR to improve HR accuracy.

@SunsetRunner 

1. Yes, Blaze has a cycling mode. Similar to the one on Surge, it displays real-time data on the display via Connected GPS.
2. I'm not sure I fully understand your second question, but Blaze GPS will function extremely similarly to Surge - it just uses your phone's GPS instead of an on-board system. I'll be happy to provide more info here if I haven't answered your question fully - just let me know.
3. Blaze has a number of varied clock faces, and some of them do show stats like heart-rate and steps alongside the clock. In order to maximize battery life, there is not currently an option to leave the screen on persistently - however, it will remember which stat you choose to display, and will show it any time you bring up the clock. So if HR is the most important to you, it's always a wrist-glance away.

@Yeepers @MikeS1971 If on-board GPS is important, it sounds like Surge is the better tracker for you. However, Blaze will feature Connected GPS, offering similar functionality via your phone's connection.

@Vitacit The main difference between a Connected GPS exercise and MobileRun is indeed the ability to see real-time data during the activity.

[Michael]

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@11butterscotch wrote:

Here is a list of the categories at the upcoming international wearables technologies conference in Barcelona:

http://www.wearable-technologies.com/innovation-worldcup/categories/

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@11butterscotch From looking at that list, and the descriptions, that seem to classify all of the Fitbits, including the Blaze, squarely in the "Sports & Fitness" category not the "Gaming & Lifestyle" category.

[Julia_G]

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@11butterscotch wrote:

Not a weight issue, a convenience issue.  Runners want pace shown at the wrist with everything else.

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@11butterscotch , I understood you to say that the problem wasn't that you had to carry your phone; the problem was that you want the info on your wrist.  I was just letting you know that the info would be available there.  But I am always glad when people find me funny!

[Yeepers]

@MatthewFitbit  Yeah...I already own the Surge. Was hoping this was going to be the next step up.  Too bad.

[11butterscotch]

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@Michael wrote:

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@11butterscotch From looking at that list, and the descriptions, that seem to classify all of the Fitbits, including the Blaze, squarely in the "Sports & Fitness" category not the "Gaming & Lifestyle" category.

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Michael, another poster wasn't aware of wearable catagories.  Fitbit is in the fitness category, just less so that I would like and less so than the brands that their products compete against.  Not quite squarely, by the way.  Notification, music controls, and fashion design are all more lifestyle implementations. I'm sorry there are people who do not follow hence do not study the overall market.

[SunsetRunner]

@MatthewFitbit thank you for the responses- I appreciate it.

The Blaze gets pretty close to what I'm looking for in my next device. I like the functionality of the surge, but don't really like wearing it 23 hours a day. The Blaze looks like it will fit under shirt cuffs and feel more at home in more situations.

I carry my phone when I hike- and cycle much more than I run (with my phone)- so the GPS trade off is fine for me.

For others, I bet it learns your stride with GPS and uses this for pace when you are not with your phone. (@matthewfitbit can you confirm?) yes this isn't hardcore accurate but fits what I need in an all day device.

I appreciate this direction from Fitbit and am thinking about a preorder. If they had included a few apps (Starbucks payment app and weather would be great) or had included more advanced sensors for sleep phase analysis (body temp and GSR) I would have already ordered.

[ErickFitbit]

@SunsetRunnerBlaze is definitely very stylish and flexible to wear for any situation whether it is at the gym or on a dinner date. 

When using the connected GPS, your pace will be calculated based off of the GPS distance.

Thanks for your suggestion in regards to adding 3rd party apps and deeper sleep analysis sensors. I will make sure that your feedback reaches the appropriate team.

[matt9013]

Not to familiar with how Fitbit release's products but do they release a new tracker every year? I just got a Surge for Christmas so I'll be sitting out on the Blaze for awhile now at least but should I expect a new tracker next March? Blaze 2 or something like that? redesign? extra features that a firmware update can't handle?

[Michael]

Nope, there is no set schedule for when they release new products. (Though the Charge HR and Surge were released late in 2014, so it has been a little over a year.)

[SunsetRunner]

@matt9013

When purchased the Surge from Fitbit and having less than 45 days you may be able to get a refund and get the Blaze instead.

You'd be without a tracker though until the Blaze comes out.

Feel free to check out: Returns and Warranty