For the past couple of weeks, I've been wearing a new wearable, and while it looks a little bit like something I've worn before, it's quite different — and a lot more ambitious. No, I'm not talking about some new Android Wear watch but the Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit's first smartwatch and an honest-to-goodness hit.
The reason for its success will inevitably be the five-day battery life which exists despite a very capable operating system, bright LCD display, and plenty of fitness-tracking features.
While the so-called App Gallery will be sparse at launch, with just a handful of apps including Starbucks, Strava, Pandora, and Weather Channel, there will be plenty of others by year's end, thanks to the upcoming Fitbit SDK.
Fitbit Ionic will be available on October 1 at Amazon, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kohl's, Macy's, REI, Target and Verizon for $299.95.
Fitbit is also releasing its first Bluetooth headphones, the Ionic, on the same day. The $129.95 headphones are sweat-proof and highly customizable, and in my short time with them have proven very capable.
