Razer, maker of computer peripherals targeted at enthusiasts and gamers, have relaunched its Nabu fitness and activity tracker on the first day of PAX Prime in Seattle. The smart band, akin to offerings from Jawbone, Fitbit, and the discontinued Nike Fuel Band, was originally launched back at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 and since then the company has received a lot of feedback on features that users liked and the aspects that needed to be improved. There were also production problems with the Nabu that resulted in the product’s limited release, and the company eventually moved on to the more affordable Nubu X.
But Razer took in all of that feedback and re-designed the Nabu, and that is what is on offer this time round. Like its peers, the Nabu can track steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and active minutes. The band can also measure the amount of sleep you get each night. This is done automatically, so you don’t need to tap any buttons or enter a special sleep mode like you do with the Jawbone Up2. To wake up you can set the band to gently vibrate.
It also contains a unique band-to-band communication feature that lets two users share contact information and initiate friend requests with a handshake. You will, however, need to find another person that owns a Nabu activity tracker. The tracker features a 128×16-pixel resolution screen to display your activity stats and notifications from an iPhone or Android device. There is a single button on the top of the band that lets you scroll through all of the different data screens. A shaking gesture is used to dismiss notifications. The Nabu also boasts up to six days of battery life and is splashproof.
Razer will start taking pre-orders for the new Nabu from September 15th. The smart band is priced at $99 and shipments will start this October. Razer hasn’t confirmed pricing and availability details for countries other than the United States yet.
