At CES, HTC has announced a new range of connected health devices with partner Under Armour as a package they’re calling ‘UA HealthBox’.
The UA HealthBox contains three products, the UA Band, UA Heart Rate Monitor and UA Scale, all of which will are designed and built by HTC, but use the Under Armour Record software available for Android and iOS devices through Google Play and the App Store. The UA HealthBox is aimed at removing the barriers and complexity of technology with a simple to set up and easy to use system says HTC.
The UA Band is very much like the HTC Grip which HTC announced at MWC last year, and then pulled late last year. The HTC Grip was quite a nice device, though a little over-priced for what it was offering, though bundled in with a heartrate monitor and connected scale, which appear to be quite well designed could be a winner.
HTC’s description of the products:
UA Band is designed to be worn all-day, every day. It tracks daily activity, workouts and sleep. All day activity capture allows you to set a daily goal and track progress on the band. UA Band utilizes a seamless exterior shell with a display that is discreetly hidden under an outer layer allowing the technology to disappear when it is not in use. Designed with athletes in mind, the band offers an advanced workout mode with a display that stays on during the workout, as well as an LED that indicates heart rate zone when paired with UA Heart Rate. UA Band comes in black with a red textured underside to allow for moisture wicking.
UA Heart Rate is a compact heart rate monitor with an innovative micro snap technology designed to make it undetectable during workouts. The chest strap and removable sensor helps individuals monitor intensity and train smarter. The UA Heart Rate was created to provide an accurate calculation of calories burned. Combined with the UA Record app, UA Heart Rate allows you to customize your heart rate zones.
UA Scale is a beautifully crafted, Wi-Fi enabled scale with an iconic circular design. The scale utilizes a sheet of glass with advanced conductive paint technology that enables weight and body fat percentage readings. The hidden LED display behind the glass makes technology invisible when not in use. The scale can support up to eight users and syncs with the UA Record app for individuals to view trends with weight as part of their overall dashboard. UA Scale comes in black with a red textured underside.
HTC and Under Armour are putting the UA HealthBox up for pre-order today for US$400 in the USA initially, with the intention to make them available on January 22nd. HTC and Under Armour will be bringing the UA HealthBox to other markets in 2016 – which we hope will include Australia. We’ll be talking with HTC about pricing and availability in the future.
