Eager not to miss out on the fitness wearable craze at CES this year, ZTE has announced the Grand Band. And for anyone confused, this is a fitness accessory. ZTE hasn’t taken a dramatic shift away from tech and toward symphonic orchestras.
The Grand Band is compatible with both Google’s and Apple’s mobile operating systems. Strap it on to your wrist and it’ll count your steps, work out how far you’ve traveled, and the amount of calories burned along the way.
It’s possible to set up alarms to remind you when it’s time for a workout, or just to get moving after sitting down for too long, plus the accompanying app puts you in competition with other Grand Band wearers. An LED display provides at-a-glane details on your performance. An internal 70mAh battery doesn’t sound very big, but the Grand Band’s simplicity should see it last a sensible amount of time (at least a day) before a recharge.
ZTE’s keeping quiet about the remaining features of the Grand Band, but does say it’ll come with Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to your smartphone. At the moment, it’s scheduled for launch in China and will cost the equivalent of $80. That’s reasonable when compared to hardware from Jawbone, Nike, and Fitbit. We’ll be seeing it at CES 2015, and will update here if the Grand Band’s set to get an international release in the future.