Misfit Wearables (Redwood City, California) has announced their first product, a wireless fitness tracker called the Shine. But don’t let the company’s name fool you. The Shine is a tiny, all-metal disc dotted with a halo of invisible status lights that can probably fit in with any style of clothing you’re wearing (or any Apple product, at least). Measuring a bit larger than a U.S. quarter coin and weighing slightly less than two of them, the Shine is forged from a single piece of super strong aircraft-grade aluminum.
The insides aren’t too shabby either. The Shine uses proprietary algorithms to track your steps, bike pedals, and swim strokes (Yes, it’s waterproof!). You check your progress by simply tapping on the Shine, activating the halo of lights that instantly shows you how close you are to reaching your daily fitness goal. Power is provided through a coin cell battery, which Misfit claims will last about six months. Unsurprisingly, the Shine will sync to an iOS app on almost any iOS device, but very interestingly, syncing uses a special technology that doesn’t involve cables, docking stations, or even wireless pairing; all you need to do is place the Shine on your device’s screen (we’re looking into how that actually works).
When the Shine launches in spring 2013, it’ll retail for $99. It comes with a clasp to clip it on your pants, bra, shirt, or shoes, or you can also purchase a sports ($19) or leather ($49) band if you want to wear it around your wrist. Want to get your hands on the Shine a whole month before it hits retail stores in April 2013? You can head over to Misfit’s website and support the Shine through Indiegogo.
More information from Misfit Wearables: Misfit Shine…