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When Fitbit launched its first “real” smartwatch, the Ionic, last fall, its target customer was clear. Between the many sensors, Fitbit Coach software, and (literally) edgy design, you could tell the Ionic was made for athletes — or at least those who consider themselves to be one.
Nothing wrong with that, of course, but what about the casual user? There are plenty of people who want to get in better shape, but aren’t so serious about it. One might even think they’re Fitbit’s primary demographic.
Well, rest easy, Jane and Joe Average — Fitbit has you covered with the Versa, a smartwatch meant for everyone. It’s cheaper, slimmer, and has fewer features: Whereas the Ionic has GPS enhanced with Glonass positional tracking, the Versa has only GPS. The Ionic also features Fitbit Pay for wireless payments, whereas that feature is only available in a premium “special edition” Versa (in the U.S., anyway — for global models, every Versa has Fitbit Pay). Read more…
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View More Hands on with the Fitbit Versa, a smartwatch for everyone
It sure seemed like Fitbit was all in on the Ionic. The company’s first true smartwatch was the result of multiple acquisitions and CEO James Park was talking up the device as a sort of lifeline for the struggle company. But the product stumbled for both hardware and software reasons, and the company acknowledged during its earnings call that sales weren’t near what it had hoped.… 
Fitbit, which has increasingly had to fend off competition from devices like the Apple Watch and is increasingly making moves in the healthcare space, still hasn’t seemed to nail things down quite yet as it posted weaker-than-expected financial results for its fourth quarter./https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F702843%2F1a3d18f1-08f0-49e8-9dc8-4e3b98eb112a.png)
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It’s probably little consolation for Pebble devotes who’ve slowly watched the hardware startup sink into oblivion, but Fitbit’s offering up a good will gesture by extending support for the smartwatch’s ecosystem for another six months. Those who’ve been clutching onto their crowdfunded wearable for dear life will be able to keep the product up and running through… 
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If you’ve gotten three apps and a Fitbit so you can get skinnier this year, don’t worry so much about summer beach season or holiday weight gain. Instead, worry about Thursday. Researchers at University of South Carolina found that self-reporting of food was integral to weight loss but that self-reporters often fell off, seemingly around the holidays. “A key question we wanted… 
GoPro, already a beloved camera brand, just couldn’t take flight. The GoPro vision – a little box you can attach to the wing of a plane or your ski helmet and catch unparalleled views of the world – is cloudy now on news that trading halted this morning due to low performance attributed to price slashing, layoffs, and the closing of the company’s nascent drone…