Finally, a style-savvy saviour has ridden in on a fashionable steed to save us from the clutter of tedious fitness gadgets.
Meet the Withings Activité (like active, but with your best pan-European accent) - a Swiss-made watch that puts a secret activity tracker up your sleeve.
As well as performing admirably as a normal timepiece (one year battery life, leather strap, waterproof to five metres, it tells the time), the Activité has far more functions than meet the eye. Tap the glass face twice, and the hands will shift to show what time your alarm is set for - even waking you up with a gentle vibration - while in-built Bluetooth allows you to adjust to timezones via your smartphone.
The major tricks revolve around the dial that sits conspicuously on the Activité's pretty face. This is an analogue visualisation of your daily activity, indicating how close you are to meeting your fitness schedule set via the watch's partnering Health Mate app.
By setting your goals via the app (steps taken, sleep duration, swimming strokes, calories burnt etc.), the elegant readout will tell you how close you are to hitting your 100 percent target, as well as delivering small vibrations when individual goals are met.
While none of these features are new to the world of wearable fitness, no other gadget has put this technology in a package as attractive as the Withings Activité. Arriving this autumn for around £230, best make some room on your wrist.
(Images: Withings)
