CES 2013: Fitbug launches the Orb, for tracking sleep and activity via iOS

Photo: Engadget

Whatever you do, don't confuse the Fitbug with its similarly titled competitor, the Fitbit -- we accidentally did so at this week's CES Unveiled event, and the company's rep gave us a stern correction. In our defense, it's easy to mix the two up: They obviously sound similar, and they perform similar tasks, both tracking health and calorie consumption via a Bluetooth app. But Fitbug's new Orb unit hopes to do even more than the popular Fitbit -- not only will it track calories burned through the pedometer, but it will also measure sleep (presumably by noting when you're laying down and going inactive).

The Fitbug will hook up with any iOS device, and can deliver data through a continuous stream, set data to be kicked out at certain times or follow your directions through a Push mode. The unit can be worn around the wrist, clipped on or connected to a necklace attachment. The Orb is available now from Fitbug directly, for a price of £45 (or US$73).

The company has also introduced a line of Bluetooth enabled scales this week called the Fitbug Wow, that will also track your progress and share it across to a series of iPhone apps. That information can also be browsed through on the website, to mingle up with whatever data you've collected from the Orb. The scales will be out in March, and can be bought for either £70 or £100 ($114 or $163, respectively), depending on whether you buy the packaged Air activity tracker as well.

Engadget has a gallery of each device here.

There are already a number of solutions out there for activity tracking like this, but Fitbug is throwing its hat into the arena with a passion. We'll have to wait and see, as the year goes on, if one of these solutions can fight its way up to the top.