On May 28, 2014 Samsung entered the wearable fitness technology market with a new wristband called a Simband. It was developed to give the wearer real time information while exercising. This device is said to be able to monitor your heart rate, body temperature, oxygen levels in the blood, and many other metrics on a constant basis which will give the wearer real time stats.

Ram Fish, Samsung’s Vice President of Digital Health stated that the device contains “optical, acoustic and electronic sensors” which make the technology possible, as well as set the pace for third party developers to create even more innovative technology for the health conscious.

Samsung unveiled the Simbad just as it was rumored that Apple was developing their own wrist band to compete in the popular wrist band technology. The company also stated that they are already working on developing other wearable technology that can be worn on other parts of the body other than the wrist, one being a noninvasive glucose monitoring solution.

The Simbad features a shuttle battery that will recharge the unit for when the wearer is not being active, and it has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities. The wearer will also have access to the information collected by the device in a “bank” that can be accessed online where the data is stored.

With Google and Apple releasing their own wristband devices, many sources feel that Samsung doesn’t have much of a chance in gaining much traction in the wearable technology market. With their own developer conference coming up in November, it will be interesting to see how far they have developed in this area at that time.

With wristband technology becoming more and more popular, it is also expected to continue. The gadgets are increasing in sales, and expected to triple in sales over the next five years. The look and feel of the devices need a little work to be more appealing, especially to women, but developers are working on making them sleeker along with more fashionable options. Also, with the life expectancy of one of these trackers is two to three years, it leaves a lot of room for new players