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Timex releases a fitness tracker for those concerned with form over function


Calling the wearable device a panacea to the unenviable situation where ?a gaudy silicon band can clash with the image you are trying to portray and make people question your judgment,? the IQ+ Move combines the look of Timex?s watches with the rudimentary features of a fitness tracker, including steps, distance, calories burned, and sleep metrics. 

?Wearables are still a relatively new technology, thus the concern over style versus function is not yet something that consumers have become obsessed with,? said Marci Troutman, CEO of Siteminis. ?Although this concern could come into play over the next decade as brands like Timex begin to launch lines of wearables that are much more stylish and start to become functional. 

?Over this next decade consumers will be able to find both and not have to choose between style over functionality.?

IQ+ Move
The smartwatch will be marketed as a unisex product, and will be available in three styles through Best Buy bricks-and-mortar locations, as well as on BestBuy.com. 

Users interested in leveraging the wearable?s full functionality will be required to download Timex?s Timex Connected application in order to track metrics. 


Other features that separate the IQ+ Move from the pack is a traditional watch battery, which means that the device does not require charging, app-based time and date and interchangeable straps for customization?perfect for the style-centric consumer who wants a wearable to augment their lifestyle. 

The IQ+ Move is the second generation of the Timex Connected Collection, the first being 2015?s Timex Metropolitan+. The watch is the first of a number of connected products from Timex that will be launching throughout 2017 that will continue the hybrid trend, featuring enhanced analog functionality that marries technology with Timex?s age-old watchmaking aesthetic.

?Although the Timex brand is just beginning to explore the mix of style and functionality, it's like any other new technology: it will become more sophisticated as the cost of technology becomes more affordable,? Ms. Troutman said. 

Style-conscious
The IQ+ Move is conspicuously feature-light compared to comparably priced models of fitness trackers?such as Fitbit?s Charge 2?that Timex is so hasty to detract from. Where the former boasts only the afore
mentioned basic suite of features, the offering pales in comparison to the latter?s SmartTrack technology, multi-sport capabilities, cardio fitness level tracker, and calendar alerts. 


But perhaps Timex isn?t angling for the workout warrior or the strict utilitarian; the IQ+ Move seems to be more geared towards the aesthete, the individual who wants to leverage some smartwatch features but are not comfortable compromising their personal style for them just yet. Timex?s device comprises a competent middle ground between the two, and, despite its limitations, may foreshadow what the future of wearable the will look like.

?Wearables can't be separated from the mobile market,? Ms. Troutman said. ?They are in a sense both a 'mobile' technology and will become more intertwined as time passes.?