San Francisco-based Qardio, which develops smartphone-connected health tracking devices, has made its QardioBase smart scale and body analyzer available for preorder. The device costs $149.99 and its current estimated ship date is later this month.
"With QardioBase, we wanted to create a scale that belonged in a design magazine -- something you didn't hide in a closet," Qardio CTO Rosario Iannella said in a statement. "We wanted to create a friendly, encouraging, non-judgemental user interface that would offer an experience you would look forward to every morning."
Users can track their weight, BMI, muscle mass, body fat percentage, as well as water and bone composition and sync this data to iOS, Android, and Kindle devices. The scale offers a Smart Feedback mode, which helps users reach health and fitness goals. The device also features a Pregnancy Mode, which helps expectant moms track their weight week-by-week throughout pregnancy.
With all of Qardio's products, the company aims to offer a sleeker alternative to what's already on the market. The company also offers an FDA-cleared connected blood pressure monitor, called QardioArm, which sells for $99.
According to Qardio, the device doesn’t look like a blood pressure monitor, which means users can carry it around in their purse or pocket without drawing attention to it. In fact, developers tried to make it look more like a notebook so that it looks like other items that potential users would carry around in their bag.
Qardio has shown off a third device, called QardioCore, that measures a user’s ECG, heart rate, heart rate variability, levels of physical activity, and variations in body temperature, but that one is not yet available.