Razer leads out-of-shape gamers to fitness bands (video)

LAS VEGAS — Gamers aren’t notorious for being in great physical shape. But they are geeks, and so they might favor the new fitness bands from gamer PC maker Razer.

Razer showed off its Nabu fitness band today at the huge 2014 International CES tech tradeshow.

Jun Shen Chia, the global marketing specialist at Razer, told GamesBeat in an interview that the company has expanded beyond its gamer desktop PC roots. It’s moved into mobile gaming devices, and it’s been doing research into wearable technology for a few years, he said.

The Nabu tracks your steps and tells you the time. The band resembles the Nike+ fitness band, but the Nabu has two small displays. A square 32-pixel screen shows you notifications such as email or calls received.

The larger screen shows text-based notifications and text messages. Like the StreetPass feature on Nintendo’s 3DS handheld gaming console, the Nabu can detect and communication with other Nabu bands nearby. That gamifies your fitness, and that’s where gaming fits in with the mission.

The price will be under $100. Developers can get a band for $50 in the first quarter. The device will be available for iOS and Android.

Here’s my video interview with Chia about the Nabu.