Samsung, while it’s not putting out fires, recently announced that the WELT, the company’s e-belt product, has met its Kickstarter goal and is ready to go to market.
What, one might reasonably ask, is an e-belt? The WELT is basically a fitness tracker in a (men’s) genuine leather belt, with at least one unique feature. Like wrist-based trackers, WELT tracks data such as steps, calories, and how long you sit without breaking a sweat. It has a 20-day battery and a mobile app. But it also has a magnetic sensor in the belt buckle that tracks waist size throughout the day, which Samsung claims is a way of tracking overindulging at the table.
Here’s the thing. Any belt you wear will tell you when you are gaining weight, a condition from which one can confidently infer that he has been overeating. Every time you have to cut a new hole for the buckle, you’re bigger; no electronics required. (The name is a tad inappropriate, too, a “welt” being something you get from belts used aggressively by another party.)
If, as Samsung claims, “waist is the new wrist,” and you want a fitness tracker that you don’t have remember specifically to put on, the WELT is for you. (Or you could get one of the excellent Fitbit belt-mounted trackers.) It is available in different colors (burgundy, light brown, beige, and “morange”) and in waist sizes 28 to 44 inches. You can get it on the Kickstarter page for about another month, and it is expected to ship in January 2017. Prices will range from $99-$199.
