Event Coverage

Getting up close with Lenovo’s first wearable, the Vibe Band VB10

By Kenny Yeo - 7 Jan 2015

Getting up close with Lenovo’s first wearable, the Vibe Band VB10

The Vibe Band VB10 is Lenovo's first foray into the wearables space.

Wearables are a big theme at CES 2015 and everywhere you go there’s someone with a new wearable. It may have taken a while, but Lenovo has finally thrown its hat into the ring with its first ever wearable, the Vibe Band VB10.

The Vibe Band VB10 features a 1.43-inch E Ink display with a display resolution of 296 x 128 pixels. Thanks to the E Ink display, the screen will be legible even in strong sunlight. And even with the display being always on, it can go on for 7 days before requiring a recharge. The Vibe Band VB10 is also slightly water resistant. We were told by a Lenovo product manager that although it could be worn during showers, users are advised to remove them prior to swimming.

The watch face is customizable and users can even design their own with an accompanying app.

The E Ink display is not touch-enabled, so these buttons are required to operate the Vibe Band VB10. It is also around 9.5mm thick, which is relatively slim as far as wearable devices go.

The Vibe Band VB10 is compatible with with both Android and iOS devices, and like most wearables in the market now, it is capable of displaying notifications such as calls, SMS, FaceBook, Twitter and more. It also works as an activity tracker and is able to track statistics such as number of steps taken, calories burnt, distance covered and the quality of your sleep. All pretty standard stuff so far, but the Vibe Band VB10 also has a proximity alarm that goes off if user and phone gets too faraway from each other. This is great for forgetful users or even as an alert against pickpockets. Finally, the Vibe Band VB10 will also have customizable watch faces.

The curved case ensures a good and comfortable fit on wrists.

On the wrist, the Vibe Band VB10 wears comfortably thanks to its curved design and rather slim and compact dimensions. Furthermore, we also liked that it is really light, weighing just a scant 30g. As such, we think that users can easily wear this alongside a traditional watch or on the other wrist without looking too silly.

The unit at the exhibition floor were still prototypes so we cannot offer any concrete thoughts about performance and the device's build quality and finish, but switching modes on the Vibe Band VB10 felt a little laggy at this point. And it is also a pity that it is not touch-enabled. That said, the display is pretty sharp and is highly legible even under harsh lights.

However, the Vibe Band VB10 will only be available in China first and is expected to be priced at US$89. Fortunately, Lenovo has said that it will offer the Vibe Band VB10 in other countries if the response in China is good.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.