Smartwatches don't seem to be gaining the cultural cachet that Google was hoping they would, but cheaper and more basic fitness monitors continue to do well even among the non-techy crowd. Just ask Fitbit, which is apparently flush enough to buy Pebble lock, stock, and barrel. The company's latest minimalist fitness tracker is the Alta HR, announced today and heading to retailers in April for $149.95. The Alta HR is an upgraded version of the current Alta, which adds a full-time heart rate sensor to the basic design.

Fitbit would really like you to know that the Alta HR is "the world’s slimmest wrist-based, continuous heart rate tracking device," a claim that seems to have a lot of qualifiers slipped in there. The design uses Fitbit's standard bracelet layout with a simple LED screen integrated into a water-resistant strap with swappable fitness and fashion-oriented bands. The Alta HR includes tracking for walking, a host of exercise styles, basic call and text notifications from your connected smartphone, and of course syncing and backup to the Fitbit app and fitness tracker services. In addition to continuous heart rate tracking, the HR has a new focus on sleep tracking with the Sleep Insight system, which recommends adjustments to your workouts based on your sleep and vice versa.

In addition to the standard model, the Alta HR will come in "Special Edition" variants with either black-on-gunmetal or pink-on-rose gold coloring for $180. Standard fitness bands will be $30, more elaborate leather bands will be $60, and the wrist watch-style metal bracelet will set you back a full $100.

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