Fitbit takes over competitor in smartwatch market again

Fitbit has acquired another rival smartwatch maker. The half-English, half-Romanian Vector is acquired for an undisclosed amount by Fitbit, which is based in America.

All work on new hardware and software from Vector will stop immediately. The company’s developers are being absorbed into Fitbit. The company’s smart watches will continue to work and receive the necessary support. The same fate suffered smartwatch maker Pebble less than a month ago. It was rumored to be acquired by Fitbit for 37 million euros.

It’s been just under two years since Vector showed the world its first models of the Vector Watch. Before that, the company had been in existence for two years, but was still working on its products in silence. That writes TechCrunch. Vector is headquartered in London, staffed by former top executives of Fossil and Timex, among others, and developed the smartwatches in Romania.

Vector smartwatches attracted a lot of attention because they could last 30 days on a single battery charge thanks to the e-ink display. In addition, the company was committed to a luxurious design without having to pay a high price. The watches work on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Vector even developed its own OS for the watches and released an api for developers. Fitbit makes wearables with an emphasis on fitness tracking. The company says it does not want to enter the market for luxury smartwatches with this move.