Razer’s Nabu smart band is entering beta soon

Back in January at CES, the gaming-hardware company Razer jumped into the wearable technology race with theirannouncement of the Nabu. When CES ended, the Nabu was something we were eagerly awaiting, but since then news of the wristband has died down. Part of that silence is due to the fact that Razer had to delay a previously announced beta preview of the product to make sure that it was fully hypoallergenic. The last thing Razer wanted to encounter with their new wearable was a situation similar to that which required a recall by Fitbit. Razer is coming back swinging today by announcing an open beta for the Nabu – they are looking for fans of their products to test it for them.

After showing its wearable behind a thick Lucite case, Razer is finally launching its smart band into a limited beta with 500 hardware testers. Razer announced it is selling early versions of its Nabu wearable for just a dollar (about £0.59/AU$1) as part of a hardware beta. Signups for the program start on its website today and there are only 500 open spots so act quick. But don’t think this beta is simply on a first come-first serve basis. The gaming peripheral maker says it only wants the most “hardcore fans” of its brand. Razer also suggested that those who are extremely active on social media like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube would increase their chances to be accepted. After being selected and the device is delivered beta testers will have to give hardware and software feedback to Razer’s engineering team – after all it is a beta test. Razer also announced it has begun shipping a developer edition of the Nabu to programmers. Coupled with the free, open software development kit, coders will be able to build their own applications for the activity-tracking wristband.