Tracking stats after a few weeks of wearing the Nabu

After several weeks of using the Razer Nabu and walking close to 100.000 steps we can form an informed opinion on the device. The build quality of the Razer Nabu in its most raw form (being step tracker) is top notch. The Nabu slips on without issue and is secured until you decide to take it off, it sits comfortable around your wrist and even with the display on the underside of your arm we were never concerned about damaging it. And we did try. The extra feature of the Nabu is that display which gives you an idea of the current time and shows you notifications for both iOS and Android. The display is protected with a hard plastic, that does show signs of scratches when put under the microscope; the scratches don't impact the usability and are hard to see with the naked eye.

The display material is made from hard plastic that does scratch, but these are only visible from way up close

Conclusive Thoughts

At the end of the day the decision to use a computer wearable such as the Razer Nabu comes down to personal preference. If the Nabu's only purpose would have been step tracker, we would have had a very hard time recommending it to anyone, the added benefit as pure step tracker over just putting your phone in your pocket is negligible (if there is one at all) seeing as Nabu is not water proof (it is only splashproof). Where the Nabu does shine is in its simplicity to quickly show you the current time as well as notify you of incoming messages from your smartphone (and display them on the small display as good as possible). 

Competitition in "putting smarthphone notifications on your wrist" space is fierce, the Razer Nabu with its €100/$100 price tag doesn't make it clear cut winner. It faces stiff competition from Pebble and similar smart watches (which have more features) and Bluetooth pedometers (which are half the price). Razer tried to set their product apart by featuring a robust and unobtrusive design which favors function over form; which can be considered a plus for gamers and IT minded folks alike. The social features added through the Nabu app make for a nice gimmick but it remains to be seen how useful this can become.

Overall we can commend Razer for bringing out an innovative product which doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, and still provides you with a good line-up of interesting and useful features. 

We like to thank Mark from Axicom and Razer for allowing us to test drive the Nabu smartband.