Want some style (and e-ink) with your fitness watch?

If so, then you, my friend, are in luck. That’s precisely what the hybrid smart watches from Fossil and Skagen (related brands, if you didn’t know that) are offering you. So, why might you be looking for this?

Well, for starters, any number of smart watches are bringing heart rate sensors to your wrist, whether you’re looking to have it track that just throughout your day, while you’re working out, or even as part of a more comprehensive sleep analysis. Many of those rely on large digital screens, and that’s fine in certain situations. Myself, I like those digital displays when I’m jogging, but maybe you want to be able to track your day with a more discrete look?

That’s where the Fossil Hybrid HR and Skagen Jorn Hybrid HR come in. First off, they’re considered hybrid because they’ve got traditional analog hands spinning over a dial that’s actually the display of the various smartwatch info (and for hybrids, I prefer this much more than hands trying to indicate things on the dial). To help keep the watch flying under the radar, they incorporate e-ink, rather than relying on an LCD or OLED display lighting up. Along with giving you a simpler monochrome backdrop, it also means you’ve got pretty low power consumption (sort of how like your Kindle can last weeks upon weeks, while a tablet needs charging every few days). That’s going to depend in large part on how much your phone is talking to the watch, but they’re estimating you can around 2 weeks between charges.

And yes, both of these watches are truly smart watches – you can get notifications on your wrist, control your music, and all the normal things you’d expect (even have it give you up-to-date weather), including changing the look of the display.

This seems like an interesting option for those who want some HR tracking and modern “smarts” in a watch without going to a full-blown mini computer. The Fossil Hybrid HR range comes in between $175 and $215, while the Skagen versions are all $195. In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for a more in-depth review, as we’ve got a Fossil Hybrid HR Collider coming in for a more in-depth review. fossil.com and skagen.com