A wrist accessory with a silicon strap has become the latest fashion statement and a must-have for the sporty. We’re talking about the fitness band, which helps to keep track of distance covered, calories burnt and sleep among other things.

According to Canalys, the global wearable band market grew an astonishing 684 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period of 2013.

“Fitbit and Jawbone have very successfully grown and strengthened their relationships with channel partners internationally to grow global shipment volumes. They took first and second place respectively in the basic wearable band market in the first half 2014,’ said Chris Jones, Vice President and Principal Analyst of Canalys.