HTC Grip won't be shipping after all

It looks like the HTC Grip, at least in the form we saw it back in March in Barcelona at MWC, won't be hitting the shops this year after all.

The word from the Taiwanese mobile giant is that it wants to "refine [its] vision and approach to the health and fitness category" and "offer best-in-class products for our customers and partners".

That's marketing speak for, "We're not happy with what we've got, we're going to go back to the drawing board."

Read this: The best fitness trackers on sale now

The good news is that HTC hasn't given up the wearable ghost entirely. It plans to release a health and fitness product portfolio later this year, one an all-new Grip will be part of.

There is also the company's meaty partnership with Under Armour too, don't forget. The sports apparel company purchased Endomondo and MyFitnessPal in February, adding them to its MapMyFitness platform to create the "world's largest digital health and fitness community" with an estimated 120 million users.

Could it be that the Grip wasn't quite to Under Armour's standards?

A HTC wearable did show up at the FCC recently, to get its Bluetooth certification, so it could be that the revamped device is already in production or that a sharp u-turn has been made.

The Grip is a fitness band, rather than a smartwatch, and was set to take on the likes of the Fitbit Charge HR and the Microsoft Band in the activity tracking market.

In terms of design the HTC Grip is very Nike Fuelband-esque, but trumps its lookalike by packing a curved 1.8-inch 32 x 160 PMOLED touchscreen.

It was all set for a spring release, priced up at $199. We will, of course, keep you updated with any developments.