Business Insider is carrying a very thoughtful and provocative article by Runkeeper CEO Jason Jacobs. Jacobs says that standalone fitness trackers like the Nike FuelBand, the Fitbit Force, or the Misfit Shine, are fads -- and that the future belongs to smartphones and software. The argument -- that consumers consistently bias toward simplicity and not complexity -- is … [Read more...]
Fitbit Force: Wearable Product of the Year — Part 1
The Fitbit Force is the fitness tracker that the earlier Flex should have been: more solid, with an actual (hi-res) screen and a switch that allows for user input. But what puts the Force ahead of its competition (particularly the Nike Fuelband) is its companion software. Where most mass-market wristwear is content to simply track movement, Fitbit's software tries to get at … [Read more...]
Nike & Fitbit Refresh Wristwear
Nike on Tuesday revealed the Fuelband SE, a refresh to the original Fuelband. They're taking orders now for release on November 6. From the looks of it, most of the changes are in software -- a slightly updated look, closer tracking of training and intense exercise intervals, and tweaks to the social aspects. The SE hardware now uses Bluetooth 4.0, to update the iOS app … [Read more...]