As one of its lesser-heralded announcements at Mobile World Congress this week, Nokia said it would retire the Withings wearables brand this summer, relaunching the products under the Nokia name. Withings has been one of the longer-lasting brands in the wearables and consumer digital health fields. It was bought by Nokia in April of last year for € 175 million. Nokia, … [Read more...]
A Rebooting Nokia Acquires Digital Health Pioneer Withings
Withings, the French digital health company best known for its Pop and Activé smartwatches and its connected scale, is being bought by Nokia for about €170 million, the companies said this morning. Withings will be the basis for a Nokia Digital Health business, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. Nokia, of course, was far and away the … [Read more...]
Runtastic Launches the Moment Smartwatch
Smartwatch Week continues, with the Adidas-owned Runtastic introducing the Moment, its first conventional smartwatch. Though it also sells a heart rate monitor and the Orbit fitness tracker, Runtastic is better known as a leading fitness app developer, claiming 70 million registered users. The Moment looks like an analog watch rather than a tracker. It's aimed squarely at … [Read more...]
CES: Withings Activité Pop Smartwatch
Withings pretty much created a high-price segment for the smartwatch business last year with its $450 Activité watch. At CES, the company has now moved to claim a piece of the value market with a $150 Activité Pop. The original Activité is an elegant timepiece with a dial that tells what percentage of your daily fitness goal you've achieved. The Pop uses essentially the same … [Read more...]
CEA Wearables Innovation Awards Roundup
We wrote the other evening about Qardio's winning a CEA Innovations award for wearable technology. It was not the only one: 18 products were so honored. The way this works is that companies submit products to a panel of high-powered judges in one (or more) of 27 categories. Finalists are named in each category, and the best 15 are showcased as Best of Innovations. No wearable … [Read more...]
Smartwatch Pricing Tier Emerges As Withings Sets $450 Price for Activé Watch
It looks like smartwatches that put a premium on appearance are settling around a pricing neighborhood: $400 to $500. Withings has started taking pre-orders for its Activé watch -- an attractive timepiece that subtly measures your progress to a daily movement goal -- and pegged the price at $450. That's the same neighborhood as the Michael Bastian / HP watch, and in the low … [Read more...]
Withings Introduces the Activité, an Attractive Wrist Wearable
"The problem with fitness trackers," says nearly everyone, "is that they're ugly." Withings responds with the Activité, a remarkably good-looking Swiss watch that hides a fitness tracker. It looks like, well, a nice watch. Round analog face, in black or white, with a leather strap and a stainless steel case. Two hands for the time, and a third hand on a second dial marked … [Read more...]
Walgreens’s Mobile App Connects to Wearables, Rewards Healthy Behavior
People who use Walgreens's iPhone and Android apps have long been able to renew their prescriptions with the app, and the company opened up its API to third parties last year. We're now seeing that the app connects to a wide range of wearable devices -- and the company is paying customers for healthy behaviors. The Walgreens Balance Rewards app will pull data from devices … [Read more...]
Credible Details Emerge on Healthbook, Apple’s Coming Fitness Tracking Software
We tend to be skeptics about pre-release speculation and leaks, but 9to5 Mac appears to have gotten the goods on Healthbook, Apple's entry into the fitness tracking (and, by extension, wearables) business. The article includes extensive clear screenshots which show the direction of the iOS software and, presumably, its companion hardware. Healthbook, which looks a great deal … [Read more...]