The fitness clothing maker Under Armour, already into the software business with its purchase of MyFitnessPal and Endomondo, is diving into the hardware business with a Healthbox suite of connected devices. Healthbox, developed with HTC (better known for its cellphones) comprises a band, a heart rate monitor, and scale, and is available for preorder for $400. (HTC previously … [Read more...]
Garmin Goes Tactical With New Tactix Bravo: CES Day -1
Garmin has done a great job segmenting the fitness band market from the most casual user to the most ambitious. At CES, it's debuting a device for the most hard-core audience yet: the tactix Bravo, a rugged device with a scratch proof screen and a display optimized for night-vision goggles. The tactix Bravo comes with "specialized software optimized for both aerial and land … [Read more...]
Misfit Introduces Foot-Worn Cycling Tracker
Few, if any, inexpensive fitness trackers can deal with cycling. Vigorous as it might be, cycling just doesn't involve the arms, which is where most trackers live. Misfit's figured it out: put the tracker on your foot, which does move. Oh, duh. The Misfit Flash Cyclist Edition puts one of Misfit's signature tracker buttons in a clip that mounts on your shoe. For $50, you … [Read more...]
JAMA Says Fitbit Makes The Most Accurate Fitness Tracker, But It’s Not The One You Think
The apparent inaccuracy of wearable fitness trackers has long bugged us, but we had been unable to put real scientific numbers to it. Fortunately, there are real researchers in the world, and they've established scientifically that most of the step-counting data you get from trackers is pretty bad. A letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association -- as mainstream … [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...]
Fitbit for Dogs, But Where’s the Geo Capability?
We should probably state right at the start at we at Wearable Tech Insider are not particularly dog people, although we totally respect those who are. And so it would be wrong for us to make fun of a product like Whistle, which is a fitness tracker for Fido (an uncommon name with an interesting history that you probably don't know. But we digress...). Whistle does what … [Read more...]
American Ownership of Wearable Fitness Devices Tripled in 2013
The Consumer Electronic Association -- the folks who put on the massive International CES show -- put out a survey last week showing that three times as many Americans wear wearable fitness devices than they did a year ago, and that 10 percent of adults plan to buy one. Overall, Americans spent $854 million on fitness and activity trackers in 2013, 32 percent more than in … [Read more...]
Open Source Wristwear: the Angel
Hardware is expensive to develop; software is cheap. That's why the Angel sensor, an open source fitness band, has the potential for being extremely important. The Angel is raising money on Indiegogo, and (as of this writing) has raised more than $200,000 of its original $100,000 goal, with 9 days to go. So the thing is a hit. Or, at least, there'll be enough money to get … [Read more...]