Once upon a time, Intel wanted to establish itself as the go-to chipmaker for wearables. What's more, the company bought the pioneering fitness band company Basis -- its first consumer-facing business in a very long time. Now comes word that Intel has finally and officially killed its wearables business. In truth, it was a long time coming. Intel rarely talks about internal … [Read more...]
Misfit Moves to Full Display, Away from Intel/Google: CES
Misfit, one of the grand old brands in consumer wearables, had a couple of surprises at CES; one obvious, the other less so. The obvious one was the unveiling of its Vapor smartwatch, which abandons Misfit's signature design language. From the first, Misfits trackers have been small aluminum disks (or later, tubes) with only subtle LEDs as indicators and year-long battery … [Read more...]
Misfit Trades the Disc for the Tube with Its New Ray Tracker: CES Day -1
For all the product variations from tracker company Misfit, the core product has always been in the shape of a disc. Until now. At CES, Misfit, recently acquired by the Fossil Group, introduced the Ray -- a 12mm by 38mm aluminum tube. It performs the same function as the flagship Shine 2, but with a tubular form and a single multi-color LED instead of a flat disc with a … [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...]
Samsung Drops Out of Top Five Fitness Tracker List, says IDC
IDC's 3Q15 wearables figures are out, and Fitbit is the big winner while Samsung the big loser. The market research firm says Fitbit sold 4.7 million devices in the third quarter, twice as many as it sold in the same period last year. It accounts for 22.2 percent of the global market. Apple, IDC said, sold 3.9 million Apple Watches, for 18.6 percent of the market. It was … [Read more...]
What the Misfit Purchase Means for Wearables Startups
Misfit, which began life as a Kickstarter and became one of the best known wearables companies, was bought yesterday by a big public watch company for $230 million. That was probably its best possible end as an independent company. Misfit, over its four years of life, had raised $63 million in three rounds of funding. The products are beautiful and have a loyal following. … [Read more...]
Misfit Acquired by Fossil Group for $260 Million
Misfit, the pioneering maker of sleek activity trackers that couldn't break through once bigger brands entered the market, has been sold to one of those bigger brands, the Wall Street Journal reports Fossil Group has agreed to acquire Misfit for $260 million. The company, founded by Sonny Vu and which counted former Apple CEO John Scully on its board, was best know for its … [Read more...]
Misfit Puts New Polish on Shine Wearables
Misfit, maker of the unobtrusive Shine fitness tracker, is freshening its flagship product with the Shine 2 -- smaller, with color LEDs and haptic feedback, and incorporating the control functions that the company's been rolling out with other products. The Shine 2 is 8mm thick at the center and about 3mm thick at the edge; the bad news is that it won't fit any accessories … [Read more...]
Misfit and Speedo Get Into the Swim
Not a lot of lightweight fitness trackers are built for swimming, water and electronics being natural enemies, but Misfit and Speedo have teamed up to sell the Speedo Shine. Priced at $80 and available September 1, the Speedo edition of the well-known Shine will count pool laps and distance, and connect with Speedo's smartphone app. Like all Shines, the Speedo version will … [Read more...]
CES: Misfit Gets the Swarovski Crystal Treatment
What fitness trackers apparently need is some bling, and Misfit and Swarovski will give it to you. The companies announced today a new line of Swarovski Shines: a clear crystal model and a violet one that can do solar charging. (Misfit Shines, it should be noted, use watch batteries and run for the best part of a year.) You can pre-order now at misfit.com; retail sales … [Read more...]