Hasta La Gadget!

On Friday an online report claimed that due to significant layoffs at Nike’s digital sports division, the hardware side of FuelBand was going to be shut down. Nike is a prominent company involved in the wearable market so its exit would certainly have attracted headlines. However it appears that the FuelBand isn’t going anywhere, at least for now. The company has confirmed that despite layoffs it is not going to give up on the FuelBand just yet.

In a statement provided to Re/code, a Nike spokesperson said that the FuelBand remains an “important part” of the company’s business, adding that Nike will continue to improve FuelBand App, launch new METALUXE colors as well as sell and support the wearable device itself “for the foreseeable future.” The statement does leave a lot of room open for the possibility that Nike might now launch any new products in the FuelBand lineup, even though it has decided to support existing products.

Sources who spoke with the scribe claim that Nike executives debated for months what to do with the FuelBand division, which is apparently weighing the company down due to high expenses, low margins as well as manufacturing challenges.

One thing is for sure though, even if Nike exists, its not like the FuelBand will leave a hole that won’t be filled. There are already a plethora of activity tracking and fitness related wearable devices on the market. With Apple expected to throw its hat in the ring as well, customers will remain spoilt for choice nonetheless.

Nike FuelBand Isn’t Going Away, For Now

, original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Gadgets, Fuelband, nike, Wearable Tech,

Nike has fired the majority of the team responsible for its FuelBand fitness tracker according to a report from CNET today, which also claims that the company is jettisoning wearable hardware for good. An anonymous source says that roughly 55 employees were let go from Nike’s Digital Sport hardware team, which covers industrial design and engineering for wearables.

Read more…

Nike’s new FuelBand is now out, and following a few weeks of running in parks, walking around exhibition halls and the occasional all-out exercise session, well, I’m pretty tired. Fortunately, I only needed to charge Nike’s new wearable once in my first eight days of use. Indeed, that’s the main benefit to Nike’s Second Edition (SE) FuelBand: thanks to an energy-efficient Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radio, it promises much-improved battery life over its predecessor. When it comes to the physical hardware, however, its appearance has barely changed since 2012, save for three new color options (and a highfalutin’ Rose Gold one). Its fitness-tracking capabilities haven’t changed either, although Nike has promised improvements in accuracy and a better ability to sense when you’re attempting to game the FuelBand.

Beneath the matte black surface, however, there’s been more progress: Nike+, the FuelBand’s companion app, is friendlier than ever, with the ability to group your buddies into separate categories. There are also new hourly reminders to stay active throughout the day and a Sessions feature to monitor activity in a set timeframe. More than ever, though, Nike’s finding itself in a crowded wearables market. Though it was one of the early victors, has it done enough to maintain its lead? Grab your water bottle and we’ll walk you through it.%Gallery-slideshow122860%

Filed under: Wearables

Comments

Earlier in the month, Nike announced the FuelBand SE which was essentially an upgrade over the original Nike FuelBand fitness device. The overall design was kept the same, but Nike made some changes to it, such as the use of Bluetooth 4.0 that allows the device to perform more functions while using less power, adding a bit of water resistance, and new color options just to name a few of the improvements and changes made to it. The good news is that if you’re an owner of the original FuelBand and you don’t plan on upgrading to the FuelBand SE, Nike has announced that they will be issuing a firmware update come 6th of November that will bring some FuelBand SE features to the original FuelBand.

For example the original FuelBand is expected to see better algorithms that should allow it to track the wearer’s activities slightly better, the double tap feature that will enable the time, along with sessions support that can be done through the accompanying app rather than through the band itself, which lets them see which activities gives them the most “Fuel” so that they can identify which activities are the most effective, so to speak. However given that the original FuelBand does not have Bluetooth 4.0, this means that hourly alerts that are part of the FuelBand SE will not be making its way onto your device.

Original Nike FuelBand To Receive Some FuelBand SE Features In Firmware Update original content from Ubergizmo.

Nike is revealing a new version of its FuelBand today at an event in New York City. Dubbed the FuelBand SE, the new fitness tracker sports a variety of color accents and represents the sporting goods maker’s first non-cosmetic update to its activity tracking wearable since the gadget’s introduction.

The FuelBand, for those who aren’t familiar, is a wearable wristband that provides users with a visual readout of their steps taken during the course of a day, and also offers up a ‘Fuel’ tally, which is a metric made up by Nike that calculates based on your activity level through things like walking, running, paying basketball and more. They don’t share much about how they come up with that number, but it’s likely not terribly scientific and meant primarily as a motivation device to get people moving more frequently.

This new second-generation product has a similar design to the original version (but with red, pink or yellow accents), with a rubberized band that fits snugly around the wrist available in different sizes. This edition is intended to be better at encouraging users to move, and harder to cheat with. Nike reports that doing things like punching your fist in the air to game your score won’t up your Fuel score, according to CNET. It also looks to offer up better ability to differentiate between different types of activity, like cycling, spinning and rowing.

Nike’s new hardware is sealed and waterproofed, making it usable in the shower, and it’s got a highly refined motion detection algorithm. There are regular reminders (once hourly) to prompt you to get up and stop being so lazy, and there’s a new shortcut to let you double tap the button to access time. It uses Bluetooth 4.0, too, which should make it easier to sync data and provide a bit of a battery boost. There’s also a brand new app redesign to do along with it, with more granular and informative charts and graphs related to activity data. A new Fuel-per-minute metric offers a look at your average intensity, rather than just cumulative activity totals.

Finally, there’s sleep tracking, which the first generation device lacked entirely. Sleep tracking is available to users of the Fitbit Flex, and the Jawbone Up, so that’s a huge addition in terms of playing catchup with the competition. The FuelBand SE is still iOS only, however, so don’t expect an Android app anytime soon. Users not in the Apple flock can still use the website, however. Nike has also launched “Fuel Lab,” a 12-week program designed to help companies launch integrations of its Nike+ and NikeFuel APIs and SDKs, which offers $50,000 to each of 10 companies chosen to take part.

The FuelBand SE will be available on November 6, along with the updated iPhone app and the Nike Move app debuted at the iPhone 5s reveal. The FuelBand will cost $149, and ship initially in the U.S., UK, Canada, France Germany and Japan, with pre-orders kicking off today.

Developing…