In 2012, Nike released their activity tracking Fuel Band which sits on user’s wrists and can help them to completely monitor the activities they are doing throughout each day. Along with tracking physical activity, the Fuel Band can also act as a pedometer to count daily steps, track the amount of energy burned, and even monitor the user’s sleep schedule. The device syncs up via Nike+ and connects with a phone app that is available for Apple, Windows, and (as of yesterday) Android devices. With the completion of the different activities, users begin to earn Fuel points which allow them to unlock achievements and compete with friends to stay active and engaged with a physical lifestyle.
The Fuel Band has a battery life that last for up to 8 hours long and works through bluetooth 4.0 technology with the “Nike Activity Tracker” app. The Fuel Band is aimed to help people set goals based on whatever their comfortable level of daily activity is and wants to be “the smart way to get more active”. Nike’s Fuel Band sits at a $149.99 price point but works with plenty of sports and activities and has plenty of versatility. The Fuel Band itself has a small LED screen to display progress while automatically transmitting the data to the mobile app that provides more data feed back and even gives users motivation to keep pushing themselves and attain new goals.
Surprisingly, Nike announced earlier this year that they would be discontinuing the Fuel Band after a such a short time and put their focus onto fitness apps rather than the devices themselves. The Fuel Band’s competitor, Fitbit, reportedly dominated 67% of the market and with the recent news of Apple’s upcoming iWatch and Healthkit (in iOS8), more and more smart watches are hitting the market and be able to mimic what the Fuel Band accomplishes and even offer more display with a full watch screen.
The Nike Fuel Band is still currently available for sale at the same $149.99 price. In the future I would expect Nike to focus on establishing itself as having the top fitness mobile app with the most versatility that can be offered on every mobile platform, but only time will tell.
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