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iPhone and Galaxy smartphones more reliable than current wearable fitness devices at measuring activity, finds study

healthkit

If you were thinking about buying a fitness band, a university study suggests you probably shouldn’t bother: it found that the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S4 measure activity more reliably than most current fitness bands.

The study by the University of Pennsylvania (via EurekAlert!) tested the ability of the phones to measure steps on a treadmill and compared the results to six dedicated fitness bands. The two smartphones had a margin of error of 12.9%, while the error rates of the fitness bands ranged up to 22.7%.

The study tested the iPhone 5s and Galaxy S4 against the Nike Fuelband, Jawbone UP24, Digi-Walker SW-200, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip. Only the FitBit One and Zip performed significantly better than the two smartphones. While the iPhone apps all delivered similar levels of accuracy, Health Mate out-performed the others.

Tim Cook took a dig at existing smartwatches at yesterday’s Goldman Sachs conference, saying that “there are several things that are called smartwatches, but I’m not sure you could name any.” The Apple Watch would, he said, “change the way people live their lives.”

Via Gizmodo

Fitbit fitness tracking lineup dropped from Apple Online Store

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Apple Watch fitness

Apple Watch will include fitness and health tracking features

Update: Fitbit statement below the fold…

If you’re in the market for a Fitbit device and you’re shopping at the Apple Store, you’ll probably have to shop elsewhere to purchase the fitness tracker. Following report from Re/Code last month that Apple planned to drop the Fitbit line of wearable devices from its Apple Store lineup, Apple has today removed the Fitbit Flex and other Fitbit products from its online store following low inventory over the past week. While its unclear why Apple is no longer selling Fitbit products through its retail channels, on the surface the move is similar to Apple’s decision to discontinue selling Bose headphones and speakers at its retail and online stores.


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Nike+ FuelBand app gets push notifications for challenges, upcoming events, more

Nike-Fuel-Band-01Nike updated its Nike+ FuelBand companion app today with one notable new feature: the ability to receive push notifications for a number of different features within the app. Those include things like challenges, upcoming Nike events, exclusive video content, and more.

The new push notifications, along with bug fixes and some other minor improvements are available now in version 2.3 of the app. Nike might be planning to get out of the hardware side of its FuelBand business in the near future, but for now the FuelBand is still available for sale and the update a welcomed one by users.

What’s New in Version 2.3

• You can now stay connected to Nike via push notifications – receive the latest info on challenges and upcoming Nike events as well as exclusive video content.
• Bug fixes and other improvements.

Apple working to slim its iWatch via intermittent Bluetooth LE connection?

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iWatch concept by Stephen Olmstead

iWatch concept by Stephen Olmstead

An Apple patent filing filed today suggests that Apple may be working on a way to make its long-rumored iWatch slimmer than existing offerings by reducing the size of the battery required.

One of the barriers to widespread adoption of smartwatches is that existing models are not exactly sleek. Technology lovers might be willing to put function ahead of form and put up with chunky devices, but the wider market buys on style first, technology second.

While the Bluetooth LE protocol used by existing smartwatches uses around half the power of classic Bluetooth (peaking at 15mA instead of 30mA), a constant connection in a device you won’t want to charge daily still requires a reasonably chunky battery. What Apple’s patent proposes is for an on-demand creation of a Bluetooth connection between two devices, one with radio capabilities (aka an iPhone), one without … 
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Nike+ FuelBand SE goes on sale early via Apple’s Online Store

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Announced last month, the new Nike+ FuelBand SE has gone on sale through Apple’s Online Store. The new fitness-tracking gadget was scheduled to go on sale on November 6th, and it is still listed as being solely available for pre-order direct from Nike’s website. Tipsters also say that the new FuelBand is available to purchase from several of Apple’s physical retail stores.

The new FuelBand comes in four black-based tones (pink, black, red, and green) and in three sizes (small, medium/large, and extra large). The design is mostly similar to that of the preceding FuelBand model, but the battery life is improved due to the incorporation of Bluetooth 4.0 technology. Since the gadget is Bluetooth 4.0 based, you will need an iPhone 4s or later or a 5th-generation iPod touch to power it.

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Much like the new Nike+ Move application for the iPhone 5s, the FuelBand uses various sensors to calculate a proprietary Nike “Fuel Points” score to track your fitness and movement. The new FuelBand includes a major leap in software on the device and for iOS, allowing users to compare their fitness scores to those of their friends.


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Nike launches more durable, Bluetooth 4.0 ‘FuelBand SE’, available alongside new apps on Nov. 6

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In line with my report from earlier this month, Nike has taken the wraps off of its brand-new Fuel Band. The FuelBand is Nike’s fitness tracking device that is worn around the wrist, and it has been popular (including within Apple’s upper ranks). The new version, officially called Nike FuelBand SE, makes improvements to the design that focus on color, durability, and connectivity. As I reported, the new FuelBand is more durable, more water-resistant, and connects to devices via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (LE) technology:


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Poll: Which iWatch concepts are you a fan of?

Earlier this year, we reported that Apple is engaging in a push to hire talent to work on wearable devices (an “iWatch”). Since then, we noted that Apple hired two notable wearables specialists from Nike: Jay Blahnik (a consultant on the Fuel Band) and Ben Shaffer. Based on these hires, we believe that the iWatch will hit the market within the next couple of years.

iWatch concepts are constantly emerging. A new poll on Polar shows thirty-seven different iWatch concepts. Some of the concepts we have covered in our roundups, and others are new that focus on iOS 7 software design. Of course, these are all concepts and mockups that may not look at all like the actual product. However, we thought it would be interesting to gather polls from Polar indicating which concepts are most enticing to Apple fans.

In the above poll system, you can vote for your favorite concepts and use the arrows to move between images.


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Nike schedules Oct. 15 event; more durable, battery-efficient FuelBand incoming

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Nike has scheduled a Tuesday, October 15th media event in New York City to discuss “the future of the digital world and physical activity.” Besides that, the company has been light on official details about what will be announced. However, we’ve been hearing about an upcoming Nike fitness/digital-related event for the past few weeks, and we are expecting a successor the popular Nike FuelBand fitness device to be announced. The event was originally planned for November, but perhaps the upcoming announcements from competitor Fitbit put pressure on Nike to move up its timeline…


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