The clash of the fitness trackers continues to heat up, with Jawbone filing its second lawsuit against Fitbit in two weeks. After accusing Fitbit of stealing sensitive information in May, Jawbone is now claiming its rival’s products are violating practically every patent Jawbone holds. [More]
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Jawbone Files Second Lawsuit Against Fitbit Claiming Its Rival Is Violating A Bunch Of Its Patents
By 6.11.15
Clash Of The Fitness Trackers: Jawbone Lawsuit Accuses Fitbit Of Stealing Trade Secrets, Other Info
By 5.28.15
That rumble you hear in the gym, amid the clanking and whirring and grunting? It’s two fitness trackers going at it, just in time for one of the companies to go public: Jawbone has filed a lawsuit against Fitbit, claiming its rival stole Jawbone employees in order to get trade secrets the workers had swiped on the job, among other things. [More]
Apple Continues To Surprise No One, Officially Removes Rival Fitness Trackers From Stores
By 3.12.15
In a signal that the Apple Watch’s arrival is nigh, Apple’s retail stores across the country are apparently ditching other fitness and health wearables. [More]
Customers Complain Of Rashes From The Fitbit Charge
By 12.12.14
Fitbit claims that only about 2% of the people who purchased its best-selling Force wearable fitness tracker experienced skin reactions, some of them extremely painful, itchy, or unpleasant. We don’t know yet what proportion of buyers of the company’s new Charge wristbands have complained of skin irritation, but we now know that it’s more than zero: including a reviewer for Yahoo Tech who otherwise liked the device. [More]
Apple Removes Fitbit Products From Online Store For Real
By 11.11.14
A few weeks ago, we shared an interesting piece of news with you: there were reports that Apple would stop selling Fitbit wearable devices in its stores in the coming months. This prediction has come true, but only partway: while Fitbit trackers disappeared from the company’s website last Friday, they remain on the shelves of real-life Apple Stores. For now. [More]
Fitbit Puts Allergen Warning Labels On Wearables
By 10.20.14
You may remember the Fitbit Force, a fitness-tracking wristband that went on the market at the end of 2013, then was eventually recalled after Consumerist brought rashes caused by the devices to the world’s attention. We’ve heard reports that the Force’s less intelligent cousin, the Flex, also caused skin irritation in some wearers. Know who else heard that? The Consumer Product Safety Commission. Fortunately for Fitbit, they’re only getting a warning. Label. [More]
Apple Stores To Stop Selling Fitbit Trackers, New Product Photos Leaked
By 10.15.14
If you’re one of the people who loved the Fitbit Force, but returned the fitness-tracking wristband when you suffered from contact dermatitis or when the product was recalled in the United States, good news. Photos have leaked of a product display for the Force’s rumored replacements, and they look very similar. However, we have bad news if you planned to buy that wristband at your local Apple Store. [More]
Stories You Might Have Missed Because You Were Too Busy Being Awesome
April 26, 2014
We post a lot of stories during the week, and we know that most of you have jobs, families, lives, hobbies, nagging itches and other more important things to do than read every single thing we write. So for those who might be playing catch-up on the weekend, here are some of the things you might have missed… [More]
Fitbit Sends Out Recall Notification That Resembles A Phishing Notice
By 4.24.14
When the Fitbit Force was recalled back in March, it looked like it should have been the easiest recall in history. Once a customer removes the Bluetooth-enabled fitness-tracking wristbands from the packaging and syncs the device to a computer or smartphone, the company has the customer’s contact information and can easily drop them an e-mail. Six weeks later, that’s what the company has done…but many customers didn’t get the notice, as we learned yesterday. Why? [More]
March Recall Roundup – Don’t Put A Cork In It
By 3.24.14
In this month’s Recall Roundup, cork toys crumble but aren’t edible, heaters overheat, and Grumpy Cat has a lot to be unhappy about. [More]
Fitbit Sued Over Itch-And-Rash-Inducing Wristbands
By 3.20.14
Nearly a month after Fitbit voluntarily recalled its Fitbit Force bracelets over complaints from thousands of users who developed itchy rashes while wearing the devices, and weeks after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission made the recall official, comes the first of what will likely be many lawsuits against the company. [More]
CPSC Wants Fitbit To Share Recall News With Customers
By 3.12.14
While Fitbit issued a voluntary recall of its itch-inducing fitness bands in February and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced a formal recall of 1 million of the devices, the company has been pretty quiet about sharing this information with its most dedicated customers. [More]
Government Officially Recalls Fitbit’s Rash-Inducing Wristbands
By 3.12.14
Nearly two months after Consumerist first brought you the news of Fitbit owners complaining about itchy rashes resulting from the fitness band, and several weeks after the company undertook its own recall of the product, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled 1 million of the devices in the U.S. after receiving nearly 10,000 complaints from consumers. [More]
CPSC Working With Fitbit On Mysterious Force Rash Issues
By 3.4.14
Some users of the new Fitbit Force activity tracker really liked the product. They thought it was just great… right up until ugly patches of contact dermatitis broke out on their wrists. The company announced its own recall, but is simply accepting wristbands back from users who don’t want them enough? [More]
Fitbit Will Keep Supporting Force For Non-Itchy Customers, No Word On Software Upgrades
By 2.27.14
By now, you’ve probably heard that Fitbit has issued a recall for its Force wristbands, which caused mysterious and painful contact dermatitis in 1.7% of users. It’s a voluntary recall, and many customers who haven’t experienced any skin rashes are wondering whether they can keep their wristbands if they really like them. The short answer: yes. [More]
Fitbit Force Is An Amazing Device, Except For My Contact Dermatitis
By 1.13.14
Between Christmas and the New Year, lots of Americans strapped on a shiny new Fitbit Force and started to scamper around. It’s the newest iteration of the motion-tracking device, a wristband that records steps, altitude, and how much you move around while you sleep. Now many of them have taken off their wristbands, reporting a weird skin irritation near the charging port. [More]
Fitbug Keeps Getting Fitbit’s Phone Calls, Notices Similar Name, Sues
By 4.22.13
Tiny movement-trackers are the new hotness in gadgets, and there’s a lot of competition. Still, we’d love to know why it is that U.K.-based Fitbug just now noticed that the American brand Fitbit has a very similar product to theirs, with a very similar name, when the latter product has been around since 2007. [More]
FitBit Wants Device I Found Back, Will Return It To Owner
By 3.26.13
We’ve covered the FitBit, a tiny movement tracker that syncs to computers and smartphones, on the site in the past, noting the company’s generous replacement policy. Fitbits have been dunked and lost, and the company still replaced them. But we’ve never heard of anything quite like what David heard back when he turned in a FitBit that he found. [More]
