After years of fighting with its rival Fitbit over fitness trackers, Jawbone, the personal electronics company that was once valued at almost $3 billion, is reportedly preparing to shut everything down and sell off all of its assets. [More]
fitness trackers
Victim’s FitBit Data Plays Part In Husband’s Arrest For Her Murder
By 4.25.17
A murdered Connecticut woman may not be able to point out the person who killed her, but police say data obtained from her FitBit fitness tracker helped lead to the arrest of her husband. [More]
Judge Clears Fitbit Of Allegations That It Stole Trade Secrets From Rival Jawbone
By 8.24.16
The fight between rival fitness tracker companies Fitbit and Jawbone may finally be put to rest, after a judge cleared the former of stealing trade secrets from the latter. [More]
McDonald’s Officially Recalls 29 Million Happy Meal Fitness Trackers Over Concerns About Rashes, Burns
By 8.23.16
Nearly a week after pulling them from Happy Meal packages — and subsequently erasing all trace of their existence from stores — McDonald’s has issued a formal recall of all 29 million Step-It fitness trackers over reports of skin irritation and burns. [More]
Critics: Putting Fitness Trackers In McDonald’s Happy Meals Doesn’t Make Them Healthy Meals
By 8.17.16
Putting on a fitness tracker doesn’t magically change your body; it’s just another accessory if it goes unused. That’s why critics of McDonald’s latest Happy Meal shake-up don’t seem terribly impressed.
[More]
Got A Fitbit Or Other Gadget For Christmas? It’s Time To Opt Out Of Mandatory Arbitration!
By 1.6.16
Customers have filed a class action suit against Fitbit, claiming that the company’s Charge HR and Surge fitness bands don’t accurately measure users’ heart rate during vigorous exercise. We’ll keep an eye on the lawsuit and let you know if it goes anywhere, but it probably won’t, and that’s what got our attention. The users filed a class action against Fitbit despite signing (well, clicking) away their right to do so when they registered their devices. [More]
Fitbit Announces New ‘Smart Fitness Watch,’ Still Not A Smart Watch
By 1.5.16
Fitbit isn’t a watch company: they’re a fitness tracker company. They’re sticking to this concept, even as smartwatches that can track your steps, flights of stairs climbed, and heart rate as well as let you read your e-mail have hit the market, and some people are actually buying them. Today, Fitbit announced its newest product: an even more watch-like fitness tracker called the Blaze. [More]
Pharmaceutical Companies Using Fitness Trackers To Collect Data On Drug Trials, Other Research
By 9.14.15
Consumers looking to improve their health have turned to fitness trackers like Fitbit, Jawbone, Vivofit, and Fuse that record the user’s heart rate, calories burned, steps walked, and other pertinent data. These devices are also increasingly being used for another purpose: tracking the effectiveness of new medications in drug trials and other research for pharmaceutical companies. [More]
Adidas Group Pays $240 Million To Download Runtastic Forever
By 8.5.15
Earlier this year, fitness gear maker Under Armour bought fitness-tracking apps MyFitnessPal and Endomodo for a total of $560 million. Now Adidas has decided to keep up with its competitor by downloading its own set of fitness apps, buying the eighteen apps in the Runtastic family for about $240 million. [More]
Jawbone Files Second Lawsuit Against Fitbit Claiming Its Rival Is Violating A Bunch Of Its Patents
By 6.11.15
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]
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]
Users Complain Of Rashes From Fitbit Charge, Told To Air Out Their Wrists
By 2.12.15
It was thirteen months ago that we heard the first reports of serious skin problems caused by the Fitbit Force wristband. Since then, Fitbit has introduced a new generation of trackers and fitness watches, adding a pretty strong warning label to them about the possibility of allergic reactions. The new batch of products has led to a new batch of complaints. [More]
Under Armour Buys MyFitnessPal And Endomondo So You’ll Buy More Clothes And Shoes
By 2.5.15
When you’re a fitness gear company, your goals are simple: you want people to buy more fitness gear. That’s why it makes sense that Under Armour, a company that makes athletic clothing, is buying up popular fitness apps, but the company’s master plan is very simple: people exercise more when they have apps that nag and reward them to do so, and those people need more shoes and clothes. [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]
Microsoft Offers Lumia-Fitbit Flex Bundle, Forgets It Just Launched Own Fitness Tracker
By 11.4.14
Here’s some exciting news if you’re in the market for both a new smartphone and a fitness-tracking wristband: AT&T has a deal right now where you can pay $99 for a shiny new Nokia Lumia 830, and with that get a Fitbit Flex wristband, which costs $99 by itself. That sounds like a great deal: unless you’re part of the team that just launched Microsoft’s own fitness-tracking wristband. [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]
The Latest In Wearable Fitness: A Wristband That Shocks You For Not Exercising Enough
By 7.25.14
As if the prick of a guilty conscience isn’t enough every time you pass those dusty gym shoes, someone has gone and created a device users willingly wear that give out electric shocks if you’re not sticking to your exercise regime. [More]
