Today, we’re announcing that Google has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fitbit, a leading wearables brand.
Tag: wearables
James Croft, Anthony Agius and special guest David Rossi talk about fitness and the Apple Watch, Windows, and a bunch of boxes plugged into our TVs.
Dante D’Orazio at The Verge:
Google is officially getting into wearables. The company has announced Android Wear, a version of the operating system designed specifically for wearable devices. To start with, the system is made for smartwatches, and Google is moving aggressively to make itself the key name in wearables.
This technology has me all hot and cold. The passive notification stuff looks so awesome, but then I see someone talking into their watch on a bus like a total dork.
Ross Catanzariti at Good Gear Guide:
The Fitbit Force will launch in Australia in “early 2014” and will come in two colour variants — black and slate. The device will cost $169.95 and will be available through Apple Stores, Harvey Norman retail outlets and through Fitbit’s online store.
I’ve enjoyed the Jawbone Up that I bought, but I gotta say, if I’m wearing a fitness band? It completely makes sense for it also to be a glance-able watch. I’d be shocked if version 3 of the Up wasn’t also a ‘watch’ of some kind.
Still, all of these suffer from the same problem; you have to press a button to activate the watch face. A traditional watch doesn’t have that problem, and if you think about how that works in a social situation, it’s a big divide.
Someone glances at their wrist? You’re a normal dude guy keeping an eye on the time. Someone clicks the button on their fitness band to activate the time? You hate being here and obviously want to get away.