Fuelband Team Fired

In the world of wearables, the Nike FuelBand was one of the rockstar products out there. So it was intriguing to see the report from CNet that Nike was fireing the majority of the FuelBand team. Plus, they note that they will stop making wearable hardware. They will continue to sell the FuelBand SE, but won’t be bringing the slimmer version to market like they’d planned this Fall. They will continue to improve the Nike+FuelBand App.

This is an interesting move by Nike. I wonder what led to this decision. Was it an issue internal to Nike or did they just see that they had no need to be doing the hardware since there were plenty of alternatives out there. They could just use their brand and some Nike powered apps with the existing hardware on the market? It would be hard to argue that there hasn’t been a huge interest in this type of fitness tracking product.

One potential issue is that the fitness tracking product line is finding that retention of users is a big problem. People start using a fitness tracker and do so quite well for a month or two. After that, they stop using it because they’ve already more or less seen the results and the data. This is the challenge these fitness trackers face. How do you keep the product interesting and continually engage users.

Nike getting out of the hardware game isn’t really a big issue since there are so many other trackers. However, I wonder if it’s a clue as to what else might be happening in the market.

Post a Comment(0)
April 23, 2014 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 6000 articles with John having written over 3000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 14 million times. John also manages Healthcare IT Central and Healthcare IT Today, the leading career Health IT job board and blog. John launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: and and .

Filed Under: Fitness Trackers  Health Care  Healthcare IT  mHealth  Mobile Health Care
Tags:    

Nike+ Continues to Inspire Runners and Encourage Exercise

Nike+ started out as a relative unknown despite their huge parent company.  It was not that long ago that people really didn’t know about it and if you asked someone if they knew what it was they had no idea what you are talking about.

That has all changed.

You can now see Nike+ posts all over Facebook, and their devices all over the streets of the world.  According to their own website their members have logged over 376 million miles.  That equates to over 15,000 times around the world and nearly 15 million pounds being burned off.

What started as simply a way to track your training has developed into a worldwide community of runners that support each other without ever even knowing the other people’s names.  Like so many other social media groups, it is the power of community that makes Nike+ so powerful.

In case you are new to Nike+, there are a few different ways that you can engage in the community.

The first way is through a small attachment to the iPod Nano and a small sensor that you put in or on your shoe.  The combination of the two tracks your runs and even gives you audio encouragement letting you know how your training is going.  The biggest downside here is that it was, and still is, exclusive to the iPod Nano and not any other MP3 player, even those made by Apple.  I have often wondered why they never expanded to the other iPod devices.

There are now numerous other ways you can be a part of the community.  All of these other ways still require the small sensor to be placed in or on your shoe.

The simplest is a sportband that is comparable to a watch.  This is great if you don’t listen to music but still want your runs to be tracked.

The other option is to sync the Nike+ sensor to either your iPod Touch or iPhone.  Both of these devices have built-in support for the Nike+ sensor so all you have to do is sync it up and you are ready to go.

As part of the community you can see the types of runs that other people in your area are doing, and post your own runs to sites like Facebook.  This encouragement and sense of community helps to inspire you to run more often and farther.  You can even look at the runs of people worldwide.

What I think is one of the coolest features of the community are the challenges.  There are numerous challenges created by Nike+ such as challenges between cities to see who can run the most, running 365 miles during one year, and even monthly challenges to see who can run the most in each month.You can also create your own challenges so that you can talk a little trash amongst your friends, which for a competitor like me is great motivation.

Like many people, I really don’t enjoy running despite the fact that I feel so much better when I do.  It is communities and devices like Nike+ that make it at least a little more interesting and enjoyable.

Post a Comment(1)
May 11, 2011 I Written By

Filed Under: Apple  Health Care  iPhone  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Smart Phones
Tags:                

Rock Health Launches –The First Seed Accelerator to Promote Interactive Health

A new startup seed-accelerator, Rock Health, wants to give you $20,000, no strings attached, along with mentorship and office space for five months, in order to turn your health-related startup or idea into a reality. Supported by some serious names (see below),  Rock Health aims to catalyze software-based innovation in the health sector. They’re structured as a non-profit, and are opening doors to their first startup class this June.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2011 – Rock Health, a seed accelerator for interactive health, announces its new incubator program linking developers and entrepreneurs with the most innovative minds in health and technology.

Rock Health’s sponsors include Aberdare Ventures, Accel Partners, the California HealthCare Foundation, Fenwick & West, Microsoft, Mohr Davidow Ventures, NEA, Nike and Qualcomm. Rock Health also has an expansive network of medical advisors, led by the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

The first five-month incubator program will commence in June 2011 in San Francisco, and aims to catalyze health app innovation, turning ideas into products and businesses. “We’re creating an environment where entrepreneurs and developers from other sectors can approach problems in health care in new, product-centric ways,” says Rock Health’s managing director, Halle Tecco.
Selected startups receive a $20,000 grant in addition to free office space, mentorship, and access to Rock Health’s medical experts and partners.

“Health care is the most important challenge facing our nation, yet patient care and healthy living do not yet exhibit the technological creativity found in social media, games and other verticals,” adds Rock Health’s medical director, Nate Gross. “Physicians are excited to work with our developers because they recognize that product design should not be an afterthought.”

Rock Health is building a diverse advisor and mentor community with experts from design, data science, gaming and health care IT. Rock Health’s advisory board includes Frank Moss, head of the New Media Medicine group at the MIT Media Lab, and Michael Abbott, VP of Engineering at Twitter. Startup mentors include Charles Huang, co-founder of GuitarHero, and Linda Avey, co-founder of 23andMe. A full list of advisors and mentors can be found at http://rockhealth.com/.

Applications to join Rock Health are open until May 13.

About Rock Health
Rock Health is a seed accelerator that challenges developers and entrepreneurs to address issues in health and wellness through consumer web and mobile technologies. Founded in 2011, it provides early stage funding and strategic support as well as mentorship and office space to new companies. The incubator is backed by Aberdare Ventures, Accel Partners, the California HealthCare Foundation, Fenwick & West, Microsoft HealthVault, Mohr Davidow Ventures, NEA, Nike, and Qualcomm and is in
partnership with the Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. For more information, or to apply, visit RockHealth.com.

Post a Comment(2)
April 24, 2011 I Written By

Filed Under: Health Care  Healthcare IT  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Smart Phones
Tags:                              NEA