If you’ve been meaning to jump on Fitbit’s fitness tracking bandwagon, now’s a good time to start. The company announced today that its flagship Fitbit One activity tracker is now shipping and available in retail stores.
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This time around, Fitbit is finally bringing wireless synchronization to its devices. Both the Fitbit One and Go can sync to BlueTooth 4.0-equipped Android and iPhones with new apps. Previously, you could only synchronize your Fitbit with a computer using a custom wireless dongle.
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As I wrote back in September, adding wireless synchronizing is a clear shot at one of the Nike+ Fuelband’s most useful features. But according to Fitbit cofounder and chief executive officer James Park, the two companies aren’t playing a zero-sum game. “We’re sold in very different places, and if you look at our marketing, we target very different people,” he told us. “I think the great thing about wearable activity monitors is that there’s not going to be one form factor.”
The Fitbit One also includes sleep tracking capabilities: It can chart how well you sleep at night, and it can also gently wake you up in the morning. For the true health nut, this feature has been a long time coming. Jawbone aimed for something similar with its Up wristband, and in the limited time my Up unit actually worked, it was pretty illuminating.
Check back next week for some in-depth impressions on the Fitbit One.
After raising $12 million in a third round of funding earlier this year, San Francisco-based Fitbit has raised a total of $23.4 million from Foundry Group, True Ventures, and others.
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