iHealth announced this week the US availability of its wireless connected Digital Scale. The scale allows users to transmit their weight information via Bluetooth to iOS devices, where they can use a free app to track weight data over time with charts and graphs. The suggested retail price for the scale is $69.95.
MobiHealthNews broke the news about the device in September, along with an iHealth wireless baby monitor. iHealth also announced today that the iBaby monitor is now available for purchase on ibabylabs.com as well as Apple.com, Amazon.com and select Babies”R”Us stores.
Both products stand as obvious competition to iHealth's French competitor, Withings. Both companies announced blood pressure cuffs at last year’s CES. The iHealth blood pressure monitor received FDA clearance in early February, whereas the Withings BPM was not cleared until June.
Back to weight scales: There are some critical differences between the two scales’ offerings and strategies to date. Withings WiFi Body Scale, appropriately, uses WiFi to transmit data to the cloud, which is then accessed via an iOS app. The iHealth requires a user to have their smartphone or tablet to be close by to the scale since it transmits data via a Bluetooth connection. Withings has also pursued an aggressive partnership strategy by connecting with other companies’ wellness devices via open APIs, including RunKeeper’s Health Graph and Fitbit and Zeo. To date iHealth hasn’t made a move toward partnerships of that kind.
We speculated in September about whether the iHealth scale would be available in Apple's retail stores alongside iHealth's BP3 blood pressure cuff and Withings scale -- shelf space which is notoriously difficult to obtain. While the press release makes no mention of distribution in Apple stores, iHealth will be available in Target and Best Buy stores nationwide.
"We are excited to now be able to offer our Bluetooth scale to the public," stated Adam Lin, GM of iHealth Lab, in a press release. "The iHealth Digital Scale helps you manage your short and long-term health and fitness goals, while letting the app do the hard work for you with automatic data entry."
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Read the press release below.
PRESS RELEASE -- iHealth Lab Inc., the pioneering designer and manufacturer of mobile personal healthcare products including the iHealth Blood Pressure Dock, today announced the US availability of its new Digital Scale with Bluetooth technology and accompanying mobile application. The iHealth(TM) Digital Scale enables users to test, track, graph and share weight information quickly and seamlessly with their iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. The scale is now available for purchase on ihealth99.com, in Target and Best Buy as well as select national retailers for $69.95.
"We are excited to now be able to offer our Bluetooth scale to the public," said Adam Lin, GM of iHealth Lab. "The iHealth Digital Scale helps you manage your short and long-term health and fitness goals, while letting the app do the hard work for you with automatic data entry."
How It Works
The iHealth Digital Scale allows an unlimited number of users to measure, track and manage personal weight loss and gain with their iPod touch, iPhone and iPad through the Bluetooth-connected scale and application.
The companion iHealth Digital Scale App includes an easy-to-use interface with data and graphics that allow users to establish a personal profile using gender, age, height and starting weight. The app tracks weight fluctuations over time and records results in relation to daily activity, time of day, diet and exercise. Users can instantly keep their doctors, friends and family notified of progress by emailing one-time or long-term results or posting them to Facebook or Twitter. Users can also create an unlimited number of accounts to help manage and track weight goals for entire households who are using the Digital Scale at home.
Availability, Compatibility and Price
In addition to Target, Best Buy and other select national retailers, the iHealth Digital Scale is available for purchase for $69.95 from www.ihealth99.com
The companion iHealth Digital Scale App can be downloaded here for free from the Apple App Store for iOS devices.
About iHealth Lab Inc.
iHealth Lab designs and manufactures consumer-friendly, mobile personal healthcare products. The company focuses on delivering easy-to-use products that make it simple for you to test, track, graph and share your health information regularly. iHealth plans to develop a suite of personal healthcare devices designed for the iOS mobile platform. The company's first device, the iHealth Blood Pressure Dock for iOS devices, was launched in January 2011. Visit www.ihealth99.com for more information.
