In recent weeks three of the biggest technology companies have unveiled tablets to take on Apple's iPad. Microsoft showed off Surface, which my colleague Neil Versel noted has some potential for healthcare. Google revealed the Nexus 7 at an event that included what might have been the first technology keynote to feature skydivers giving a live demo of a new device.
This week Samsung unveiled its Android-powered Galaxy S III and as part of the launch the South Korean company showed off an app it created, called S Health, that aggregates data from connected certain weight scales, blood pressure monitors and blood glucose meters. The Android app syncs with devices from Lifescan, Omron, and A&D.
The app is now available for Galaxy S III users in the UK. According to Engadget, the app will launch in the US soon along with a handful of other as yet unnamed European countries.
The S Health app will receive data from Lifescan's OneTouch UltraMini/UltraEasy Blood Glucose Meter via a USB connection. It will also receive data from one of Omron's blood pressure monitors and one of its body composition scales via Bluetooth. Similar devices from A&D: a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitor and body composition scale from that company are also supported.
The app collects the health data and creates graphs and tables based on the results to "provide a full picture of health information in a digestible, easy-to-understand format," according to the company. The app also enables users to manually enter data for diet, exercise, medication intake and other health-related information. S Health also makes it easy for users to share their health data with friends on Twitter.
As Glooko has learned, such an app can launch in the US as a Class 1 FDA registered devices under MDDS if it does not interpret the data that is streamed in from an FDA-regulated medical device. The charts and graphs that Samsung refers to in its press release may only refer to the app that will launch in Europe and other countries. For this reason Glooko's newest app will have slightly more functionality in Europe than it will in US, as we reported last week, for the time being, anyway.
Currently, Apple iPhone and iPad users can connect Lifescan blood glucose meters to their phones via Glooko's meter synch cable. A&D has an iOS app that can sync data from its blood pressure monitors via Bluetooth. The company also has an app powered by Wahoo Fitness that enables users to sync data from A&D activity monitors, weight scales, and BP monitors.
While Samsung's S Health app doesn't appear to be all that innovative, it is remarkable that the company decided to tout a health app as part of its new tablet's launch announcement. Apple has done this at almost every one of its device launch events, but few other big hardware companies commit much marketing muscle to mobile health apps or peripherals.
In recent days, Verizon Wireless actually began airing a TV advertisement that shows off at least three key connected fitness apps and devices, including apps from DailyBurn, FitSync, and Withings' WiFi weight scale.
The smartphone that the (somewhat) athletic father in the advertisement is using to show off his connected fitness regimen? A Samsung Galaxy S3. Watch the adspot here.
