Google has agreed to pay $40 million to acquire a still-under-development smartwatch technology from Fossil Group. While the companies have not disclosed much about the technology in question, there is reason to believe it is health or wellness-related.
Greg McKelvey, EVP and chief strategy and digital officer of the Fossil Group, told Wareable that the technology is something that grew out of...
Zipnosis, a telemedicine company, has hired John Jordan as the company’s SVP of sales and marketing. John Jordan previously served as VP of North American sales at dbMotion, a software company acquired by Allscripts in 2013, as well as senior VP of sales at GE Healthcare. At Zipnosis Jordan will develop new partnerships and revenue streams for the company.
“John’s decades of experience in...
Fossil Group will buy wearables company Misfit for $260 million, the companies announced last night. Fossil will keep the Misfit brand and product line intact and work with them to develop and release additional products in Misfit's pipeline. Misfit founder and CEO Sonny Vu will serve as president and chief technology officer of connected devices at Fossil, an executive-level position. The...
It seems like everybody's talking about fitness device accuracy these days. A small study at the University of Pennsylvania found that out of clip-on pedometers, wristworn wearables, and apps, the wristworn devices were the least accurate. Another study, from the American Council on Exercise, found a range of accuracy levels for step counting on wearable devices, but found them lacking when it...
New York-based health insurer startup Oscar Health is teaming up with Misfit Wearables to get more of its 16,000 members moving. As part of the deal, each Oscar member will get a free Misfit Flash tracker and the opportunity to earn up to $20 a month in Amazon.com credit by meeting step goals.
The partnership means Misfit gets exposure for its newest wearable on a few thousand New York wrists,...
Helsinki-based sleep tracker company Beddit announced that its Beddit Sleep Monitor is now available in 1,000 Bed, Bath and Beyond stores across the US.
“There is a lot of excitement around wearables and tracking sensors,” Beddit CEO Lasse Leppakorpi said in a statement. “But while other devices are still in the speculative stages, we’re already manufacturing and retailing our devices around the...
Burlingame, California-based Misfit, formerly Misft Wearables, today launched Misfit Flash, its second wearable device that tracks various activities and sleep. The sub-$50 Flash's pricepoint isn't the only difference between it and Misfit's original device, Shine. Flash is made out of "soft-touch" plastic instead of the Shine's stainless steel body. Flash comes in a variety of colors including "...
As Apple gets ready for its long-awaited wearable device announcement later today, a couple of other wearables in the fitness tracking space are following the Apple model of vaguely hinting about upcoming releases. Intel teased the new Basis Band at the Intel Developer Forum this morning, Jawbone has been leaking hints to the press about a new, more open ecosystem, Misfit Wearables released a...
Helsinki, Finland-based Beddit announced that with their most recent round of funding, the company has reached $8 million in funding to date. The round was led by Inventure. Beddit will use the investment to help fund its US and European product distribution in time for the holiday shopping season.
Beddit's sensor uses ballistocardiography to detect individual heartbeats from cardiac contraction...
Misfit-Beddit integration
Wearable device maker Misfit Wearables released its Misfit Developer Toolkit so that other health apps and devices can integrate Misfit's data into their products. So far, more than 30 companies have partnered with Misfit to use the developer kit.
The toolkit offers Misfit's cloud API, the device's SDK, and the company's scientific library, which includes Misfit’s...