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Fitbit Inc.

Company type	Private startup
Industry	Consumer electronics
Founded	San Francisco, California, United States (October 2007 (2007-10))
Founder	James Park Eric Friedman
Headquarters	San Francisco, CA , USA
Area served	USA
Key people	James Park, CEO Eric Friedman, CTO
Products	Fitbit Tracker
Website	www.fitbit.com

Fitbit Inc. is a company headquartered in San Francisco, California United States. Founded and managed by James Park and Eric Friedman, the company is known for its products of the same name, which are activity trackers, wireless-enabled wearable devices that measure data such as the number of steps walked, quality of sleep and other personal metrics. The first of these was the Fitbit Tracker.

Fitbit Tracker

Fitbit Ultra activity tracker in teal clipped to pocket

The Fitbit Tracker uses a three-dimensional accelerometer, similar to that in the Wii Remote, to sense user movement. The Tracker measures steps taken, and combines it with user data to calculate distance walked, calories burned, floors climbed and activity duration and intensity. It uses an OLED display to display this and other information such as the battery level. It also measures sleep quality by tracking periods of restlessness, how long it takes the wearer to fall asleep and how long they are actually asleep.

A wireless base station is included to receive data from the Tracker and also charge its battery. When connected to a computer the base station will upload data to the Fitbit website, where a number of features are available: seeing an overview of physical activity, setting and tracking goals, keeping food and activity logs and interacting with friends. Use of the website is free.

The Fitbit Classic tracked only steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned, activity intensity and sleep. It was designed to be a small black and teal device that could be clipped discreetly onto clothing and worn 24/7.

September 9, 2008, at TechCrunch50 during the "Mobile" session. Fitbit received positive reactions during its panel from experts like Rafe Needleman, Tim O'Reilly, and Evan Williams who cited its wearability, price point, and lack of subscription fees.

Fitbit Ultra

A new hardware upgrade was announced on October 3, 2011, called the Fitbit Ultra. The new features included:

• an altimeter that measures elevation gain in terms of floors, with one floor roughly equivalent to ten feet.
• a digital clock visible on the device's display
• a stopwatch that can be used to time activities
• randomized "Chatter" messages show when the Ultra is moved after sitting idle for a while, and there's a custom field to write in a personal "Greeting".
• new colors (plum or blue, as opposed to the original teal)

The Fitbit Ultra is powered by a small Lithium polymer battery.

Fitbit One

Announced on September 17, 2012, the Fitbit One is an update to the Fitbit Ultra that uses a more vivid digital display, has a separate clip and a separate charging cable and wireless sync dongle. The Fitbit One and the Fitbit Zip were the first wireless activity trackers to sync using Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth SMART technology. The wireless syncing is currently available on iOS and Android (operating system) devices such as the iPhone 4S and higher, iPad 3rd generation, iPod touch 5th generation, Samsung Galaxy Note II and higher, Samsung Galaxy S III and higher, LG G2, HTC One, Moto X, and Nexus 4 or higher. Fitbit One can record several daily activities, including but not limited to, number of steps taken, distance travelled on foot, number of floors climbed, calories burned, vigorously active minutes, sleep efficiency, delicate movements during sleep, number of wake-ups during sleep, etc.

Fitbit Zip

A white Fitbit Zip, showing the distance in miles covered by the wearer

Announced on September 17, 2012, the Fitbit Zip is roughly the size of a quarter and tracks only steps taken, distance travelled, and calories burned. Compared to the other Fitbit trackers, the Zip is the first Fitbit product to include a disposable battery. It also has a lower price point than other Fitbit trackers. Similar to the Fitbit One, it is able to sync its data wirelessly to supported mobile devices, such as the iPhone 4S and higher, iPad 3rd generation, iPod touch 5th generation, Samsung Galaxy Note II and higher, Samsung Galaxy S III and higher, LG G2, HTC One, Moto X, and Nexus 4 or higher.

Fitbit Flex

Fitibit Flex with accompanying wristband

In May 2013, Fitbit released the Fitbit Flex, which is a device that one wears on the wrist. It tracks movement 24 hours a day, including sleep patterns. It has a simple display of 5 LED lights which indicate the number of steps taken in a day, and it vibrates to indicate that your goal has been reached. The lights also indicate battery level. The Fitbit Flex has almost all the same sync functions as the Fitbit One and Zip. The Flex is also the most water-resistant tracker; it can be worn while showering and swimming. The Fitbit flex includes a specialized USB charger; the battery lasts 5–7 days, and it takes 1–2 hours to charge.

Fitbit Force

The Fitbit Force was announced on October 10, 2013. It has an OLED display that shows time and daily activity. The Force tracks a number of statistics in real-time, including steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed and active minutes throughout the day. At night, the Force tracks sleep and can wake a user silently with a vibrating alarm.

On January 13, 2014 it was reported that an unconfirmed number of Fitbit customers who have purchased the Force have complained about skin irritation after wearing the Force for extended periods of time. Fitbit stated on its website that the company consulted with medical professionals whose assessments are that these irritations are most likely allergic reactions to nickel, a component of the surgical-grade steel or the adhesives used to assemble the Fitbit Force. Fitbit, working with the Consumer Protection Safety Commission, recalled the Fitbit Force on February 20, 2014. On March 12, 2014 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) made the recall official. At that time it was revealed that The Fitbit Force had caused about 9,900 injuries.

Fitbit Charge

Announced in October 2014, the Fitbit Charge is a replacement for the Fitbit Force. It was released in November 2014 for US$130 retail. Unlike the Force, Charge's wrist band is slightly different and textured and can display caller ID information from a connected smartphone.

Fitbit Charge HR

Announced in October 2014 and released in early January 2015, the Charge HR is the Charge plus a heart-rate monitor. With this addition the 7-day battery life is reduced to 5 days. The Charge HR has the same textured band as the Charge and comes in black, purple, teal, and orange. The Charge HR band clasp resembles that of a traditional watch instead of the snap-on band the original Charge has.

Fitbit Surge

Announced in October 2014, The Surge is more like a smart-watch than an activity tracker and aimed for the fitness demographic. The Surge includes a heart-rate monitor and the ability to track pace, distance, and elevation.

Fitbit Aria

In April 2012, Fitbit released a "Wi-Fi smart scale" called the Fitbit Aria. It recognizes users who are wearing Fitbit trackers and measures weight, body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat of the user. It can keep track of eight individual users and updates information to fitbit.com automatically via Wi-Fi network. The information is also updated to the mobile apps.

Fitbit Mobile Apps

In October 2011, just a few weeks after the launch of the Fitbit Ultra, Fitbit launched a native app for the iPhone. In March 2012 Fitbit launched a native app for Android. Users could log their food, activities, water intake and weight, as well as track their fitness goals throughout the day even while offline. Originally the iOS and Android apps could only retrieve data from the user's Fitbit account, rather than connecting directly to the fitness tracker, but in September 2012 the Fitbit One and Zip were announced with Bluetooth support for syncing directly with phones. When the One and Zip were released, only newer iOS devices were supported, but in February 2013, Fitbit released an update that would allow wireless syncing from Fitbit One and Zip devices to the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. An update in May 2013 added support for the Galaxy S4, and on January 6, 2014, Fitbit announced an update to the Android app adding support for many more devices including the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Moto X, HTC One, and LG G2. On July 28, 2014, the official Windows Phone app was released.

Fitbit website

Fitbit offers a free website that can be used with or without the Fitbit Tracker. Users have the ability to log their food, activities, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and glucose levels to track over time. Users also have the ability to set daily and weekly goals for themselves for steps, calories burned and consumed, and distance walked.

App gallery

Fitbit.com dashboard also has the ability for users to connect existing applications from other providers such as Loseit, Myfitnesspal, and many others to have cumulative data collection in one location for a more complete personal health report.

Food plan

Fitbit allows users to set a food plan for themselves on the website or the mobile app based on a weight goal. The food plan tool has four different intensity settings users can choose from, and gives a range of calorie consumption to aim for each day. This number updates dynamically with any activities logged on the Fitbit website or synced with the Fitbit Tracker. It also gives a projected date for reaching the weight goal which updates as the user logs their weight.

Badges

On August 9, 2011, Fitbit launched badges for various step and distance milestones. Step badges could be earned based on how many steps a user took in a single day, while lifetime distance badges gave users a badge based on how much distance they've logged since they started using the Fitbit Tracker. With the launch of Fitbit Ultra, they came out with new Ultra-only badges that can be earned for floor climbing, and launched new step and distance badges that anyone could earn.

Badges comes in five categories that are:

Daily Steps

5,000 steps: Boat Shoe
10,000 steps: Sneakers
15,000 steps: Urban Boot
20,000 steps: High Tops
25,000 steps: Classics
30,000 steps: Trail Shoe
35,000 steps: Hiking Boot
40,000 steps: Cleats
45,000 steps: Snow Boots
50,000 steps: Cowboy Boots
55,000 steps: Platform Shoe
60,000 steps: Blue Suede Shoes
65,000 steps: Ruby Slippers
70,000 steps: Spring Loaders
75,000 steps: Genie Shoes
80,000 steps: Futuristic Kicks
90,000 steps: Rocket Boot
100,000 steps: Olympian Sandals

Daily Climb

10 Floors: Happy Hill
25 Floors: Redwood Forest
50 Floors: Lighthouse
75 Floors: Ferris Wheel
100 Floors: Skyscraper
125 Floors: Rollercoaster
150 Floors: Stadium
175 Floors: Bridge
200 Floors: Castle
300 Floors: Waterfall
400 Floors: Canyon
500 Floors: Volcano
600 Floors: Mountain
700 Floors: Rainbow

Lifetime Climb

500 Floors: Helicopter
1,000 Floors: Skydiver
2,000 Floors: Hot Air Balloon
4,000 Floors: 747
8,000 Floors: Cloud
14,000 Floors: Spaceship
20,000 Floors: Shooting Star
28,000 Floors: Astronaut
35,000 Floors: Satellite

Lifetime Distance

42 km: Marathon
112 km: Penguin March
402 km: London Underground
563 km: Hawaii
804 km: Serengeti
1,184 km: Italy
1,593 km: New Zealand
2,574 km: Great Barrier Reef
3,007 km: Japan
3,213 km: India
4,023 km: Monarch Migration
4,800 km: Sahara
6,649 km: Nile
8,047 km: Africa
12,713 km: Earth

Weight Goals

5 lb Loss
Weight loss goal met X time(s): Hooray!

Reception

Awards

Fitbit has won numerous awards, including runner-up at TechCrunch50 in 2008 and CES 2009 Innovation honoree and best in the Health & Wellness category.

Privacy concerns

Starting in June 2011, Fitbit was criticized for its website's default activity sharing settings, which made users' manually entered physical activities available for public viewing. All users had the option to make their physical activity information private, but some users were unaware that the information was public by default. One specific issue which technology blogs made fun of was that some users were including details about their sex lives in their daily exercise logs, and this information was by default publicly available. Fitbit responded to criticism by making all such data private by default and requesting that search engines remove indexed user profile pages from their databases.

Fitbit and Fitbug Legal Fight

In May 2011 an European Union trademark was filed for Fitbit. The status is in the category Computer, Software, Electrical and Scientific Products. Fitbug Holdings PLC, the London Stock Exchange AIM market (Alternative Investment Market) quoted provider of online personal health and well-being services, continue their appeals in the United Kingdom (United Kingdom trade mark law) and European Union (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) to try and cancel Fitbit's European Union trademark and defend their trademark in the United Kingdom.

Fitbug Holdings PLC, filed a lawsuit against San Francisco-based Fitbit that alleges trademark infringement and unfair business practices, which Fitbug claims has caused it irreparable harm and damage. A cease and desist letter had been sent to Fitbit, and an official lawsuit filed on March 29, 2013.

Fitbug requested the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to order Fitbit to permanently cease use of its Fitbit mark and from engaging in conduct that is causing confusion with Fitbug's brand and services. Summary judgment was made in January 2015 in favour of Fitbit due to an unreasonable delay 'Defence of Laches (equity)' by Fitbug in bringing the claim. Fitbug said they were in discussion with their advisors following the verdict. Fitbug Holdings Plc, filed an appeal, in February 2015, of the decision by the US District Court for the Northern District of California concerning its trademark dispute against Fitbit Inc.

See also

• Jawbone
• Microsoft Band
• Quantified Self
• Smart keychain
• Smartwatch

External links

• Official website

Category:Electronics companies of the United States Category:Companies based in San Francisco Category:American companies established in 2007 Category:Activity trackers Category:Wireless transmitters Category:Smart bands