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Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

reuters.com

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Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#141

Post by zamalek »

not2b wrote: post #91

Very bad news for anyone who has a Fitbit device. Google tends to destroy any "smart" devices they acquire; first they tie it more closely to their ecosystem, too much for comfort, then they remove features, then they get bored and neglect it, then you have a brick.

If you own a Fitbit (I do), it's great news. Fitbit have done an unmatched job of destroying the device already. I was honestly considering buying a different device already.

They don't support Spotify, or really any music app except the one (which I don't remember). Their subscription service provides no real value at all. Their devices track heart rate and nothing else. They simply don't innovate at all.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#142

Post by gniv »

climb_stealth wrote: post #43
ignoramous wrote: post #16

> Fitbits’ stock shot up almost 30 percent after the first rumors surfaced. In recent months, the company’s stock often traded below $3, down from close to $48 shortly after its IPO in 2015. Today, after the announcement, it went up to around $5.20. Good lord, must the acquisition offer feel like a relief? Surely, Fitbit wouldn't do a Groupon now. The article fails to mention Fossil, but Google recently did acquire t…

I was really happy with the Fossil hybrid watch that I got for christmas two years ago. The bluetooth worked perfectly which I would never had expected. Whilst the Fossil app is great the actual bluetooth reliability has gone downhill with the latest updates and I'm wondering whether it is related to talent moving to Google.

I'm thinking of getting a hybrid too. If you were to buy today, would you still go for the Fossil?

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#143

Post by paulborza »

throwaway123x2 wrote: post #108

Anybody know how to delete your data from fitbit? Looks like I have a crappy watch now, instead of a smart device.

If you go to https://www.fitbit.com/settings/profile and click Delete Account, the data seems to be deleted after 7 days.

"By requesting your account to be deleted, you will no longer be able to login. Your data will be permanently deleted after a 7 day grace period. Coach Premium plans will also get deleted."

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#144

Post by jschwartzi »

CydeWeys wrote: post #116
philliphaydon wrote: post #69

Ah nooo please. Anyone but google. I love my Fitbit charge 3 and was thinking about replacing my Fitbit scale because my original model just died after 6 years. If google is going to buy Fitbit then I’m out.

I've found that Garmin has higher quality hardware than Fitbit anyway. Every Fitbit I ever had ended up being replaced multiple times under warranty because the hardware was very low quality (or badly designed) and broke.

I wore my Charge 2 scrambling and rock climbing, scratched the shit out of the screen, dropped it, wore it to Tough Mudder, and somehow after 3 years of that it still just works.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#145

Post by lostgame »

myko wrote: post #84
borvo wrote: post #33

Oh no. First they f*cked up nest and now fitbit?

Nest seems to have only improved under Google? They were floundering before the purchase. That said, they ought to do Google auth integration as it's really annoying to maintain a separate Nest account for those products.

>> Nest seems to have only improved under Google? They were floundering before the purchase

I think OP is referencing that Google itself is the lack of improvement. Who cares how the company is doing if buying its products are out of the question due to privacy concerns.

I’m in the majority here who would never use or buy a product attached to Google.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#146

Post by AgloeDreams »

jcdavis wrote: post #119
AgloeDreams wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sales numbers talk, happy customers walk. Fitbit sells tons (likely 10x that of Garmin), while they are poorly rated. Garmin really doesn't as much even though their products are quite well liked. Google wants the brand.

Its closer than you might think - Fitbit did $1.5B in rev last year. Haven't check their filings but presumably thats almost all from their devices. Garmin did $858m in rev last year from their "fitness" segment. Plus some fraction of their $809m "outdoor" segment includes the Fenix line, which is also in the same category. So probably $1B+ total

Fair point actually, it is closer than I thought my apologies. Garmin makes a lot more money per unit. (Avg selling price of likely over $300) Fitbit sells many more units per year (@~$130/unit), which is scalable.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#147

Post by ip26 »

aluminussoma wrote: post #38

I would think that Google's first choice was Garmin. In my personal opinion, they have better watch products. It was reported last month that Fitbit engaged Qatalyst for a sale. I wonder who leaked the news to Reuters, which did not mention a price: was it Qatalyst, hoping to start a bidding war?

Perhaps, but Garmin's core business is GPS technology, not smart watches. Buying Garmin for smart watches would be like, I don't know, buying Google to get YouTube.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#148

Post by loons2 »

cannonedhamster wrote: post #115
astrodust wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'll be interesting to see if FitBit sales implode because of acquisition rumors.

I can literally buy a $30 Chinese smartwatch that does 95% of what Fitbit and their $200 devices claim. The Chinese product spies on me less, has better customer service, and isn't asking me to join their stupid service which just locked up parts of the device that used to come with it. I'm surprised that they haven't imploded already.

My $10 Chinese smartwatch actually does more than my wife's fitbit. The fitbit app syncs with her weight-watcher's account, which is the only reason she bought it, and is the only thing it can do that mine can't.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#149

Post by sakopov »

zamalek wrote: post #141
not2b wrote: post #91

Very bad news for anyone who has a Fitbit device. Google tends to destroy any "smart" devices they acquire; first they tie it more closely to their ecosystem, too much for comfort, then they remove features, then they get bored and neglect it, then you have a brick.

If you own a Fitbit (I do), it's great news. Fitbit have done an unmatched job of destroying the device already. I was honestly considering buying a different device already. They don't support Spotify, or really any music app except the one (which I don't remember). Their subscription service provides no real value at all. Their devices track heart rate and nothing else. They simply don't innovate at all.

I haven't used Fitbit since the first iteration of the product, but why would you want Spotify on a device that tracks your fitness level?

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#150

Post by lisptw102019 »

partiallypro wrote: post #101
dblock wrote: post #97

Fitbit is damaged goods. Just read https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/Would-you-buy-Fitbit-I... - I own one of these along with many unsatisfied customers. Google is buying technical debt.

I love my Fitbit Versa, every product has unsatisfied customers. Anyhow, I was actually hoping Microsoft would buy them, and make an assistant agnostic device that could run Google, Alexa or Cortana.

Not enough people wanted Microsoft's in-house product when it existed, and it was even back then better than the competition in many ways.

I'm guessing they've learned their lesson after buying nokia...

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