Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#51

Post by koolba » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:42 PM UTC

> The company never sells personal information, and Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads.

Is there any legal enforcement to prevent this in the future?

Besides marketing by health status, I can imagine that advertisers would be very interested in your heart rate before / during / after viewing an ad.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#52

Post by bransonf » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:42 PM UTC

roland35 wrote: post #38

I am not sure what to think about this as a Fitbit user! I have been trying to find an easy way to get sleep and exercise data and Fitbit seemed to do the job well enough (I use my phone app during runs to get GPS data). Google's history of killing off successful but stagnant projects (RIP Reader) does worry me a lot! My prediction is that Fitbit merges with Google Fit which I used to work but I had trouble getting a…

If you actually are looking for another option, my bias is toward Garmin.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#53

Post by Cyclone_ » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:44 PM UTC

If people are interested in alternatives, Garmin and Polar are companies unlikely to ever be acquired by a big tech company that would rely on selling data as a business model.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#54

Post by me_me_me » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:45 PM UTC

And here I was considering getting fitbit...

Could anyone suggest an alternative?

I really have no trust that google will keep promise not to use the data.

edit: thanks all, I have too look into it all back home.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#55

Post by ocdtrekkie » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:46 PM UTC

kungito wrote: post #49

I for one welcome this change. I want a standalone smartwatch good enough so that I can stop using my phone. The state of smartwatches right now is quite sad (I cannot afford an Apple smartwatch so I cannot speak for those). The simple list of things I want from a smartwatch right now are barely fulfilled by the best I could find which is Huawei Watch 2. I want Google Pay, calls and LTE, proper Maps navigation, sendi…

That's a completely different product than Fitbit is. Even its full blown smartwatches are very light, very dumb peripherals with very low power that last a week on a charge. They're really not the same type of product as a Wear OS or Apple Watch type device, and trying to turn them into one will take away all of why Fitbit owners choose them.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#56

Post by kgraves » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:47 PM UTC

Eventually, all startups will be acquired into the FAANG companies, no matter whatever their "mission statement" is, just like Matryoshka dolls.

Pebble -> Fitbit -> Google.

I am sure there are more examples.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#57

Post by phaedrus » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:49 PM UTC

Yesterday I was reading the Google Graveyard https://killedbygoogle.com/ so my first reaction on seeing this headline was to think it meant Google is killing Fitbit.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#58

Post by twinge » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:50 PM UTC

taneq wrote: post #29

Reminder for anyone who used a Pebble: Your data will have been sold to FitBit and so Google now gets it. Yay!

I still have the original Kickstarter pebble. Other than my email address and the apps I installed, I can't think of any data at risk.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#59

Post by slightwinder » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:50 PM UTC

kerng wrote: post #46

Vic Gundotra (VP Google) said back when Microsoft bought Nokia that "two turkeys don't make an eagle". Google officially has become the Microosft of the mid 2000s. Lack of direction and innovation, buying up companies just for the sake of it. Here is a link to Google's anology: https://www.techspot.com/news/42338-google-attacks-nokia-and...

Google has a long and successful history of acquisitions, as also a long history of lack of direction and headless actions even in their youth days. It's probably just natural for a company with too much money to invest that way.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#60

Post by naringas » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:51 PM UTC

jpm_sd wrote: post #31

https://news.yahoo.com/google-acquiring-fitbit-130619853.htm... "Google has struggled to make much of a dent in the wearables category..." "Fitbit, meanwhile, has had issues maintaining growth in recent years." Failure + failure = success?

growth != success

edit: not saying it didn't used to be, up to the 20th century it certainly was.