Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#81

Post by scarface74 » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:56 PM UTC

slightwinder wrote: post #59

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.

What long and successful history? The only one that I can think of that was a definite success is Android.

Their only notable hardware acquisitions that I can think of were Motorola which was a disaster, Nest which is barely muddling along, and the semi-acquisition of HTC’s hardware team that made the Pixel. While the Pixel may be a great phone, it isn’t taking the world by storm

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#82

Post by MereInterest » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:56 PM UTC

Mortiffer wrote: post #11

I can see them linking this data to medical data and getting sued again. Like last June https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/26/technology/google-univers...

I've been interested in tracking sleep/exercise/heart rate more closely, but have yet to find a manufacturer that takes privacy seriously. Whatever device I have should transfer data only to computers that are under my control. No matter how pure the intentions of the current maintainers of centralized databases, acquisitions can lead to those databases being in unscrupulous hands.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#83

Post by ceejayoz » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:56 PM UTC

koolba wrote: post #51

> 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.

I mean, it's not even true now. They just sold all the data. To Google.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#84

Post by partiallypro » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:56 PM UTC

Apple would be fools to not offer Android support on the Apple watch on the back of this news... But they are so concerned about ecosystem lock in they might not. There are now officially no stylish or social alternatives to Google or Apple wearables. I'm sorry, but Garmin is just not style focused and one of the benefits of fitbit is the social aspect of challenging your friends. This is a huge blow to wearables.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#85

Post by kungito » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

windexh8er wrote: post #63

Garmin and Apple have the fitness market covered. Fitbit never had the hardcore fitness market Garmin executed into and Apple has always had a product that works well across the wearable and fitness. Between these two companies I can't imagine there's much of a niche Fitbit does better. On the extreme hardcore triathlon user even Garmin has taken a lot of market from Suunto and the like. I've owned a handful of Garmi…

Google needs a proper smartphone-like smartwatch and they needed a cheap buy to speed up the dev process. They don't need the Garmin market because they want a smartwatch on every person and not on every athletic person. I was always hoping smart glasses come after smart phones but I guess these are even smaller and need even more time than watches to become efficient enough to cover for the small battery.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#86

Post by sheinsheish » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

me_me_me wrote: post #54

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.

Mi 3 or 4

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#87

Post by pmlnr » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

neuromancer2701 wrote: post #77

windexh8er wrote: post #63

Garmin and Apple have the fitness market covered. Fitbit never had the hardcore fitness market Garmin executed into and Apple has always had a product that works well across the wearable and fitness. Between these two companies I can't imagine there's much of a niche Fitbit does better. On the extreme hardcore triathlon user even Garmin has taken a lot of market from Suunto and the like. I've owned a handful of Garmi…

Fibit should fit perfectly into the 99$ market for a zillion people that just want to track steps and sleep cycles.

You have 10$ chinese brand-able devices for that: https://rbaron.net/blog/2018/05/27/Hacking-a-cheap-fitness-t...

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#88

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

w0utert wrote: post #62

kgraves wrote: post #56

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.

I'm probably just drawing a mental blank here, but what's the 'N' in FAANG? :-S

[deleted]

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#89

Post by scarface74 » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

neuromancer2701 wrote: post #77

windexh8er wrote: post #63

Garmin and Apple have the fitness market covered. Fitbit never had the hardcore fitness market Garmin executed into and Apple has always had a product that works well across the wearable and fitness. Between these two companies I can't imagine there's much of a niche Fitbit does better. On the extreme hardcore triathlon user even Garmin has taken a lot of market from Suunto and the like. I've owned a handful of Garmi…

Fibit should fit perfectly into the 99$ market for a zillion people that just want to track steps and sleep cycles.

And why wouldn’t they just buy a $199 Apple Watch Series 3? How many people are both into fitness and do price conscience that they won’t spend an extra $100.

Well, they could cater to the Android market.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#90

Post by vader1 » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

This is terrible news. As if Google didn't know enough about you already - they will now be supplied with a 24/7 live feed of your most sensitive health statistics.

I'll be switching to a competitor and closing down my account there as soon as possible to hopefully prevent years of my historic data from being merged into the (ghost) profile Google has on me.

But at this rate it won't be long before there are simply no more competitors to FAANG left anymore. Actually enforcing antitrust laws, anyone, pretty please?