If one doesn’t want their data to be consumed/owned by Google, what’s the best alternative fitness band (not smart watch) on the market? I specifically do not want all of the smart watch features... just fitness/health tracking.
Garmin
Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
621–630 of 784 posts
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#622Earlier quoted context omitted.
If this is really the driver behind Google buying them, what do you think are the odds that most - if not all - of the non-watch FitBit products are eventually discontinued? That's how they built up a following, with devices that were inexpensive, and did a few things well, but given the current environment, Google doesn't seem like they are interested in that market.
I think there's an enormous market for <=~$100 wearables that are primarily positioned as health trackers. Among other things, many wellness programs partner with Fitbit as a device provider. The first mover advantage for Fitbit also carries over into their existing, very expansive, partner ecosystem. This "health tracker" market is far larger market than the one for fully functional smart watches with 1-2 day batter…
I'm currently using a Mi Band 3 with Gadgetbridge on Android just because I know it doesn't phone home, last several days and gather enough data for what I'm doing. Oh and seeing notifications without pulling my phone out of my pocket is a big reason why I wear one.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#623Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nokia Here maps and Apple Maps is larger than Google Maps on iOS.
Apple Maps is so bad that people go out of their way to install another map app even though the OS does not let them properly use the other app as a default. Nokia Maps pre-existed Waze and wouldn't have benefited from purchasing it.
> Apple Maps is so bad that people go out of their way to install another map app
That used to be the case, but they’ve rapidly improved while Google Maps on iOS has mostly stagnated. There’s feature in Apple Maps on iOS 13 that I find useful that nobody else has even.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#624Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I sort of agree, I think the problem is that "they're selling your data" misstates what actually happens. Facebook and Google want to collect your data and keep it. What they're selling is indirect access to you: the more information they have on you, the more precisely they can theoretically target advertising and content to you. Keeping the data they have on you to themselves is literally their business model…
Google also wants to meddle with the elections (Numerous quotes here, but the most relevant is certainly Youtube’s CEO). Anyway, you are right for the collect-and-keep-my-data part, but I think in their idea they want to use this data to build some sort of utopia. That is the most benevolent appreciation on it, because it is one that explains all of “Do no evil”, election “influence”, use of AI and exhaustive data co…
A utopia was originally the exploration of what life would be like if a philosophy was taken to the extreme. In that sense, one man's utopia is another man's personal hell.
For example in the utopic vision of anarchy, there are no authorities and everyone must find their own path in the world. The flip side of having no decisions made for you is that you must make all of your own decisions. Or in democracy, since anyone and everyone has the exact same power over decisions, all the really important decisions are made in the most mediocre way possible. In Capitalism, we have the specter of individuals being ground into raw resources and then spit out when they reach their useful lifespan.
So if their intent is to build a utopia of their own making, that's definitionally evil because it admits no dissenting opinion in the matter of how we live our lives.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#625Well done Google. So now you won't spy on me only when I am typing something on a computer or phone but also when I breath or when my heart beats. *uck FitBit. There it is in the dustbin and everyone else I see wearing it is an idiot or is an idiot. I hope insurance companies don't make it mandatory to provide my google account details while signing up. But who am I fooling.... So much for "Don't be Evil"....RIP
>So much for "Don't be Evil"....RIP https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/10/02/as-google-becomes-al...
Behind a paywall. Unfortunately I don't pay people/organisations to tell me what their opinion is. They can very well keep it to themselves.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#626Earlier quoted context omitted.
From Google's privacy policy: We don’t share information that personally identifies you with advertisers, such as your name or email, unless you ask us to
We all know it's possible to identify you even without name or email, given enough data.
If it was easy, advertisers would be doing it already.
Google is highly motivated to keep your data fire-walled from advertisers.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#627Earlier quoted context omitted.
From Google's privacy policy: We don’t share information that personally identifies you with advertisers, such as your name or email, unless you ask us to
The problem isn't just their sharing the data (although you'd be naive to assume that the data they collect isn't being turned over to at least the US government) it's the collecting and storing of that data itself that is problematic. The fact that they're using that data to manipulate us via advertising isn't much better.
The presence and centralization of the data makes it a very juicy target for all kinds of evil people.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#628Expect the Google fit app to have these branding changes over the coming years : Fit - > Fitbit -> Google Fitbit -> Android Fit -> Finally back to Google Fit in 2023
Should I be worried about the branding? Or the fact this behemoth of a company is buying it's way into every corner of my life. Close your eyes and imagine a few drones trying to see everything you do in your apartment. That's what it is. This ain't the internet I ordered :-(
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#629Oof. Goodbye Fitbit. Or, rather, welcome to the world where you're a pawn in internal politics. You may think you have a product but you don't. If your product survives (as in, Google didn't buy you just for the team), your product schedule will have to survive the interests of every other PA/team in Google. - You think you have software to run your products? Ha. The Android team will have a different opinion. - Even…
> as in, Google didn't buy you just for the team
Or for the data ... even better profiles of people, including people who tried avoiding giving Google that data. Probably time for such users to send GDPR notices (If EU citizens)
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#630Google: Says "Don't be evil"
I : yippee.
20 years later
Google: This is what being evil means....okay....
I : ok. But do I have a choice....
Google: well.....if you did, we'll buy it anyway. So please fall in line....