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Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

cnet.com

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Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#61

Post by brianchu »

jamesaguilar wrote: post #53
dang wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All: should we change the url of the post to this one? It's not clear which is better. Edit: there are arguments on both sides. Since the Cnet article seems to be the original source, let's stick with it.

I would say yes. Fixing misinformation (even honest misinformation) on the front page is a good thing.

I don't think we should be changing titles/urls of articles just because a company made a statement denying something. CNET is making a claim. Nike is denying it. That's not grounds for changing titles.

Companies, people, and governments deny things that turn out to be true all the time. I'm not saying Nike is lying. Just that their denial is not clear evidence of misinformation.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#62

Post by enjo »

Bahamut wrote: post #30
dragonwriter wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. For Nike, its already a slaughter -- FitBit has the lion's share of the market for activity trackers, Nike was in third well behind Jawbone UP. [1] [1] http://mobihealthnews.com/28825/fitbit-jawbone-nike-had-97-p...

Those are some interesting stats, since amongst runner circles (at least here in DC), Garmins are the most popular by far. Could they be classifying these devices differently?

Fitbit has absolutely nailed the user experience. It's incredibly simple. The battery lasts forever. Plus they've found the perfect level of gamification to make the thing a viral hit. In my social circle, at the very least, the thing has basically taken over. Everyone has one. Everyone is pushing it on their friends because they want to compete against them too.

They have a really nice business going. I have to believe that is miles ahead of what Garmin is doing (which is definitely a different type of tracking).

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#63

Post by rohamg »

TillE wrote: post #29
e28eta wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does. That's partly because I can't imagine what features would make me want to buy an iWatch. So I e…

I imagine the iWatch will primarily be a Fitbit/Fuelband competitor, with some extra features. Like a pulse sensor. If anyone can make what is essentially a pedometer sexy and mass-market, it's Apple. I'll be very surprised if they come out with anything that resembles a "smart watch", save for perhaps Pebble-style notifications.

A "fitbit with extra featres" would be underwhelming. Anything that is not revolutionary on the scale of the iPod, the iPhone or the iPad would not be credible as a core Apple product - which is what Wall Street is crediting the iWatch with being. If Apple did come out with a FitBit competitor they'd be wise to avoid the "watch" moniker, perhaps going with iFit, iBand or something similar.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#64

Post by katchja »

dragonwriter wrote: post #26
e28eta wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does. That's partly because I can't imagine what features would make me want to buy an iWatch. So I e…

> I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. I'm not surprised -- they've been pouring money into marketing, and yet not coming within a mile of the leader (FitBit) in the activity tracker market. > It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general…

I would agree, but hey Apple does have the brightest people on board to make the new iWatch both sexy for the masses and extremely useful. I was looking at either Fitbit or Misfits Wearable, both extremely well designed, and one of them is coming from te "hands" of an ex apple engineer

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#65

Post by e28eta »

dragonwriter wrote: post #26
e28eta wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general consumer and solving the same problems as the FuelBand does. That's partly because I can't imagine what features would make me want to buy an iWatch. So I e…

> I'm surprised by this. To me, it makes a lot of sense that Nike, as a fitness company, produces a wearable device for exercising. I'm not surprised -- they've been pouring money into marketing, and yet not coming within a mile of the leader (FitBit) in the activity tracker market. > It must be a failure of my imagination, but I don't see a smart watch (in the next couple years) being both attractive to the general…

Does that jive with their stated plan to do software only? Does the FitBit hardware have an open API that Nike could integrate with?

Or are they stepping back and waiting for Google, Samsung, Apple, etc, to make a successful hardware device? Whether that's things like the M7 in smartphones or an extra device.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#66

Post by callmeed »

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #10

It's surprising to see it so early, but they probably see the writing on the wall. Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. Apple and Nike teaming up for the iWatch launch is probably a safe bet now too.

How certain is everyone that Apple will launch a wearable? I just don't see it personally.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#67

Post by robgibbons »

hyp0 wrote: post #42
napoleoncomplex wrote: post #10

It's surprising to see it so early, but they probably see the writing on the wall. Once Android Wear and Apple wearables start rolling out, it's going to be a slaughter out there. Apple and Nike teaming up for the iWatch launch is probably a safe bet now too.

I can see iWatches as a big market for a startup, or add-on for Nike - but not for Apple. The profits can't move their meter. The problem is input: Apple solved it for phones (touch screen). They tried voice-recog for shuffle iPod, but dropped it in the next iteration. If they really are making a mass-market iWatch, I think they must have solved this problem in some other way. (Glass solves it, so maybe it won't be a…

They may have scrubbed voice recognition in anticipation of an iWatch-like product.

Re: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware

#68

Post by tomwilson »

fudged71 wrote: post #37
changdizzle wrote: post #8

Even more amazing is that it was first reported on Secret a week ago: https://www.secret.ly/p/uxaztevdcicghcabkkczuzkpkz

So funny. I was at a conference just two weeks ago where RGA was talking about their success with the Nike FuelBand. In reality, nobody used it and the whole team got fired. Brilliant.

The Fuelband is always lauded by the whole advertising / digital creative agency business as proof they can move beyond campaign work and actually make product. Which they all desperately want to do, but their business model is poorly set up for.
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