New NIKE+ FuelBand brings fitness tracking to everyday activites
NIKE have added a new gadget to their range of digital fitness products today. The NIKE+FuelBand sits on a user’s wrist, and is designed to track everyday movements that could encourage people to live more active lives.
Pairing up with the NIKE+ website or a free iOS app over Bluetooth, the NIKE+FuelBand uses an incentive system called NikeFuel. A normalized score that awards equal points for the same activity regardless of physical makeup, users can set a daily goal of how much NikeFuel they want to earn through being active during the day.
Whereas previous NIKE fitness systems have required users to set aside time for a workout, the FuelBand instead uses four slightly more passive metrics (Time, Calories, Steps and NikeFuel) that can be tracked throughout an entire day, letting users gradually adapt their days to make them a little more active.
The wristband itself lets you track how close you’ve come to reaching your target goals over a day through a series of 20 LED lights, gradually building from red to green as you approach your set achievements.
“The NIKE+ FuelBand is a way for Nike to further evolve the exciting possibilities of merging the physical and digital worlds,” said NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker.
“Nike has always been about inspiring athletes, and the NIKE+ FuelBand will help motivate them in a simple, fun and intuitive way.”
The NIKE+ FuelBand already has the backing of some major names in the world of sport too, including seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstong, Oklahoma City scoring champion Kevin Durant and 2011 IAAF women’s 100 metres World Champion Carmelita Jeter.
“What’s great about the idea of NikeFuel and the FuelBand is the way it provides real information and numbers to show how much people are doing all day, every day,” said Armstrong.
“That’s what will get people challenging themselves to do more and better their own scores. It’s a tool to get people more active.”
The Nike+ FuelBand will be available in the UK from the 1st May, priced at £139.
