Nike unveiled on Thursday with its Nike+ FuelBand, a personal accelerometer that measures your activity in what Nike calls “Fuel”, or your movement in three dimensions. The FuelBand takes the Nike+ data collection engine and expands it to a full day’s worth of activities, then combines it with a basic LED wristband for data reporting and interaction.
Users will be able to preorder the FuelBand for $150 on the Nike online store at 5pm EST, company said. The FuelBand will notify you through its LED software whether or not you meet those goals. It even offers a polished user interface and web access for $50 extra.
“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 and Chief Executive Mark Parker, in a statement. “Nike has always been about inspiring athletes, and the NIKE+ FuelBand will help motivate them in a simple, fun and intuitive way.”
The concept is simple: you set a daily goal of physical activity, which the FuelBand keeps track of via a built-in accelerometer. At the start of the day the color display is fully read, shifting to fully green as the user reaches his or her goal. You can measure progress in time, calories burned, steps, or the proprietary NikeFuel, a social metric that gives you more “points” for more strenuous activity. Sync the FuelBand with the iPhone app or the Nike+ website, and you get detailed goal tracking and motivation.
