Almost two years after the launch of the Nike+ FuelBand fitness tracker wristband and its companion iOS app, the Oregon-based sportswear firm has finally on Tuesday launched an app for the Androidplatform, thereby moving out of the exclusive iOS domain. While all earlier Nike+ devices were compatible only with iOS devices, the inclusion of the Android platform with the Nike+FuelBand App for Android will boost its reach as a huge chunk of the fitness hungry population that had earlier been alienated will finally be coming on-board.
Speaking about it, Stefan Olander, Nike’s VP of Digital Sport, said in a post on the company’s news room, “With 30 million users, NikeFuel is rapidly becoming the universal measure of activity. Now, with the launch of the Nike+ FuelBand App for Android we’re delighted to help even more athletes get better.”
The current version of the Nike+ FuelBand App for Android is 1.0 and it is available on the Google Play store. It is compatible on select devices running Android 4.3 or above, and requires the FuelBand SE wearable device for data. The major features of the app include the NikeFuel Daily Goal that allows users to create, edit and view progress towards a goal; apart fromthe Sessions feature that allows users to track movement through the day, as well as during workout sessions and games. This is done in sync with the Nike+ FuelBand SE.
Once the session is done, users can review and calibrate the data and share it on the Nike+ website. Move reminders and Win the Hour are features which allow users to set reminders on the Nike+ FuelBand. The features will remind users to move for five minutes every hour and also track success with hourly stats. All this is in addition to other features like NikeFuel Leaderboards, Activities and Session History and NikeFuel Daily Goal Recognition.
The Nike+FuelBand App for Android syncs via Bluetooth LE with the Nike+ FuelBand SE device. Users can view and edit the Nike+ account and the settings of the FuelBand through it. On the flipside though the app doesn’t support the original Nike+ FuelBand 1.0. The list of compatible Android devices include, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S3, Google Nexus 5, HTC One and the Moto X. In addition a user will also need the Nike+ FuelBand SE to ensure compatibility. It is available as an English only version in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Japan for free download.
