Adidas, the German sports footwear and sports apparel giant, has set foot into the business of designing and developing fitness trackers to help people achieve fitness goals.
Its move into this new device category with the new Fit Smart comes at an awkward time since reports seem to show that a large number of users have simply stopped using sports wearables made by other companies.
Case in point: Nike, Adidas’ top competitor, has had a checkered history in the wearables business.
Nike confirmed last April it was laying off some of its employees that developed its FuelBand fitness tracker. The company denies the product will be discontinued, however.
According to Canalys, an independent technology analyst company, Nike ranked third in the basic wearable bands market.
Adidas is going to face stiff competition since Apple will release its own version of a smartwatch with the same health tracking capabilities later this year. This report will raise market expectations since Apple has achieved huge successes with with its smartphones and MP3 players.
The million dollar question is, “Does Adidas have the technology and skill to create better fitness trackers?”
Paul Gaudio, Adidas’ general manager for digital sports, said the company has accepted this challenge.
“The real core idea behind it was to put a personal fitness coach on everybody’s wrist,” he stated.
The Adidas wristband, which will retail for $199, will go on sale mid-August. It will have the same features as other fitness trackers but will emphasize measuring a user’s heart rate.
The wristband will indicate how the body performs when running. It can coach a runner about proper pacing through LED lights and vibrations.
Adidas said its expertise in sports gives it a better understanding of how wearables should be created.
