LAS VEGAS — You may not have heard of Fitbug before, but the wearable fitness tracking device maker was one of the first companies in the now booming fit-tech space.
Launched in 2005, the UK company moved to the U.S. in 2010. Fitbug originally sold its product to companies and healthcare providers but now it's reaching out to the consumer market.
At International CES 2013 Fitbug announced three new products — the Fitbug Orb (activity tracker), Fitbug Wow (scale), and Fitbug Luv (blood pressure monitor). All of the devices are Bluetooth 4.0 enabled so you can receive all the data on one app.
Your personal data is also uploaded to the Fitbug cloud and accessible on your personal account on the website. As with all Fitbug products, users must buy a monthly service to access the cloud and have an account on the site. Pricing ranges from about $60 per year to $4 per month with a $30 up-front cost.
Paul Landau, CEO of Fitbug, tells Mashable Fitbug's products offer users personalized health programs by tracking their progress in terms of weight, activity and blood pressure.
With the launch of the new Fitbug Orb, Landau said they've listened to user feedback and heard people complain about wearing the device. Like most pedometers, Fitbug attaches onto your waistband or pants pocket. When wearing a dress, women had no option but it to tuck it into their underwear, which was uncomfortable, he said.
The newest Fitbug Orb offers lots of wearable options. It comes with a lanyard and a safety clip, so you won't lose it. Plus a sleep band (it tracks sleep, too) and a key fob. Consumers can chose the other new wearable accessories such as the wristband ($14.99), belt clip ($14.99), or thin magnetic underwear clip ($9.99).
The Fitbug Orb retails for $49.99.
The blood pressure monitor, the Fitbug Luv, is currently going through FDA approval. Landau said he is hoping it will be approved some time around May or June. (Most of these devices don't go through FDA approval, but when something specifically gives users a diagnosis, it needs FDA approval). It will compete with the Withings blood pressure monitoring device that's already available. The Luv costs $79.99.
The Fitbug scale (the Wow) costs $114 or $163 — the price depends on whether you purchase it with or without the Fitbug Air tracker.
Fitbug is currently working on integrating with MyFitnessPal and LoseIt.com. It is already integrated with MapMyFitness.
Have you tried the Fitbug products in the past? What do you think of these updated products? Tell us in the comments.
Andrea Smith conducted the interview for this report. Photos by Nina Frazier.
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