Fitness tracking gadget pioneer Fitbit has released a Windows Phone 8.1 app and says it is the first in the category to bring direct mobile syncing to Microsoft’s latest mobile OS.
With Windows Phone users having at least 700,000 fewer apps than iOS and Android users, it’s still newsworthy when a popular app finally makes it onto the Windows Phone platform.
The latest company to join the WinPhone app bandwagon is fitness gadget pioneer, Fitbit, which has finally launched its popular Fitbit app in the ‘Connected Health and Fitness’ category of the Windows Phone app store – and says it is the first in the category to do so.
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| Fitbit Dashboard – Windows Phone 8.1 |
Offering real-time Bluetooth syncing, Fitbit says Windows Phone 8.1 users “now have instant access to up-to- date stats from any Fitbit wireless activity tracker, which tracks health and fitness metrics including steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, active minutes, floors climbed and sleep quality.”
As you’d expect, the new app supports Windows Phone’s Live Tiles featuring “up-to-date content and notifications at a glance”, letting users “track their steps and instantly know how they are progressing against their daily goals, all without opening the Fitbit app.”
The app also lets users “quickly log fitness and nutrition data and set or manage personal goals directly from the app”, with “notifications, achievement badges and leaderboards [to] help keep users motivated throughout the day and they can cheer, taunt and direct message friends within the app to help reach health and fitness goals faster with a little friendly competition”.
Fitbit also notes that its users “with one or more friends in the Fitbit community are 27 percent more active”.
James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit said: “”At Fitbit, we know that giving our users instant access to real-time stats right on their smartphone increases motivation to achieve goals and, ultimately, make healthier choices.”
Talking up the potential of Windows Phone, Mr Park added that: “Windows is projected to be the fastest growing smartphone OS platform, so supporting this platform is important so that all of our users have access to their stats, no matter which phone they choose.
“With our new Fitbit app for Windows Phone 8.1, we expand our already extensive list of leading Android and iOS supported devices, to bring Fitbit’s benefits to even more users.”
Fitbit’s dedicated page for Windows Phone users brings up a “page not found” message at time of publication, but it will no doubt be working during this week following the overnight launch of the brand new app – as are many of the FAQ support pages for the Windows Phone app already.
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The free Fitbit app for Windows Phone 8.1 includes:
– Real-time stats: Automatic and wireless syncing for all Fitbit activity and sleep trackers through Bluetooth 4.0 ?
– Fitbit on your Start screen: Pin the Fitbit Live Tile to your Start screen and quickly view your step count ?
– Stay on track: Real-time and historical stats in easy-to-understand graphs, to help track progress and set ?goals ?
– Log more than activity: Recently enhanced food database of more than 350,000 foods with accurate ?nutritional data for faster, better food-logging and calorie coaching ?
– Get motivated: Fitbit’s motivational social tools like notifications and badges, to help reach target goals ?
– Stay social: Ability to challenge friends and family with leaderboards, direct messages, cheers and taunts.
