Has Tim Cook Killed Nike Fuelband’s Android Future?

(11:38 am PDT, Feb 11th)

nikefuelband

Why doesn’t Nike want to bring the Fuelband to Android?

The Nike Fuelband was one of my favorite gadgets last year. It tracks all your movement to help you stay in shape. It syncs everything with your iPhone. Plus, it looks pretty freaking cool.

Nike Fuelband is part of the wave of futuristic wearable fitness devices. In a couple of years we’ll all have something like it, but for now, the Nike Fuelband only syncs with your computer or iPhone. There’s no Android app, and according to Nike, you shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for one.

On February 9th, Nike Support informed people through Twitter that they’re only focusing on iOS and web right now. “We’re not working on an Android App.”

It seems odd that Nike would pass up the opporuntity to sell Fuelbands to the millions of people using Android phones. Even though you can still sync up your Fuelband on your PC, the appeal of the Fuelband is that it’s a truly mobile gadget.

Well, maybe the answer to Nike shunning Android has something to do with a certain member on its board of directors.

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, joined Nike’s Board of Directors back in 2005 and is still a member. The relationship has helped Apple and Nike form a partnership and integrate Nike + iPod into numerous iPods and even the iPhone.

Did Tim Cook ask Nike to keep Fuelband an iOS exclusive for a while? Maybe Apple’s working with Nike on their own iWatch that includes Nike+ integration? We’re not sure. All we know is that Nike and Apple are very close, and we wouldn’t be surprised if old Timmy was pulling some strings to keep the Fuelband away from Android.

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Comment »

  • bdkennedy11

    Well, it sounds to me Apple is going to kill the Fuelband completely if its coming out with its own watch.

  • Armando McGillacuddy

    Stupid move on behalf of both parties. Nike shouldn’t ignore Android just because Tim Cook is on the board, and Apple shouldn’t blatantly stymy competition. The shareholders both demand a compete all costs mindset, but protectionism to defend market share only winds up doing more harm than good.

    • pjs_boston

      This is all speculation. Many developers avoid Android due to low revenues and platform fragmentation. It may simply be that Nike can’t be bothered with Android.

      • http://twitter.com/ebernet ebernet

        Agree. Especially for the limited market of Android phones running 4.2 whose owners are the type who have no qualms shelling out for a $150 piece of hardware. The majority of Android owners are cheap (Yes, I know there are SIII owners who are not “cheap”) and would never spend $150 on such a device.

        • http://twitter.com/ivan_drago81 Ivan Drago

          And apple owners are hip rich people who can afford anything Tim sh!ts?

  • CSMcDonald

    And you’re basing this story on the fact that Nike has pulled all of their other Android apps like the run tracker and such? Oh right, no they haven’t.

    linkbait.

    • http://twitter.com/ebernet ebernet

      Run tracker etc. are software solutions. They do not involve a $150 hardware add-on. While Android’s market share is larger than that of iOS, that is not the case in the US, when the iPhone is the majority seller. In the rest of the world, where Android phones can be bought for less money than iPhones, and where people can get them with cheaper contracts, THAT is where they sell like gangbusters. Those people are not buying a $150 luxury jogging add-on. I’m sure Nike has done their due diligence and market research and this has nothing to do with Tim Cook. This has everything to do with cost/benefit analysis, Add to that that currently the addressable market is the limited number of Android phones with Bluetooth 4.0 running Android OS 4.2, and it just does not make sense _at this time_.

  • pjs_boston

    Maybe the folks at Nike can’t be bothered to develop for Android because there’s no money in it.

About the author

Buster HeineBuster Heine is Cult of Android's Social Media Editor. Hailing from Roswell, New Mexico, but now spending his days in Phoenix, Arizona, he wastes most of his time eating burritos and reading spanish romance novels.  Twitter: @bst3r.

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