Fitbit debuts Windows Phone 8.1 app with Bluetooth syncing

This post was originally published on the Fitbit press site. It has been adapted from its original format.

Fitbit, the leader in the fast-growing Connected Health and Fitness category, today launched a free, native app for Windows Phone 8.1, making it the first in the category to bring direct mobile syncing to the Windows Phone platform. 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. The new Fitbit app for Windows Phone 8.1 also features Live Tiles – Windows Phone’s Start screen app experience that provides up-to-date content and notifications at a glance – so users can track their steps and instantly know how they are progressing against their daily goals, all without opening the Fitbit app.

“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”

With direct sync now to nearly 100 leading Windows, Android and iOS devices, plus Fitbit’s family of award-winning activity trackers, it’s easier than ever to make fitness part of your everyday lifestyle.

“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,” said James Park, CEO and Co-founder of Fitbit. “Windows Phone is projected [by IDC] 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.”

In addition to real-time stat syncing, users can quickly log fitness and nutrition data and set or manage personal goals directly from the app. Notifications, achievement badges and leaderboards 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. In fact, Fitbit users with one or more friends in the Fitbit community are 27 percent more active.

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

Mobile and Market Leadership

Fitbit’s award-winning activity and sleep trackers including the Flex, One and Zip sync wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.0 to nearly 100 devices (72 Android, 9 iOS and 17 Windows devices) offering the most cross-platform support of any brand in the industry. The Fitbit app is a leading app in the iTunes Store and has more than one million downloads on the Google Play Store.

Introducing a Windows Phone app with direct sync opens up many possibilities. It will create new channel opportunities with retailers, open up new technologies for Fitbit app development and expand device compatibility for Fitbit users. The new Fitbit app for Windows Phone 8.1 devices is now available for free on the Windows Phone Store. The app is available worldwide in English, with support for additional languages due in the coming months.

Fitbit is the market leader and pioneer in the connected health and fitness space. Fitbit products are sold in 46 countries and 37,000 retail stores worldwide. According to the NPD Group, Fitbit sold 67 percent of activity trackers last year in the United States; already this year market share has increased to 69 percent.