Fitbit prepares an app store: smartwatch ready on launch ramp?

The world's leading producer of fitness trackers is particularly active and after the acquisition of Pebble is aiming at the world of smartwatches

So similar and so different, you might say. The fact is that the boundary between fitness trackers and smartwatches is getting thinner and thinner, with the former having such advanced features as to brazenly resemble the latter. Perhaps for this reason Fitbit has decided that the time has come to "invade" the field.

The U.S. manufacturer, among the leaders in the field of fitness trackers and sportwatches, is seriously thinking of adding a smartwatch to its product line. Several clues lead in this direction. First of all, the recently completed acquisition of Pebble, a manufacturer of smartwatches with electronic ink displays particularly well known to the Kickstarter community. Secondly, Fitbit's intention to create an app store open to the collaboration of independent developers and other software houses.

Why is Fitbit opening an app store?

The confirmation of the opening of the app store comes from James Park, founder and CEO of Fitbit itself. There are various reasons that would push the company to launch an electronic showcase from which to download apps: from the need to keep up with major competitors (Android smartwatches and Apple iPhone can count on tens of thousands of apps) to the desire to respond to the needs of business customers. Our partners," Park said during an interview, "would like to launch different kinds of apps, from fitness apps to health apps that, for example, remind you when it's time to take your medicine.