HTC is set to design a series of professional fitness products with Under Armour
Fitness is big at CES 2015, even if the free beer trolls tell a different story. HTC, who were relatively silent this CES save for the Desire 826, have got into the act with an alliance with Under Armour Inc. As part of the deal, HTC will design a series of professional fitness products to work with UA Record, the latest fitness platform from Under Armour. Under Armour is known for products engineered for serious enthusiasts and athletes, meaning this partnership takes HTC into the professional fitness space, an interesting development. HTC announced that Under Armour’s team of designers, sports scientists and athletes are working with HTC’s Connected Products business unit as well as its design and engineering teams.
The UA Record app is an open fitness platform that enables members to invite up to 20 friends within their network to compete in customized health and fitness challenges centered on specific goals. Real-time updates, leaderboard progress and an open conversation forum for group participants are enabled. Not only that, the ability to share content, such as videos, photos and workout stories is built into the app along with access to original content on nutrition, training methodologies and injury prevention.
HTC CEO Peter Chou mentioned this as an opportunity, saying “We want our products to meet the needs of every individual – whether you’re training for a personal best in your next half marathon, or a professional athlete honing your performance with a full training staff behind you. So far, no company has been able to deliver this level of support and we feel we have a tremendous opportunity to disrupt and accelerate the development of this market.”
