Facebook puts the moves on Moves
On something of an acquisition spree at the moment, Facebook has picked up Finland-based activity tracker app Moves for an undisclosed sum.
Moves set to take on the likes of Fitbit and Nike in the tracker band market, launching in early 2013 after scoring $ 1.6m of seed funding, led by Lifeline Ventures and PROfounders Capital.
The app runs in the background on Apple and Android devices and tracks users’ physical activity by automatically recognising movement such as walking, cycling, running and transportation. The app tells users how much they move, shows routes on a map and provides a simple daily storyline of their life.
“It’s a very smart move to buy Moves given how hot the activity tracking space is right now. This is a slick application that has been a trailblazer in this app category on smartphones,” said Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight.
“We predicted that for a lot of users there really is no need for a smartband to track your activity. Moves not only captures your activity levels but also where you have been. That so-called ‘contextual data’ will be immensely valuable to Facebook,” said Wood.
The Moves purchase comes hot on the heels of Facebook’s $2bn purchase of immersive virtual reality developer Oculus VR, as an investment for the future, when such technology is expected to become commonplace.
This week Facebook also began rolling out a mobile app feature called Nearby Friends that “helps you discover which friends are nearby or on the go.”
If you turn on Nearby Friends, you’ll “occasionally” be notified when friends are nearby, so you can get in touch with them and meet up, the company said.
