Following a massive $164 million write-down of its Digital Health division assets with little prospect of turning things around, Nokia is now planning to sell the ailing business back to the co-founder of Withings as part of becoming a B2B and licensing entity.
Announced in Las Vegas at CES, the Nokia Sleep is described as an “advanced sensor” built directly into your mattress pad. The Wi-Fi connected device slips under your mattress with the goal of monitoring and recording sleep patterns.
iOS-compatible smart bathroom scales, thermometers, fitness watches and other HomeKit-enabled smart accessories by French health tracking company Withings have been removed from both online and brick-and-mortar Apple Stores following the latest legal spat with Nokia.
Wait, what do Withings products have to do with the Nokia patent row, you ask. Well, Nokia bought Withings in April 2016 for a reported $192 million, integrating their products into its Digital Health unit led by former Withings CEO Cedric Hutchings. The removal was first reported by MacRumors.
Nokia said this morning that it’s buying French health tracking company Withings for a reported €170 million, or about $192 million, as it looks to gain a foothold in the competitive digital health market.
Withings, which designs, builds and sells wearables with health and fitness tracking features, as well as devices for the connected home such as smart weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors and so forth, will become part of Nokia’s Technologies business.
Yesterday at the 2015 International CES show, accessory maker Withings unveiled a new lineup of Activité Pop fitness watches with activity and sleep tracking capabilities.
A successor to the Activité watch that Withings unveiled at last year’s CES, the new Activité Pop is available in several vivid colors and features a secondary hand dial to show your progress as determined by the Health Mate companion app.