Saptamana trecuta am aflat ca Nike a concediat o buna parte dintre inginerii care dezvoltau celebrele bratari FuelBand utilizate de catre milioane de persoane de pe glob in sesiunile de fitness. Acest anunt a dat imediat nastere unor speculatii conform carora angajatii concediati de catre Nike ar putea intra in echipa Apple care dezvolta iWatch, in timp ce Nike ar putea colabora cu Apple in acelasi scop. Fara a confirma direct un parteneriat, CEO-ul Nike a afirmat intr-un interviu acordat CNBC ca a sa companie colaboreaza cu Apple in momentul de fata si ca el este foarte entuziasmat de modul in care va evolua relatia dintre cele doua companii.
Parker: [Y]ou’re going to continue to see us commit to this area, to focus on expanding the reach. Today, we have about 30 million FuelBand users. We’re hoping to push that to over 100 million. We have partners that we work with…obviously the most visible partner we have is Apple. We’ve been working with them for a long time. And we’re excited about where that relationship will go forward.
CNBC’s Sara Eisen: Well, can you give us a hint? Are we going to expect some sort of collaborative device coming out? Nike and Apple?
Parker: I can’t really say that. There’s been a lot of speculation, which I understand. I will just say the relationship between Nike and Apple will continue. And I am personally, as we all are at Nike, very excited about what’s to come.
Afirmatia a fost facuta la o intrebare care ii cerea lui Parker sa confirme sau sa infirme faptul ca Apple si Nike vor dezvolta un produs de fitness impreuna si cred ca raspunsul sau este cat se poate de clar. Tim Cook, CEO al Apple, este membru al consiliului director al Nike, asa ca o colaborare intre cele doua companii este cat se poate de posibila si logica in acelasi timp, Apple avand nevoie de un partener cu experienta in domeniul dezvoltarii produselor de fitness.
Daca aceasta posibila colaborare ne va aduce sau nu un iWatch vom afla in lunile urmatoare, insa cred ca ne asteapta lucruri interesante anul acesta.
