Hamstrung by Delays, Fitbit Explains and Tries to Deliver

Nicholas Cole was determined to shed a few pounds after the holiday season. So when he heard about a nifty new fitness device called the Fitbit Tracker, a wearable sensor that tracks movement, distance traveled and calories burned, he decided to take the plunge and order one.

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

The Fitbit Tracker is a wearable gadget that monitors daily activity levels.

 

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Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

James Park, left, and Eric Friedman, started two technology companies before FitBit, but it was their first hardware venture.

That was 13 months ago. Mr. Cole is still waiting for the $99 gadget to arrive, as are legions of other eager customers.

“I haven’t heard anything yet, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to get it in a month or two,” said Mr. Cole, a 20-year-old student living in New Brighton, Pa.

Others, unwilling to wait any longer, have forked over as much as $350 to buy a Fitbit on eBay from other consumers.

Fitbit’s tale of expectation and delay is a classic start-up story: a couple of entrepreneurs with a hot idea generate excitement, then run into a range of real-world problems in actually trying to make their product and get it to customers. With bigger companies like Nike and Philips Electronics making similar fitness devices, Fitbit runs the risk of getting stomped by competitors before it can really get going.

But the company’s unusual frankness about its problems may also help it survive its growing pains.

“They’ve been really open and transparent about where they are in the process, and that’s made it easier to tolerate the wait,” Mr. Cole said.

A prototype of the Fitbit Tracker was introduced in September 2008 by the co-founders, James Park and Eric Friedman, at TechCrunch 50, an annual showcase of innovative products and Web services.