BOSTON, MA (May 30, 2014) – Quitbit is a smart lighter with a built-in display that reminds users how many cigarettes they’ve smoked and how long it’s been since their last cigarette. Quitbit also syncs with a mobile app to view smoking history, set reduction plans, and optionally limit how often and when the lighter can be used. It is entirely battery operated can light approximately 100 cigarettes before requiring a recharge over USB.
Determined to capture accurate data, Quitbit is smart in the traditional sense of a connected device and by its ability to detect false recordings. Using intelligent software, Quitbit can detect when cigarettes are being relit and when users are “just playing” with it. Competitors of Quitbit, such as smoking-tracking apps, require manual tracking through a mobile app or starting off with a known number of cigarettes each day. “In order to smoke a cigarette, one must light it first,” says Kuji Nakano, Co-Founder and CTO of Quitbit. “That makes a lighter the most seamless way to track a users smoking.” Additionally, Quitbit has a free app currently available on the iOS store that tracks smoking through manual input. When the Quitbit lighter becomes available, it will sync over Bluetooth LE, eliminating the need for manual recording.
Quitbit is now available for a pre-order on Kickstarter. The campaign ends June 11th and has generated over 500 backers from over 40 countries. Quitbit will retail for $149 in early 2015, but enthusiasts and early adopters can pre-order Quitbit at a discounted price of $89 with an expected delivery of December 2014.
Quitbit was founded by two friends, Ata Ghofrani and Kuji Nakano, while studying for a Masters in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at Brown University. While smoking outside class in the fall of 2013, they attempted to cut back their smoking and found that there was no easy way to do it. Ata has three years of experience as an engineer for medical devices. Kuji, a hardware and manufacturing engineer, has a deep understanding of health-tracking devices and previously spent six years developing sleep-tracking devices at Zeo. The founders quickly recruited Fred Roeber, arguably one of the most talented embedded systems engineers, and former colleague at Zeo. Quitbit’s mobile developer is Pete Simpson, Brown ‘14. Quitbit has gone through two startup accelerators: Betaspring (Providence, RI) and earlier this month graduated from HAXLR8R (dual location: Shenzhen, China and San Francisco, CA), a hardware accelerator focusing on manufacturing consumer electronics in China.
If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call Ata Ghofrani at +1 (408) 799-3613 or email Ata at: ata@quitbitlighter.com
Kickstarter Campaign Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/quitbit/quitbit-the-first-smart-lighter-and-app-to-track-s
Distributed by Kjprnews
Company Name:Quitbit
Contact Person: Ata Ghofrani
Email:ata@quitbitlighter.com
Phone: (408) 799-3613
City: Boston
State: MA
Country: United States
Website: http://www.quitbitlighter.com/press
