Withings intros WiFi-connected baby scale so you can tell your friends oh, how they've grown (hands-on)

Withings put itself on the map with its WiFi-connected scale, and though it recently took a detour into blood pressure readings, it's now returning to what it does best: tallying the weight of sweet, vulnerable, crying humans. The Smart Baby Scale is exactly what it sounds like -- a scale designed specifically for infants and toddlers -- and like its predecessor, it organizes all its data in charts that you can read on a PC or iOS device. The scale comes with a baby basket for infants, which you can remove once your little bambino outgrows it. According to the company, the weighing area was specifically designed to be just large enough for babies, but small enough that grown-ups likely won't be able to weigh packages, watermelons and other heavyweight items that might break the scale. Look for it in the second quarter of this year for $179 -- a twenty-dollar premium over the adult version. Check our hands-on after the break.

Mat Smith contributed to this report.

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Withings Unveils World's First Internet Connected Baby and Toddler Scale

Awarded with the prestigious 2012 CES Innovations Award, the Withings Smart Baby Scale is a new innovative device that finally extends connected weight tracking to newborns and children

Las Vegas Nevada, CES – January 8, 2012 -- Today, French technology company Withings is announcing its Internet-connected baby and toddler scale, the Withings Smart Baby Scale. With WiFi, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth Low Energy) connectivity, it is the next evolution in home baby and toddler weight tracking. Withings has combined cutting edge technology and exquisite design to create a scale that will give parents all over the world a very simple to use and extremely accurate way to monitor, understand and share their child's growth.

Cédric Hutchings, Withings co-founder says, "We are very excited to announce our Smart Baby Scale and offer parents an amazing new way to take care of their newborn or young child. The success of our WiFi Body Scale has proven the benefits of connected weight tracking on adults and we were eager to also bring these benefits to babies and children. We are thrilled that our Smart Baby Scale was awarded the prestigious CES Innovation Award and this further reinforces our vision of designing smart communicating devices that help families take better charge of their health".

By using the Withings Smart Baby Scale, parents can access their child's weight readings from any connected device, such as an Internet-connected computer or an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch using the already existing WiScale app. Also, parents can easily communicate the progress of their child's weight with their doctor, pediatrician, family and friends. The scale can be set to instantly update Facebook, Twitter or send an email to private email addresses with new readings. Parents can attach notes and photos to weight charts to build detailed memories of their child's growth.

The Smart Baby Scale features two weighing configurations: the first is for weighing infants with a removable baby basket, and the second is the toddler scale that emerges once the baby basket is removed. The main part of the scale (the weighing unit) is extra-slim and features a central cutout that serves as the insertion area for the baby basket. The scale features a large graphical screen for animations and instructions, plus a tactile button that helps parents easily record their baby's length.

The baby basket is made up of two pieces that naturally interlock and then can be inserted into the scale's base. This bi-fold design is perfect for storage and travel. Once the child grows out of the baby basket and can stand up on his own, the basket can be removed and the scale used as a toddler scale.

The Withings Smart Body Scale can be used in conjunction with an adult Withings WiFi body scale, and/or the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor. When done so, it allows parents to monitor their child's weight on the same dashboard they view their own weight and/or blood pressure.

Along this new device, Withings also evolves its Health Cloud platform's API to allow third party service providers to retrieve readings recorded by the Smart Baby Scale, and thus offer parents additional services and guidance to monitor their child's growth.

Withings Smart Baby Scale Technical Specifications:

Weighing Range: 0-55 lbs
Accuracy: 10g (0.02lb)
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart
Display: Graphical Screen 2.4" x 1.6"
Power Supply: 4 AAA Batteries
Dimensions: 11" x 9.1" x 1" (without baby basket) / 22" x 10" x 3.7" (with baby basket)
Weight: 3.3 lbs


The Withings Smart Baby Scale will be available in Q2 2012. The WiScale app is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

For more information on Withings, please visit www.withings.com/press. To request additional information or images of the Smart Baby Scale or other Withings products, please contact PR representative Jessica Darrican at (305) 576-1171 ext.16 or jessica@maxborgesagency.com.
About Withings:

Withings is a leading force in the personal healthcare revolution. It designs, develops, and industrializes health and wellness connected devices that help families across the world take better charge of their health.

French start-up founded by two executives with a technology and telecom industry background, Withings has proven its capability to turn health sensor into simple, popular, and enjoyable connected devices. In September 2009, Withings launched its WiFi Body Scale, the first ever Internet-connected body scale. This distinctively designed object was rapidly enriched with additional services provided by third parties. Many international sports and fitness online coaching websites see the Withings body scale as the ideal interface for providing rich and non-binding online services. Withings is as such a pioneer in health 2.0. In April 2011, Withings launched the Smart Blood Pressure Monitor in Europe first and then in May 2011 in the US. In November 2011, Withings launched the Smart Baby Monitor in Europe.

Instead of concentrating its distribution in pharmacies and specialized stores, Withings distributes its products in the most prestigious retailers of consumer electronics and cultural products in North America and Europe such as FNAC, Apple Stores or Best Buy.

Withings is a major player in the Internet of Things. The company's increases the capabilities of an object by the addition of network resources that allows access to infinite calculation and storage capacities without increasing costs. The object's interfaces are also ported to devices such as mobile phones or computers, to benefit from their resources and capabilities.

Read more about Withings on www.withings.com.