Google developing health data service: report

[June 14, 2014]  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is developing a service that will combine information from health apps and personal fitness devices, in another competitive move against Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, Forbes reported.

The new service, to be called Google Fit, will make its debut at the Internet company's developer conference later this month, Forbes said on Thursday, citing anonymous sources.

It is not clear if Google Fit will be integrated into Android, Google's mobile operating system, or offered as a standalone app, the report said.

Google declined to comment on the report.

Health data could become the next big battleground among tech companies as a new generation of wearable electronic gadgets allow users to measure heart rates, sleep patterns and exercise activities.

Last week Apple announced "Healthkit," which will pull together data such as blood pressure and weight now collected by a growing number of healthcare apps on the iPhone or iPad. In May, Samsung launched a health platform for third-party app developers.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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