We liked the Nike+ FuelBand quite a bit when we reviewed it earlier this year, but one area that called out for improvement was the associated software. Nike has stepped up the FuelBand's game today, releasing an update to its iOS companion app that offers several usability improvements over the previous incarnation. In addition to the just-announced Path integration that opens up the FuelBand's social capabilities, the app now allows background syncing: just a press of the FuelBand's single button will start downloading the record of your Fuel-fueled activities to your iPhone or iPod Touch, without having to launch the app itself. A battery meter is now included, helping avoid any unexpected outages, and the app also allows users to set the time on their FuelBand directly from the app, removing one of the last reasons one would need a computer to use the fitness tracker.
It's a welcome iteration for the product, and comes just a week after Nike updated its now-free Nike+ Running app with Fuel integration and support for Android devices (unfortunately, while Nike told us FuelBand would be coming to Google's mobile OS this summer, at the moment it's still iOS-only). If you'd like to take advantage of the latest features, the updated FuelBand app is available for download in the App Store.