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While Under Armour is a major name when it comes to sports apparel and similar hardware, it's looking to make some expansions and bring further value to its customer base. With that in mind, its recent acquisition of MapMyFitness makes perfect sense, and the integration of Under Armour's line of gear coupled with MapMyFitness' fitness tracking technology makes the two a terrific fit.

Reports indicate that Under Armour picked up MapMyFitness in a deal valued at $150 million, which may seem like a substantial number, until it's considered that Under Armour isn't just picking up an activity tracking system, it's also getting access to, reportedly, the not only 20 million total users who signed up for MapMyFitness, but also to the nine million users who use MapMyFitness at least once a month.

However, while the reason Under Armour picked up MapMyFitness is fairly evident, what's much less clear is just how the company plans to use all that lovely new access it's taken on. The basic approach suggests an integration of MapMyFitness with the company's line of products—that much is quite clear at least in a general sense—but to what extent, and in what fashion, are both points that are somewhat up in the air right now. Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, provided a bit of insight on this front, saying that “we are better positioned to design open, digital products for the athlete of tomorrow,” as well as using the new technology as part of the “athlete biometric measurement...business,” a field which Under Armour is “...just getting behind.”

Interestingly, Under Armour's previous position in the fitness tracking market has been a bit sparse previously, with essentially one item to its credit in the form of the Armour39 heart rate monitor band. But with MapMyFitness in play—which the company both plans to run as a subsidiary and leave in its current offices in Texas—Under Armour can open up the field to a lot of different possibilities, especially since it already has some idea of how to connect the human to the technology thanks to the Armour39. Under Armour has some ground to gain to catch up to the likes of Nike and Fuel, who have previously released fitness tracking items and have something of an entrenched market position. But with a market of potentially 20 million users already in place, Under Armour has a nicely captive audience of current users who will likely be happy to see augmentations made to an application said users are already putting to work.

While there are plenty of possibilities afoot as to just how Under Armour will put this technology to use, only time will really tell just how the possibilities in question become tangible. With the holiday shopping season rapidly closing in—and in some cases already begun—it may put a little extra fuel to the fire for Under Armour to get some of these possibilities in play. It will ultimately prove at least fairly exciting to see just how it all boils down, and what new products emerge to help users better manage fitness goals.