Jawbone branches out from audio products, teases "Up" wristband that keeps tabs on your bad habits
According to our calendar, this is one of the least timely days of the year for us to harp on New Year's Resolutions, but that's no matter to Jawbone. The company, best-known for crafting those high-end headsets, is at TED talking up its first non-audio product: a wristband dubbed "Up" that tracks and analyzes your eating, sleeping, and exercise habits -- kind of like a bare-bones Fitbit or Nike+. As you can see in that photo up there, it's about the size of those ubiquitous rubber Livestrong bands and lacks a display (not to mention, wireless radios) -- all concessions made in the name of keeping the cost down, says Travis Bogard, VP of product marketing and strategy. So, this is a good 'ol wired product, with a bundled adapter connecting the band to your phone via the 3.5mm jack. Once you connect, you can view all your data on a website or through a mobile app. Or, if you thrive on public shaming, you can challenge people to fitness duels to the death (our phrasing, not Jawbone's). All told, this falls outside the outfit's comfort zone, but then again, it does know a thing or two about wearable tech. For now, the company's keeping mum on pricing and availability, though it says Up will be available in the states later this year. As for compatibility, well, Bogard tells us it's going to work with "all the relevant" mobile platforms. Make of that what you will, folks.
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Jawbone® Unveils Vision to Help People Live a Healthier Life
UP™ by Jawbone to Launch Later this Year
TEDGlobal, SCOTLAND – July 13, 2011 – Jawbone®, a leading innovator of products and services for the mobile lifestyle, today unveiled its vision to inspire people to live healthier with UP™ by Jawbone– a new product the company plans to launch later this year.
Lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer cause more deaths than communicable diseases, according to the CDC. Research shows eating healthier, getting quality sleep, and moving more can prevent most of these lifestyle diseases.
"We are excited to share our vision at TEDGlobal because this epidemic will take an entire community to affect a global change," said Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman. "TED is a community of thought leaders that can help propel this idea into a global movement."
UP leverages Jawbone's expertise and partner ecosystem integrating robust computing and sophisticated sensor technology in the form of functional jewelry. UP by Jawbone is a new system that tracks your movement, sleep patterns, and nutrition so you can live a healthier life. This new end-to-end system consists of a small wristband that monitors your activity 24/7, a mobile app that analyzes the activity, and an open platform that motivates you with personal and social recommendations and challenges tailored to your goals.
"We're passionate about creating products for the mobile lifestyle that people love to use everyday. And now, we're harnessing that passion to approach a major global issue – health," Rahman continues. "We are focused on a creating a highly accessible solution for this particular space that integrates seamlessly into a user's daily life with the goal of making it absolutely easy for them to live better."
UP by Jawbone will be available later this year. To be alerted to the release of UP, sign up for email updates at http://up.jawbone.com/.
For more information, images and product demos, please visit: www.Jawbone.com/Press or follow @Jawbone on Twitter.
