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Intel should buy Jawbone just for its fitness app
If recent reports are to be believed, Jawbone is in serious trouble after missing a payment to a creditor. Sources close to the company have denied it, but this isn't the first time we've heard such rumors. The Information reported earlier this week that the firm is running out of money and has put itself up for sale. If that's the case, then I can think of the perfect suitor: Intel. After all, the chipmaker has both the money and a smartwatch division in need of a win, while Jawbone has arguably the best fitness app on the market. From the position of an armchair quarterback, it's a match made in heaven -- at least on paper.
Jawbone's Up3 finally ships on April 20th, but don't take it swimming
November 2014 almost seems like a lifetime ago and folks who've been itching for a Jawbone Up3 since it was announced that month would probably agree. There's good news, though: the wearable finally starts shipping come April 20th. So long as you're one of the folks who pre-ordered from the company website, that is. Jawbone vice president Travis Bogard says that the reason behind the Up3's delay has to do with its water resistance. Apparently, not every single unit met the 10-meter claims Jawbone promised and that didn't come out until ramping up production. Now they're "comparable to, and in line with" other sensors. All that to say, you can't swim while you're wearing one but it should be okay if you take it in the shower or are caught in an April rainstorm. If that lets the wind out of your sails, Bogard says that you can cancel your pre-order without penalty.
Jawbone wants to help companies keep employees healthy
There's never a bad time for a little friendly competition between co-workers, especially if it means working together to accomplish certain health-related goals. With its new Up for Groups initiative, Jawbone is looking to start just that in the workplace. The company's new ecosystem, revealed earlier today, aims to give employers a set of tools that can help keep their team motivated and reach different fitness achievements -- all while using trackers such as the Up24 and Up Move. There are a bunch of features within Up for Groups, like leaderboards, activity logs and detailed performance ratings from group members. Jawbone says the goal is to take corporate wellness beyond the typical 9-5 hours, but that the end results of the teams will, ultimately, depend on each individual's willingness to stay active.
Wearable data proves what you thought: we're less active when it's cold
It's hard to fight nature. We mammals have an instinctual urge to hibernate when the mercury starts dropping, and thanks to activity trackers we have some data to prove that theory holds true (if we actually get that sleep is another story). By correlating pedometer stats culled from "hundreds of thousands" of Jawbone Up users with weather info from their respective areas, the outfit was able to discern that there's an ideal temperature range for physical activity. Because people typically have to get up and around during the work week, Jawbone instead focused its study on weekends. You know, when we have an actual choice of whether or not we're going to get off the couch.
Jawbone Up coming to Android Wear, Apple HealthKit and Windows Phone (update: Pebble too)
Until now, Jawbone's Up bands have had the best software of any fitness tracker on the market. The problem, of course, has been that if you wanted that slick app experience, you had to buy yourself some Jawbone hardware to match -- a risky proposition when the device has some documented sudden-death issues. Not anymore, though. A company spokesperson confirmed that Jawbone will be opening up its API, allowing the software to work on Android Wear smartwatches and anything running Apple's HealthKit (translation: if and when the iWatch comes, it'll be Jawbone compatible). That means going forward, you can run Jawbone's app on your smartwatch, and enjoy the software without having to wear an Up band if you didn't want to. Additionally, Up is at last coming to Windows Phone, so if you own a WP8 handset and have been eyeing the Up24, you can finally take the plunge.
Jawbone knows how many of its users were roused by the Napa earthquake
Think you could sleep through an earthquake? Probably not, judging by data from Jawbone. The company says that almost everyone using its Jawbone Up device to track their sleep near South Napa was awakened by yesterday's earthquake. About 90 percent of its users were asleep, and the closer you were to the epicenter, the more likely it is you woke up. Farther out, about half the users in San Francisco and Oakland arose; almost nobody was disturbed 75 to 100 miles away in Modesto. Since Jawbone's fitness trackers push data to smartphones and other devices, the company was able to get a quick and detailed look into how the locals felt. The stats are interesting, to be sure, but may give you pause if didn't realize Jawbone could publish your exercise stats at a moment's notice.
Wearable device stats prove it: you're not getting enough sleep
If you've ever groused that you don't get enough sleep, you now know that you're not alone -- far from it, in fact. The Wall Street Journal has provided a rare glimpse at the tracking data from hundreds of thousands of Jawbone Up wearers worldwide, revealing both their collective sleeping habits as well as their activity when they're awake. And... it's not looking good. Even in well-rested cities like Melbourne, the average person slept just over the minimum recommended 7 hours. In Tokyo, many people get less than 6 hours. You don't want to look to your friends for help, then, since they're probably just as groggy as you.
Jawbone takes on Weight Watchers with its latest app update
There are things fitness trackers are generally pretty good at. You know, like counting your steps, measuring how many calories you burned. And then there are things fitness trackers are generally bad at. Logging your food intake is a particularly sore point. After all, it's not like the onboard sensors can tell when or what you've eaten, so you have to go through the tedious business of manually entering all your meals. What's more, companies like Jawbone and Fitbit aren't exactly weight-loss specialists, which means their food databases tend to have gaping holes compared to services like Weight Watchers. So, even if you're disciplined enough to keep a food diary, the thing you ate might not even be in the system. That goes double if you eat out -- how are tech companies supposed to know how many calories are in the brownies at that cafe around the corner?
Jawbone updates its Android app with wireless syncing and push notifications (updated)
If you own a Jawbone fitness tracker, you may have read last week that the company made some changes to its app. Unfortunately for some of us, the updates were all for iOS only -- in fact, the company didn't even bother to mention Android that day. Turns out, Jawbone had a good reason: it was planning an update for the Android app that brings it more in line with its iOS counterpart. In particular, it now fully supports the wireless Up24 band, which is to say it syncs wirelessly and sends out push notifications (e.g., you're about to hit your daily step goal). In addition, the app includes most of the new features that were introduced on iOS last week -- things like sunrise/sunset times in the sleep graph and "Insight Reports," which establish a connection between things like how much sleep you got and what foods you're likely to crave the next day. So, even if you own an older Up band you'll want to head over to Google Play straight away. Update: An earlier version of this story reported that the Android app would be missing the new features that were just introduced on the iOS version last week. A Jawbone rep later said that the Android app would, in fact, include most of these features, with the exception of custom reminders.
Jawbone's 'Up Coffee' app tracks your caffeine intake, estimates when you'll finally be able to sleep
Ah, caffeine. So addictive. So energizing. So unhealthy. It's no secret that coffee lends itself to spurts of early-morning productivity, only to be followed by mid-afternoon slumps. And yet, we're somehow always surprised when that 4PM frappuccino keeps us up past a reasonable hour. "Up Coffee," a new iPhone app from Jawbone, probably won't wean you off the good stuff, but it might take the surprise out of your next coffee coma. Here's how it works: you enter a few specifics, including your sex, weight and caffeine tolerance, and then it's your job to start logging. And let's be clear here: this isn't just a coffee-tracker, but a caffeine app, so in addition to all those coffees you consume throughout the day, you also should be logging any late-night Red Bulls.
Jawbone intros the Up24, its first wireless fitness tracker: on sale now for $150
It took Jawbone two tries to release a fitness tracker that didn't break after several days of use. And it took the company three generations to release one that could sync users' sleep and activity data without having to be plugged in. Today, about two years after the first Up band went on sale, the company is introducing the Up24, its first fitness tracker that syncs wirelessly. Aside from the fact that this makes for a potentially more convenient experience, this is interesting because Jawbone used to be stubbornly against wireless syncing. Specifically, the company once said that it didn't want to use Bluetooth in the Up band because it would necessitate chunkier hardware, put a dent in battery life and generally complicate the user experience. Well, here we have the Up24, which promises seven days of use, thanks to the Bluetooth Low Energy radio inside (that's the same power-efficient standard used in other new fitness trackers). The Up24 is also roughly the same size as the current Up band, and just as water-resistant, too. In addition, Jawbone just released version 3.0 of its iOS app, which includes some features that will only work on the new Up24 (think: live notifications letting you know you're about to meet your fitness goals). Also, because the Up24 works over Bluetooth, you can set a vibrating "Smart Alarm" using the app, instead of having to take the band off and plug it into your phone. Fortunately, the app is mostly compatible with the old Up band. Most important of all, perhaps, is a new sleep recovery tool that allows you to estimate how much sleep you got, even if you forgot to put the band into sleep mode.
Using Jawbone UP with MyFitnessPal to track your calories and workouts
MyFitnessPal is a fitness platform that is part calorie counter, part fitness goal tracker and part exercise journal. It compiles a wealth of information about your fitness program and makes it accessible on the web and your iOS device. With Jawbone's recent update, you can now share some of that fitness data with the Jawbone UP system. Jawbone UP and MyFitnessPal have a two-way relationship that shares meal data from MyFitnessPal and calorie counts from the UP. MyFitnessPal is meant to be the cornerstone of your daily exercise regime. You log each meal and workout and then track the amount of calories you need to consume to either lose weight, gain weight or remain steady. Meal and workout entry is made easy by the platform's large database of foods and activities. When using MyFitnessPal with the UP, meal data that you enter in MyFitnessPal will show up in your Jawbone UP software. It syncs a few times a day and pulls over your aggregate meal data. The meal data is not broken down during the transfer, so your lunch of an apple and yogurt will show up as one unnamed item with 325 calories and combined nutritional information. Meal data also is sent over with the same time code, at least in my experience. According to my UP feed, my breakfast, lunch and dinner were all consumed at 3PM. You can edit this time stamp within the Jawbone UP app, but this is an unnecessary extra step that hopefully will be improved in a future update. On the other side of the coin, the Jawbone UP shares some of its fitness data with the MyFitnessPal software. When you are logging a workout in your MyFitnessPal app, you will notice a line with calorie information from the Jawbone UP. This value is an adjustment based on the activity level recorded by the UP. It is the difference between what is estimated by the MyFitnessPal app and what is recorded by the UP. In my experience, this number was not a large amount (200 calories or so each day), but every little bit helps. Overall, I like the combination of the Jawbone UP and MyFitnessPal. There is some overlap as you have to enter your workout data in both the Jawbone software and the MyFitnessPal app as the two don't exchange detailed workout information. This duplication is just a minor inconvenience. I like the exchange of meal information which is useful, even without a detailed breakdown of items. In the end, I find that I use MyFitnessPal for its calorie counting and the Jawbone UP for its sleep tracking and overall activity counts (number of steps taken). Both work together to provide me with a wealth of fitness information that'll help keep me healthy. MyFitnessPal is available on the web at myfitnesspal.com or as a free iOS app. The Jawbone UP fitness band is available for $129 and its companion iOS app is free.
Using IFTTT with the Jawbone UP
The Jawbone UP fitness tracker is a lot more useful now that Jawbone has opened the API to third-party developers. One of the most exciting companies tapping into the UP platform is online automation tool, IFTTT. In the article below, I will talk a little bit about connecting your UP to IFTTT and then list some of my favorite recipes. IFTTT is an automation tool that allows you to setup tasks that happen at a certain time or in response to a certain event. It uses a trigger event ("If this happens") to initiate an action ("then do that"). Within the IFTTT framework, you create what are called recipes to select the trigger event and its resulting action. For example, you can create a recipe that uses a date/time trigger to send you an email at the same time each day. IFTTT is extremely useful because it ties into services, called channels, like Dropbox, Google Calendar and, of course, the topic of this post, the Jawbone UP. With IFTTT and an UP, you can do a myriad things like update your UP mood to exhausted when you get less than 6 hours of sleep, automatically add your morning coffee to your UP food list and log the daily weather. Configuring the UP within IFTTT is extremely easy. Just login to the IFTTT dashboard and click on the UP channel to activate your Jawbone account. You have to login to your Jawbone account and authorize Jawbone to share info with IFTTT. You can share your moods, moves, meals, events, sleep info, weight and more between IFTTT and UP. It's a bi-directional connection so you can pull down info from UP and send new information back to the fitness tracker. As you can imagine, there are a lot of ways to interact with the Jawbone fitness tracker using IFTTT. Below are some of my favorite IFTTT recipes for the UP. See the big picture of how you sleep. Track your Zzz's with a spreadsheet! If I get more than X hours of sleep, set my mood to 'energized' in my Jawbone UP feed Share Foursquare gym check-ins to your Jawbone UP feed Log my UP meals and their nutritional content into a Google spreadsheet Send your spouse a friendly email when you get below 7 hours of sleep Tweet when I walk more than 10,000 steps Remind me if I don't work out for 3 days If I get less than 5 hours of sleep, put on a pot o' coffee with WeMo #sunshine brings better #mood Tag an Instagram photo with #UP to share it with your team There are now 110 recipes on IFTTT for the UP and this number is climbing. If you have an UP, let us know in the comments if you use it with IFTTT.
Jawbone Up fitness band gets an Android app, wider availability outside the US
Well, this took long enough, don'tcha think? Ever since the original Jawbone Up fitness tracker came out, we've been saying it needs an Android app so you can use it with more than just an iDevice. Heck, even when the redesigned second-gen version went on sale last year, it was still for iOS only. Finally, though, that Android app is here, and it's ready to download in the Google Play store. Like the iOS version it's free, and can be used to log daily meals, as well as view pretty charts illustrating your various sleep and activity patterns. You'll also notice some strong similarities in the UI, though the iOS version has a few features the Android software doesn't have yet, such as the ability to share things on Twitter and Facebook. The band, too, is the same as ever, which means you can use it with a mix of iOS and Android devices, if you so choose. Finally, there's one last (very big) group of people who will be getting to try the Up for the first time: the wristband is now for sale in Europe, with Asia, Australia and the Middle East to follow next month. Update: The second-generation Up is now available in the UK priced at £99 -- you'll be able to grab one at Apple and Carphone Warehouse stores, alongside Jawbone's own site.
Jawbone starts over, announces a redesigned version of its Up lifestyle-tracking wristband
In life, we're often told the best-learned lessons are those spurred by mistakes. In Jawbone's case, its plague-ridden Up wristband from last winter turned out be a sweeping education. So much so that the Jambox-maker now refers to the launch as an accidental "beta" program; a public exercise in wearables R&D that ended in an official apology and full refunds. Sounds extreme, but those missteps led to a ground-up reinvention for the product: the company just announced a new version of the band, which goes on sale today for $129 with necessary improvements in tow: a refined mold, reinforced water-resistance and a more robust iOS app. In advance of this v2.0 launch, we sat down with the company's VP of Product, Travis Bogard, to find out just what went wrong with its ambitious first effort, how it got fixed and what new innovations users can look forward to this time around. So, follow along as we look back at the growing pains that spawned Up's rebirth.
How would you change the Jawbone Up?
Ordinarily, we'd be dismissive if you answered that question with "Doy, make it work!" but in the special case of the Jawbone Up, it's entirely apt. The wristband promised plenty of technological advances that would track your sleep, calories burned and diarize your food intake, all within the confines of a slender cord wrapped around your wrist. The downside? A significant proportion of the units conked out days after being opened, forcing the company to offer no-questions-asked refunds and halt production. So, what we want to know is: do you have a working Up? Does it still work? Do you like it? If Hosain Rahman was reading the comments below, how would you suggest he goes about fixing things?
Tech's biggest misfires of 2011
The past 12 months have been a boon of technological innovation, particularly in the world of mobile devices, where top companies have been waging an arms race for the top of the smartphone and tablet hills. Not everything has been smooth sailing, however -- 2011 has also been dotted by delays, false starts, security breeches and straight up technological turf outs. Check out some of the lowlights from the year that was after the break.
Jawbone Up refunds start rolling out, feel free to keep your bricked band (or not)
Not entirely satisfied with that Jawbone Up purchase? Well, plebes, if you also applied for the "no questions asked" refund, you ought to check your inbox. A reader of Wireless Goodness has received a confirmation (as seen above) that greenbacks from their purchase are inbound. For those of you who forgot to file that claim, peep the more coverage link below. Everyone else, might we humbly suggest our review?
Daily Update for December 8, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Jawbone offers 'no questions asked' refund for troubled Up band, even if you keep it
While Jawbone attempts to fix the handful of substantial issues plaguing its new Up fitness band, it's now announced that it will begin giving free refunds to dissatisfied customers -- and you can even keep hold of the band afterwards. Production of it has been put on pause, but the company is continuing to roll out software tweaks for existing lifestyle metric obsessives. The new guarantee starts on December 9th, and will only cover Up bands purchased this year. You can read up on all the refund specifics -- along with Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman's apology -- at the source links below.
