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Six Fitbit employees charged in Jawbone trade secrets case
Fitbit's and Jawbone's trade secret theft saga apparently didn't end when they reached a settlement in court back in December. According to Reuters, six former and current Fitbit employees have been charged in a federal indictment for being in possession of trade secrets stolen from the company's once-staunch rival Jawbone. All six worked for Jawbone for at least a year between May 2011 and April 2015. If you'll recall, the fallen wearables giant filed a lawsuit against Fitbit back in 2015 for "systematically plundering" insider information.
Jawbone's medical plans included a heart attack warning bracelet
Now that Jawbone is making the move from consumer wearables to medical devices, just what is it up to? Bloomberg's sources might have an idea. They've obtained investment pitch documents from October 2016 indicating that Jawbone hoped to draw on technology from Spectros Corp. to build a heart health bracelet based on an existing oximeter. If it borrows similar functionality, the bracelet would use white light to warn you when your tissue isn't getting enough blood, warning you of a potential heart attack or similar failure. And that's not all -- purportedly, Jawbone hoped to land a partnership with Microsoft.
Jawbone’s demise heralds the end of the wearables industry
Sometimes deaths are sudden, but most company deaths are the opposite, with Jawbone's protracted terminus taking upward of a year. The company was an early pioneer in the consumer-wearables market and had raised close to a billion dollars in investment, but that wasn't enough to save it. Its end doesn't just mean the demise for one company, but signals the end of the great generation of wearables.
Jawbone is reportedly dead (again)
A little more than a year after rumors suggested Jawbone would shut down, it appears the company actually is. The Information reports it has begun liquidation proceedings and notices have been sent to creditors, with many employees moving on to founder Hosain Rahman's new company Jawbone Health. According to its source, Jawbone Health will continue to service the company's various devices while working on "health-related hardware and software services." As far as its legal squabbling with Fitbit, that will continue.
Jawbone is reportedly leaving consumer for clinical wearables
It's no secret that things haven't been going well at Jawbone HQ. Last year, rumors came out that the company was halting the production of all its fitness trackers, and its customer service provider dropped it for unpaid services. Now a new report by TechCrunch says the wearable maker is fully abandoning consumer wearables to shift to the creation of products and services for clinicians and health care providers.
I'm excited for Fitbit's mythical smartwatch
It hasn't been a great year for wearables, with sluggish sales and underwhelming products dominating the space. If the category had an Oscars-style 'In Memoriam' reel, it would feature several smartwatches that I loved deeply. For me, at least, devices from Apple, Samsung and Google that try to recreate the smartphone experience on the wrist just aren't compelling. But those companies want to be the only games in town after the demise of low-power companies like Pebble, Vector and Basis. That is why I'm hoping that Fitbit can swoop in and produce a smartwatch that people actually want to use.
Report: Fitbit tried to buy wearable arch-rival Jawbone
Jawbone is clearly struggling, having scaled fitness tracker production way back and reportedly not paying a customer service provider. Part of its problems stem from a protracted legal dispute with FitBit, but according to the Financial Times, Jawbone's arch-rival actually tried to buy it last year. Fitbit offered to acquire Jawbone's assets and settle any legal battles, but the deal reportedly fell through because the price was too low for Jawbone and its backers.
Fitbit drops its attempt to ban Jawbone device sales
For once, the he-said-she-said legal fight between Fitbit and Jawbone appears to be simmering down. Jawbone tells us in a statement (below) that Fitbit has dropped its US International Trade Commission patent case, which sought to ban sales of Jawbone devices in the country. If you ask Jawbone, this ends "baseless" allegations that were meant solely as a "burden." This doesn't mean that the company will respond in kind (its accusations of trade secret theft will see trial in 2017), but it's one less battle to worry about. But why did Fitbit change its mind?
Jawbone dropped by customer service provider for failure to pay
It's been a rough year for Jawbone. A few months back, the company had reportedly halted production on new fitness trackers, and was said to be selling itself off after missing a payment to a creditor. Today, the Jawbone rumor mill churns just a little harder: according to a new report from Business Insider, the company's customer service provider, NexRep, has cut ties with the company for failure to pay. "Jawbone is not able to pay us for past services," claims an internal email to NexRep employees. "Their ability to pay us in the future is uncertain at this point." The report also asserts that Jawbone's inventory is almost completely exhausted.
US Judge absolves Fitbit of corporate espionage allegations (for now)
In the ongoing case between Jawbone and Fitbit, a US International Trade Commission judge ruled Tuesday that Fitbit did not steal trade secrets from its major fitness tracking competitor. Last year, Jawbone accused Fitbit of infringing on multiple patents and stealing away employees with key business knowledge, but according to Judge Dee Lord's ruling, "no party has been shown to have misappropriated any trade secret."
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 is reportedly stopping production on all of its fitness trackers (update)
Jawbone has struggled to gain traction in the fitness-tracking market for some time, despite being one of the first to the market. Now, it looks like the company is ready to cash it in entirely. A report from Tech Insider claims the company has stopped making its Up line of fitness trackers and sold all of its remaining inventory to a third-party distributor. While the door remains open for the company to try again, it certainly feels like it's ready to exit the market.
Judge rules for Fitbit in patent dispute with Jawbone
Fitbit just won a legal ruling invalidating the patents Jawbone was using to block it from importing its foreign-made fitness bands to the US. The ruling reduces the chance for Fitbit to face an import ban from the US International Trade Commission, but Jawbone will move forward with a separate suit against Fitbit for stealing trade secrets.
Jawbone widens its legal claims against Fitbit
Jawbone isn't holding back in its lawsuit campaign against Fitbit over purported corporate espionage... if anything, it's ramping things up. The company tells us that it filed a motion to widen its complaint against Fitbit after the court-ordered forensic process supposedly revealed that things were worse than originally thought. It names a new defendant, Jing Qi Weiden, who jumped ship from Jawbone to Fitbit and allegedly emailed her former employer's secret data to her Fitbit work account soon afterward. She (and her fellow defendants) effectively handed over Jawbone's product roadmap on a silver platter, if you believe the accusations.
Your fitness tracker probably has security issues
Ever wondered how secure you are with a fitness tracker on your wrist? The researchers at Open Effect have... and their answer is "not as much as you'd probably like." In their analysis, several common trackers have flaws that theoretically let attackers follow you or intercept data. Seven out of eight used static hardware identifiers that could allow location tracking over Bluetooth, for a start. Also, the companion apps from Garmin, Jawbone, Withings and Xiaomi have holes that not only expose data, but let evildoers fake fitness info -- a problem in lawsuits where that data could be crucial evidence.
Jawbone countersues Fitbit over activity tracker patent 'abuse'
Jawbone isn't letting up on its plan to sue Fitbit into oblivion any time soon. The wearable maker has responded to a Fitbit patent lawsuit (itself meant as a response to Jawbone) with a countering suit of its own, accusing Fitbit of abusing its patents in a "plainly meritless" case. Of course, as we've seen in previous tech lawsuits, the patents are really incidental here -- this is ultimately about pressuring Fitbit into settling a case it might otherwise try to fight in court.
Runtastic shares workout data with Jawbone's Up app
If you fancy Jawbone's line of activity trackers and track your afternoon jog with Runtastic, you can now keep all of your stats in one place. Data gathered by Runtastic during your workout can be sent to Jawbone's Up app where you can store info on nutrition, sleep, goals and more. Of course, Runtastic has its own wearables, including the new Moment analog watch. What's more, Jawbone's Up app no longer requires one of the company's trackers to tally your daily details, just like Runtastic's software, so there's a few gadget/app combos that'll work just fine with both Runtastic and Jawbone's gear. To take advantage of the partnership, you'll need Runtastic 6.3. Once you connect it with the Up app, all of your info will sync automatically.
Jawbone's fitness trackers will track more of your fitness
"Basically, we're fixing all of the things that people hate," is how one Jawbone rep here at IFA 2015 describes this mid-lifecycle update to Jawbone's range of wrist-worn fitness trackers. When we reviewed the Up3 earlier this year, we described it as a feature-packed disappointment, since while the wearable had potential to be useful, the execution was bungled. That's why the company has spent the last few months working on a firmware upgrade that, it's hoped, will make the device much more attractive to new customers.
Jawbone's Up3 fitness band hits the UK just weeks after the Up2
At long last, Jawbone's Up3 fitness tracker is available in the UK. It's been almost eight months since the health band was first announced, so we suspect many Brits have forgotten about it entirely or bought something else instead. Still, while we wait for the new Up4 -- which offers an NFC chip for American Express payments -- this is Jawbone's flagship device. The "Black Diamond" version is available now (the "Silver Cross" version will follow later this summer) for £129.99 and comes with one key hardware feature to separate it from the cheaper Up2: heart rate monitoring. As we mentioned in our review, it only tracks your resting heart rate though, which could be a non-starter for workout fanatics. So if you've already bought the Up2, which only came out in the UK a few weeks ago, fear not -- it's probably a better deal anyway, at least until the Up4 comes out.
Jawbone hits Fitbit with another lawsuit, seeks to ban US shipments
The court drama between Jawbone and Fitbit is heating up quickly. Two weeks ago Jawbone sued Fitbit for "plundering" confidential information (along with employees), now Jawbone is topping that off with another lawsuit centered on patent infringement. And it's going an extra mile this time: the Up fitness band maker is also trying to stop shipments of Fitbit's products in the US by bringing the matter to the International Trade Commission. Specifically, Jawbone says Fitbit infringed on its patent that details "a wellness application using data from a data-capable band." On the face of it, though, that seems like something just about every wearable maker is doing. Still, this can't be good news for Fitbit, which is currently preparing to go public on the stock market.
