Fitness trackers are the aging Uncle of the wearable tech scene. They are the most adopted and the oldest wearable technology around. Why, some of these doodads are three years old or more(gasp!) Still, like any other rapidly advancing tech, gadgets are constantly being tinkered with and improved. The Nike+ of today is nowhere near the Nike+ of yesterday, after all. In today’s edition of fitness tracking digest, we present yet another “old-school” device that is undergoing a much needed overhaul.
We first wrote about Jawbone and their Up fitness tracker back in the early days of this blog. It was a unique(at the time) and serviceable tracker with several glaring issues, namely the band couldn’t stand up to the kinds of physical stress that the human body put on it. It would break and the electronic components would get exposed, short out or worse. Plus, it hated when you washed your hands. It’s pretty annoying to have to take a bracelet off every time you want to get clean.
Well the new Up is upon us and the company has fixed these complaints, and then some. The wristband still features the same fantastic suite of sensors that track your movement — steps, distance, calories, activity intensity, active time — and sleep quality. The Up now features an alarm for waking up that even features a “power nap” component. There is also a brand new, and pleasantly designed, smartphone app that goes along with the band. Oh yeah, it also no longer is susceptible to the destructive power of human skin. You can wear it 24/7 with no hiccups as was originally intended.
Jawbone’s brand new Up is available now for around $130, which is $30 more than the last version cost. Hey, those app designers have to get paid somehow!
