
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 branches out from audio products, teases “Up” wristband that keeps tabs on your bad habits originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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