Jawbone Fitness Band Lives Up To My Expectations

Activity Monitor Boasts Remarkable Features, But There’s Room for Improvement

I’ve noticed rising interest in health and fitness apps and gadgets, so I decided to get some first-hand experience by buying the Jawbone Up activity monitor. It’s a nicely designed slim rubber wristband that tracks activity levels and sleep patterns. The Up is synced by plugging it in a smartphone’s headphone jack. All of its features are accessed through the Jawbone Up app, which is available for iOS and Android.

Despite having a minimalist appearance and only one button, the Up has too many features to cover in one blog piece, so I’ve boiled it down to six things that I like and three things I don’t.

What I like

Sleep tracking. I found this feature fascinating as it shows me how long it takes me to fall asleep, how long I sleep and how well I sleep.

Smart Alarm. This is definitely my favourite feature. The Up tracks my slightest movements while I’m sleeping and determines if I’m in a light sleep or deep sleep. Within 20 minutes of a set time it wakes me up when I’m in a state of a light sleep by gentle (but determined) vibrations.

Battery life. An impressive 10-day battery lets me get on with my week without worrying about constantly charging yet another device.

Teams. Following family, friends and colleagues who also use the device can be very motivational — especially if a little competition’s involved.

Food tracking. The app’s easy-to-use food-tracking feature is a nice change from many paid apps for Android, such as My Net Diary, which makes you input nutrition information manually.

Trend Analysis. This feature puts trends into perspective so I can see areas that need improving. This certainly makes me more engaged with the device and encourages me to wear it every day.

What I don’t like

Limited goals. The app doesn’t set goals for other important aspects of health and fitness: exercise, weight and calorie intake. Instead, it relies on integrated third-party apps. But switching between the apps can get extremely cumbersome, especially if you decide to use all 10 of them.

Limited choice of exercises. The Up app offers a choice of only 17 popular activities. By simply adding a few features and options, the app wouldn’t have to rely on the third-party apps.

Difference between iOS and Android. The Android version of the Up app lacks the “peeking” interface feature and has no social networking integration for sharing stats.

Overall, I’m happy with my purchase as it does what it’s supposed to: urge me to be more active and to get better sleep. As the wearable technology market continues to grow, I expect to see significant innovations in this area. I’m hoping that future versions of Jawbone Up will be more accurate and versatile. So for example it could detect activities such as walking up stairs and cycling. Also, if it were fully waterproof I could wear it while I’m swimming (it’s only water resistant at the moment).