Jawbone Releases Updated UP Wristband

Last year, Bluetooth headset and speaker manufacturer released the UP wristband to much critical acclaim, only to pull it off the market a month later because of a defective design and numerous unhappy customers. The situation was so bad, Jawbone offered a "no questions asked guarantee", refunded all UP purchasers the full price paid, and allowed them to keep the device.

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Today, Jawbone released version 2.0 of the UP wristband, promising redesigned hardware and a better user experience. The wristband is similar to the Nike+ FuelBand that Apple began selling last month.

The Up, which was and still is a flexible bracelet, had two distinct issues that led to the hardware failures and thus the returns, Bogard explains now. The first was that small amounts of water were able to get into the band, causing moisture and contaminants to break some of the internal technology. The second was that the bendable nature of the band caused some of the tech components to break; people were bending and playing with the bracelet more than Jawbone had anticipated.

"In the last year we have learned a ton and we learned a lot from what became this beta in the real world. We got a lot of rich data from our users," Bogard explained. And with that the company built the next version of the Up, which is launching today in eight colors for $129.99.

The new Jawbone is available at Jawbone.com, Apple, AT&T and Best Buy stores. The UP app is available free on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

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grapes911

30 months ago

Yes it is.
I bought my Up on a US travel, so the refund could only be issued in the US/Canada. I have the email from Jawbone.

Ah . . . so now we are getting to the bottom of this. You purchased a device in the US and the European Jawbone support wouldn't issue the refund. That's very different from the blanket statements you made such as "no costumer support in Europe" and "customers support only United States!" While this isn't always the case, it's very common for a company only to give support in the country that the device was purchased. That really shouldn't be a surprise.

Rating: 11 Votes

tomegun

30 months ago

Interesting timing for me. But first, a little history.

I am a basketball official and wanted something to track workouts and the amount of distance covered during a game. I got a fitbit and loved it. The only problem is the form factor - I took off my pants one night, forgot I had it on the waistband and washed it. After that I got an Up for myself and my wife. Hers went bad almost immediately. We got the refund for hers and I took it back to the store for the exchange. I will make a long story short with this:

Fitbit
Pros: Accuracy (must supply walking and running step distance), battery life, small size, now measures flights of stairs, records activities, display on the device
Cons: must put on waistband making it easy to lose, app seems to be lacking (not sure if it will sync with bluetooth), sleep function...if you wear the stupid wristband

Jawbone Up
Pros: Accuracy, inactive notification (vibrates), records activities, measures sleep, wake from sleep, looks like a normal bracelet - harder to lose, new app looks better
Cons: must be plugged into audio jack of phone to upload information (hard if you have certain phone cases), losing a cap is inevitable, spotty reliability history

Nike Fuelband
Pros: the almighty Nike name, looks like a normal bracelet, harder to lose, the app is great, bluetooth syncing with phone
Cons: stupid Nike Fuel measurement, other measurements are not accurate (Polar heart rate monitor said I burned 360 calories, Fuelband said I burned 177 on my elliptical), no sleep measurements, no activity measurements, price ($161 after taxes)

I returned the Nike Fuelband yesterday and planned on getting a Fitbit One today. I'm not sure if I should hold off now. I am forced to put the devices, except the fitbit, into my pocket when I officiate. It wasn't a problem Saturday night (college game) with the Fuelband, but the stupid Nike Fuel said I didn't reach my goal after being on the elliptical for 30 minutes in the morning and running an entire college game...that should have been more than 10,000 steps (what I have been told should be everyone's goal).

Sorry for the long post. Since I am in the position I am in this gives me something to think about.

Rating: 10 Votes

GoCubsGo

30 months ago

nice observations, but in reality all of these devices are gimmicks at best

Gimmicks how? To me they're certainly not.

Rating: 6 Votes

JaySoul

30 months ago

Again, this thread shows up the misconceptions about the point of such products.

They will never be perfect - to be perfect, Nike and Jawbone would have to implant 4 frickin' microchips into your arms and legs.

These are motivational/tracking tools. They are best for cardio, and if you buy into their philosophy, they can be brilliant.

I lost 1.5 stone, went from 26% body fat down to 10% and I've maintained it half a year later, thanks to my childish competitive spirit and a Nike FuelBand.

Rating: 5 Votes

Boilermaker_coday

30 months ago

Gimmicks how? To me they're certainly not.

- For a lot of guys, myself include, weight lifting is a staple part of their workout routine and none of these devices have yet to find a way to accurately record and measure this type of movement/exercise

- The devices that have a GPS feature (so this doesn't count the FuelBand) may be semi-accurate at estimating calories burned while running , biking, or walking, but the accelerometers in the devices are still not very accurate with their accelerometer readings. So if you are on a treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical you will not get an accurate reading. True that the machines themselves usually have a caloric read out, but then if they do that defeats the purpose of the bracelets, doesn't it?

- Assuming someone's maine form of working out was biking/running/jogging/walking (which I know it is for a lot of people), then there are free alternatives already built into the iPhone and can be used with the app store. Remember your iphone (and most smartphones) have GPS and accelerometers installed. Personally I use mapmyrun, because it tells me how far/fast I run and gives a lot of other useful statsics like average mile time, pace, calories burned, etc.

- If you are using a bracelet to measure your caloric intake (hint hint,: Nike+ Fuel and "Points" system) there are free alternatives to that on the app store too. I use MyFitnessPal. Has a HUGE database of different foods and their calories, and you can also enter the amount of calories you burn with just about any type of workout too, so you can figure out your net amount of calories for that day. So using MapMyRun + MyFitnessPal is free and really I can't figure out anything else that I would need.

- And finally, there is the "gimicky" idea that people have to use something like this to get them active. Is there a reason you need a fancy gizmo to start running everyday? Does it make you run faster, or does it make that running burn more calories? Is it suddenly going to make you eat less or make healthier choices about what you eat. On this last point, I make it knowing that it is not true for all people. While, personally, I realize that common sense and lifestyle changes are the greatest tools in changing your health, I can see how the visual display of how healthy you are being might motivate a few people (but how long will you stay motivated after the shinyness and newness wears off of your new gizmo?)

Rating: 4 Votes

theBB

30 months ago

Given their poor track record I don't think i will risk another $100+ on being a beta tester and waiting for UP3 to arrive.

Way to go painting yourself like an exploited victim, even though Jawbone does everything it should for a reputable company screwing up. Dude, they gave your money back and let you keep the product, didn't they? What else do you want, CEO doing your laundry?

They must have lost a ton of money dealing with the problem in 1.0 and lost almost months of market share to Nike and others, it is not like they are happy somebody beta tested the product. I am sure they would have liked it better if everything went fine the first time. On second thought, they might actually be better off losing you as a customer, who knows how you would bad mouth them for every little problem, real or imagined...

Rating: 4 Votes

grapes911

30 months ago

I look at these as devices to measure cardio training, not strength training. They serve very different purposes and need to be counted differently. I'm not saying both aren't important, because they are, but it's difficult to find a measurement that accurately tracks both in a meaningful way. (Yes I know you burn calories while weightlifting but that isn't the primary goal of that activity.) I don't think that makes it a gimmick.

Rating: 4 Votes

toolioiep

30 months ago

Here in Europe Jawbone have a really bad reputation!
I bought the UP and stop working after two weeks, no costumer support in Europe.

Oh Yeah!!! To sell the world is open, but for customers support only United States!

The Jambox is going the same way, small piece of crap who stops working after five months and once again no costumers support available.

I recommend all to avoid Jawbone products who already prove is lack of quality and support.

----------

Big joke?
Issued refunds?
Not in my case, only US costumers.
To sell the world is open but for support not!
Avoid this crapy brand who don't know watt costumers support is.

Not true - I'm in Canada and received a full refund directly from Jawbone.

Rating: 3 Votes

chr1s60

30 months ago

My guess is you didn't own one; I had one from the start before the issues were official and time was wasted waiting on warranty replacements before the return. I asked for my money back after the replacements, had I known that they were really going to come out w/ a new fixed one for real then I wouldn't have asked for my money back. Now because I asked for my money back I have to pay $30 more than someone that didn't and had a 1.0 band. Also, they could have easily sent some 2.0 bands as replacement before mass selling to retail instead of sending more bad out of the box 1.0 versions. But you are right, I get to keep a nonworking band before my warranty expires on december, my money back and my lost time. All products have store markups, they could easily sell to orig band users at whole price and make us happy and create more trust and positive vibes all around the web & they wouldn't lose any money. It is a similar strategy to what retailers do on BF.

Actually, I did own one and received my rebate for it. I owned it right after it came out as well, but mine didn't have issues until after the refund was made official. If I recall correctly, they did state that they would be working on improving and releasing a new band back then. The reason they did the rebate when they did was because they had no clue when the new band would be released. As a company they wouldn't not refund money and expect people to just wait however many months before being able to replace it with a new band. If that were the case, people would be mad they didn't get their money back. My band no longer works either, but that isn't an issue seeing that I received all of my money back. Had you not went for the refund you would currently be able to send that old band back for a new 2.0, but then again you would also be out $100 plus tax already. Instead you used a product for however long it lasted and got your money back, whether it was a waste of time or not. You currently have spent $0 on the product. If you don't like it, don't but another. If you liked it, you know they are good for their money as far as giving it back if there is an issue, and you put out the $130 for it. You had a bad experience with the first version and received every penny back. You are sitting at even. Be happy with that and if you liked it, buy the new one. If you don't trust them, sit it out.

Rating: 3 Votes

grapes911

30 months ago

Not misinformation, I receive an email from Jawbone saying the refund was only available for US/Canada.

Absolutely missinformation. (https://jawbone.com/up/refund_faq)

What if I live outside the US?

Regardless of where you live, you are still eligible for a refund as long as you purchased your UP from an authorized retailer. Refunds will be given in the same currency that was used to purchase the product.

. . .

How much will my refund be?

Your refund will be issued in the currency of the region where your UP band was originally purchased. Refund amounts are as follows:
US — $109.43 USD
CA — $115.44 CAD
UK — £90.00 GBP
EU — €120 Euros

Rating: 3 Votes

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