Jawbone Releases Updated UP Wristband

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.

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.

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

Gimmicks how? To me they're certainly not.

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.

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...

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?)

- 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

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.

If anything they should have reduced the intro price below 99 to attempt to get customer trust back.

If a customer does not trust a brand that has publicly acknowledged a problem within weeks, identified the technical root cause, offered an apology from the CEO along with a no questions asked refund, I don't see how pricing the new version cheaper than the old one will make them believe Jawbone is trustworthy. A lower price would help them sell more, but it will not engender any more trust.

Who's gonna buy and test it again?

Does any one else find it insulting that jawbone bumps the price up an extra $30 after the ridiculous failure at a premium of 99. If anything they should have reduced the intro price below 99 to attempt to get customer trust back.

No, I don't find it insulting. They issued refunds and let you keep the device. That's more than many companies would have done. If it's going to cost $30 more to make whatever change they needed to and get it right, then they should do it and up the price.