Jawbone has been giving us many surprises since the first Bluetooth Headset with superb sound quality. This time with a fitness gadget, UP is pretty good at its job. Using its proprietary MotionX Technology, UP keeps track of your daily activities and sleep efficiency, and together with a well designed mobile app for iPhone and Android, present you beautiful charts, metrics and trends.
Looks like those rubber bands or friendship bands on the streets, UP comes in three sizes (S, M, L), fits amazingly well on my wrist. It looks subtle, no one can tell you are wearing a powerful gadget. Comes in eight colors (Onyx, Mint Green, Light Gray, Blue, Navy Blue, Red, Orange, Hunter Green), with an embossed zigzag on the length of the band makes it another great master piece by the Jawbone’s creative team. UP is made of surgical grade, hypoallergenic TPU rubber, enable you to wear it all the time. Yes! its water proof and can withstand thousands of showers! I have no problem wearing it to a shower and it works just good after the a hot shower.
Like many new gadgets, it’s almost fool proof and comes with a simple, not-so-helpful guide. You will find more information in app though, since you will be interacting with the app more. It also comes with a charging USB cable, and is able to fully charge the UP in 80 minutes. Battery life is incredible, 10 days on a full charge and you can monitor battery life in the app.
Another great feature of UP is the built in silent vibrator alarm. It is so strong and yet quiet that will only trigger up to 30 minutes ahead of your designated wake-up time if it spots an ideal moment for you to get up based on your sleep states. I myself was pretty amazed with this feature. I woke up feeling energized and ready-to-go instead of the usual dragging to the bathroom with droopy eyes.
Also, the vibrator can be configured to trigger when you are on idle for some time. This actually reminds me to walk around every hour instead of facing my laptop at my desk at work. Cool feature.
For the app, overall very well-done and good use of colors and user interface. It keeps a log of your previous syncs and allow you to log in your meals and workouts. This gives you a full perspective of your calories intake and monitor your daily activities well. Various charts are available, including your sleeping patterns, which is pretty helpful to understand if you are fully rested or not.
Compared it with other similar fitness gadgets, UP is pretty good one. Easy to use and looks fashionable, UP can be a great companion on-the-go, regardless at work or play. The downside would be UP is not recommended to be worn when swimming. Also, UP is look just too cool and fashionable for formal wear. Probably you will have to be more discreet by wearing it under your sleeves. Another consideration will be its compatibility, currently UP only supports mobile devices on iOS or Android, you wont get to do your fitness analysis in your PC. So if you don’t mind looking at the charts in your phone, it is still a great option.
Other gadgets like FitBit One or Nike Fuelband, UP does fare better in terms of aesthetics and app design. FitBit One would probably do better with the stats right in the gadget and web app, but battery life is not as great as compared with UP.
I will recommend UP for people who need a basic but useful fitness tracker to monitor daily activities. It is quick, easy to use, which makes it a great gadget for any busy man. Forget about FitBit or Fuelband if you are going for fashion and aesthetics, Up is just the right thing for you.
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Get UP at Amazon here! Sizes: S: 5.5–6 in (14-15.5cm), M: 6-7in (15.5-18cm), L: 7-8in(18-20cm). Download sizing guide here.
