Jawbone UP

zduhamel

I wanted to write a quick product review for the Jawbone UP.

jawbone up

PROS:

  1. Aesthetics. The thing looks cool. Comes in several colors. Definitely beats wearing a hip pedometer in my opinion.
  2. Ease of use. The thing has one button. The nicely hidden headphone plug allows for easy plug in updates to your iphone. The new Jawbone UP 24 connects wirelessly so it doesn’t have the headphone plug.
  3. Great way to track life. The UP tracks your steps, you can input a weight training session (kind of), it tracks your sleep (REM and non-REM), your waking time, your mood, your food and drink intake. Helps improve self-awareness.
  4. Motivation. I think seeing your lifestyle laid before you on a good looking app lets you see progress and where you can grow. Nothing motivates more than measured progress.
  5. Connectivity. The UP connects with other apps like Runkeeper, MyFitnessPal, and Strava.
  6. Battery Life. The thing lasts for days.

Cons:

  1. Accuracy. The UP is worn on your wrist, it counts steps when you move your arms around. Not a HUGE deal but definitely a con.
  2. Not very good for strength training. While you can input weight training sessions, it is pretty vague and just assigns your some calorie usage based on length of time and intensity.

Conclusion:

I love the idea of the Jawbone UP and other “life-tracking” technology, I think they are ultra helpful for getting an idea of what your day-to-day calorie expenditure and sleep cycle looks like. I really think that the usefulness of the Jawbone UP depends on your current fitness level and what your future goals are. If you are living a sedentary lifestyle and we want to become more active GET ONE, but if you are already active or even an elite athlete I doubt the effectiveness of counting your steps. Also for those of you, like me, who are trying to build strength and spend most of your time working out in the gym as opposed to running, cycling or long walks, the UP isn’t for you. I don’t think steps per day is the best metric for you.

Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions if you’d like.

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