I’ve been waiting for a gadget like this to monitor my vital signs and sync with my iPhone. It looks like Jawbone will be on my Christmas list this year too…hint…hint ( goes on sale this Saturday ).
There’s been a lot of hype about smartphones that will monitor your health. These devices intrigue me because I find myself making changes when I monitor the numbers. At least that was the case over the past couple of years when I dropped sixty pounds and got off the “bad cholesterol” poster child list.
Last year, I bought a Zeo Sleep Monitor. The main reason I stopped using it – admitting I’d bought a fancy alarm clock – was the clunky headband you had to wear. Boredom came quickly too because the Zeo required a daily download to my desktop computer and upload to their website.
The Jawbone Up is a motion sensing fitness bracelet and has a good chance to usher a new era of personal quantification. It seems convenient – the armband syncs with your iPhone (sorry Android folks – not yet) and records your walking steps, calories burned and will estimate your quality of sleep each night by monitoring your movements. Not an efficient method of sleep monitoring, but at least the armband will vibrate you awake each morning.
The fact that JawBone Up will record your data straight to your iPhone makes it sound elegantly simple and personal. It’s still missing components like heart rate and blood pressure and if it would be great to see this information shared on your family network so they can keep up with each other. That’s probably the one they’ll sell right after the early adopters drop the C-note on the first generation. ( I noticed they have plenty of other tabs on their website next to the “Up” tab).
Nevertheless, they’re making some interesting promises with this device.
“The band and the app will make you healthier.”
I like their approach with challenges too. Might be fun to have a competition with family and friends and see how we can improve our lives.
You can find the Jawbone online this Saturday for $99, or you can find it a “brick and mortar” Best Buy or Target too.
I’ve been a good boy this year Santa Claus, but I’d still like to lose a few more pounds and who couldn’t use a better night’s sleep?