Trying out the Jawbone UP24, the story, part 1

Why in English, you wonder? So the makers of the UP24 can actually read this. I know Google Translate works wonders these days, but every now and then things get lost in translation. So, the story of my findings with the new Jawbone UP24, so far.

I know it’s not even supposed to be in The Netherlands right now. It’s predecessor, the Jawbone UP, is barely for sale, so what am I doing with this one?

The second I heard of the existence of the UP, I got to my computer and started researching a bit. Having friends with Fitbit’s I was already familiar with the quantified self gadgets outthere, but I never heard of Jawbone, let alone the UP wristband. As soon as I got into it, I found out there was already a new one on the market, the UP24. This cool new wristband can sync with your device over bluetooth. As I keep saying to everyone: it’s 2013, almost 2014, I think we’re done with cables now. The second thing I found out about the UP: it is water-resistant. So you don’t have to take it off your wrist at any time, except for 45 minutes every 7-10 days or so, when it needs to recharge. This makes it easier to keep wearing it. From people wearing Fitbit’s, I know you have to make it routine to put it on every day, otherwise you just forget. I can’t even make a habit of putting on a watch every day (which is really nice and shiny and something to actually show-off a bit) so imagine my ‘yay’ when I read about the UP wristband that I practically wouldn’t have to take off.

So, I figured out a way to get this shiny new gadget to the Netherlands (thank you, travelling friends), and I didn’t even stop to consider the specs very much. Something which I should’ve done, but that’s captain hindsight speaking.

The things I found out as soon as I opened the box: the connector was now a 2,5mm jack instead of the 3,5mm the ‘normal’ UP had, and, my iPad 2 didn’t recognize it’s bluetooth-signal. The latter made sense when I read the box: compatible with iDevices of 3rd gen and up. The first change was something I didn’t get at all. The 3,5mm was just fine on the first UP, it fit into every device. Why in the world change that to 2,5mm? It’s not like that’s used very often, and also, even 3rd gen iDevices don’t have 2,5mm jacks. So please Jawbone, explain this to me! The only function it now has is plugging it into the usb-converter to charge or update via usb on my laptop, while it could’ve also been a great way to sync with devices when bluetooth is unavailable for some reason. So, it didn’t work with my iPad 2 (could have, if it just had the 3,5mm jack…).

Next I tried to find out if there was any Android device (I have a couple) that would work with this thing. Well, I got one step closer: my Xperia Z1 recognised the wristband at least, but couldn’t connect, because ‘no correct PIN’. Probably the UP app has to provide one via the app when synced, but the app isn’t available on the Xperia Z1 yet. It was available on my Xperia V (which also kept telling me there was no correct PIN), but not with bluetooth support yet. And, like I said, no device has the capability to connect with 2,5mm jacks.

The thing I’m going to try, and I’m not sure if this will work, is connecting via a 2,5mm-3,5mm converter plug (2,5mm in, 3,5mm out). I had to special order one via eBay, because it’s not an ordinary audio-jack, but 4-pole, I suspect for the data-part of it. eBay says it will arrive on Wednesday or Thursday, so next weekend I’ll know more…

I know you’re now thinking: why couldn’t you wait until it’s available in The Netherlands or something? Why didn’t you take a closer look to the specs? To be honest: I wanted to have it, because it sounded cool. It’s the first time in a long time that I wanted to pay serious money for a gadget. So I just got it, thinking there would be a work-around for most issues I could possibly encounter. I’m that much of a nerd…

So, at this point, I’m wearing a wristband to get used to the feeling of having one on me. It’s a strangely annoying feeling for me, as I’m not used to wearing watches (I tend to forget them, remember?). My sweaters get stuck on it while putting them on, or taking them off. So I hope, whenever this thing works, I will be used to wearing it. Next week I will let you know if cheating the UP24 with a converter did anything at all. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to wait until apps and more devices are compatible with the UP24…patience is a virtue, right?