Jawbone UP2: Discrete Fitness
The UP2 is a chic looking fitness band with flexible rubber straps that are comfortable around the wrist. It comes with three LED lights to indicate your movements and the crosshatch pattern gives a subtle touch to the overall design. The locking mechanism does look a little dodgy though as it has clasp to lock the band in place which can be adjustable. But adjusting the band while wearing it can get a little annoying. At the bottom there are some pins which are used for charging the battery. The charger is like a tiny toothbrush with magnetic pins on one end and a USB port on the other. It can’t bend or twist so charging the band can be a tricky task at times. But you won’t be needing a lot of charging anyway because it offers a battery life of upto a week which is one of the biggest problems faced by smartwatches. It is also water resistant which means it can handle some sweat or light splashes of water but not suitable for taking is for a swim.
The band does a basic job of counting your steps, but with the Up app you can do a lot more. Supported on iOS and Android, the app automatically understands if you are sleeping or exercising, so basically tracking how much hours you sleep and also your heartbeat. Along with that you can also set alarms on the band so that it vibrates on your wrist to wake you up or give you gentle LED alerts to get up and get moving. The app can also calculate calories consumed if you wish to enter your daily food intakes. You also get an option to make teams and compare your activity and sleep stats among your friends/team mates. The tracking is accurate with minor ups and downs in steps and sleep calculations. Overall it does the job well, but like many other fitness bands you don’t get to the band to vibrate when you get a notification on your smartphone.
The UP2 is the perfect choice, if you are looking for a simple sleep and activity tracker which looks simple yet classy on your wrist.
